Sir Basil Rathbone, KBE, MC, Kt (13 June 1892, Johannesburg – 21 July 1967, New York City) was an English actor. He rose to prominence in England as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in over 70 films, primarily costume dramas, swashbucklers, and, occasionally, horror films. He frequently portrayed suave villains or morally ambiguous characters, such as Murdstone in David Copperfield (1935) and Sir Guy of Gisbourne in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). His most famous role, however, was heroic—that of Sherlock Holmes in fourteen Hollywood films made between 1939 and 1946 and in a radio series. His later career included Broadway and television work; he received a Tony Award in 1948 as Best Actor in a Play.
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Known For
The Great Mouse Detective
(1986)
Sherlock Holmes (voice)
The Adventures of Robin Hood
(1938)
Sir Guy of Gisbourne
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
(1949)
Narrator (segment "The Wind in the Willows")
Captain Blood
(1935)
Levasseur
Son of Frankenstein
(1939)
Baron Wolf von Frankenstein
The Mark of Zorro
(1940)
Captain Esteban Pasquale
A Tale of Two Cities
(1935)
Marquis St. Evremonde
The Court Jester
(1955)
Sir Ravenhurst
The Woman in Green
(1945)
Sherlock Holmes
Above Suspicion
(1943)
Sig von Aschenhausen
Bathing Beauty
(1944)
George Adams
The Black Sleep
(1956)
Sir Joel Cadman
We're No Angels
(1955)
Andre Trochard
Dressed to Kill
(1946)
Sherlock Holmes
Pontius Pilate
(1962)
Caiaphas
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon
(1942)
Sherlock Holmes
Full Filmography
Acting
The Fruitful Vine
(1921)
Don Cesare Carelli
Innocent
(1921)
Amadis de Jocelyn
The School for Scandal
(1923)
Joseph Surface
The Loves of Mary, Queen of Scots
(1924)
Undetermined Subordinate Role
Trouping with Ellen
(1924)
Tony Winterslip
The Masked Bride
(1925)
Antoine
The Great Deception
(1926)
Rizzio
The Bishop Murder Case
(1929)
Philo Vance
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
(1929)
Lord Arthur Dilling
Sin Takes a Holiday
(1930)
Reginald 'Reggie' Durant
A Notorious Affair
(1930)
Paul Gherardi
The Lady of Scandal
(1930)
Edward
The Flirting Widow
(1930)
Col. Smith
A Lady Surrenders
(1930)
Carl Vandry
This Mad World
(1930)
Paul Parisot
After the Ball
(1932)
Jack Harrowby
A Woman Commands
(1932)
Capt. Alex Pastitsch
Loyalties
(1933)
Ferdinand de Levis
One Precious Year
(1933)
Derek Nagel
David Copperfield
(1935)
Mr. Edward Murdstone
Captain Blood
(1935)
Levasseur
A Tale of Two Cities
(1935)
Marquis St. Evremonde
Anna Karenina
(1935)
Alexei Alexandrovitch Karenin
The Last Days of Pompeii
(1935)
Pontius Pilate
Kind Lady
(1935)
Henry Abbott
A Feather in Her Hat
(1935)
Captain Randolph Courtney
Romeo and Juliet
(1936)
Tybalt
The Garden of Allah
(1936)
Count Ferdinand Anteoni
Private Number
(1936)
Thomas Wroxton
Love from a Stranger
(1937)
Gerald Lovell
Tovarich
(1937)
Commissar Dimitri Gorotchenko
Confession
(1937)
Michael Michailow
Make a Wish
(1937)
Johnny Selden
The Adventures of Robin Hood
(1938)
Sir Guy of Gisbourne
The Dawn Patrol
(1938)
Maj. Brand
If I Were King
(1938)
King Louis XI
The Adventures of Marco Polo
(1938)
Ahmed
Breakdowns of 1938
(1938)
Basil (archive footage) (uncredited)
Son of Frankenstein
(1939)
Baron Wolf von Frankenstein
The Hound of the Baskervilles
(1939)
Sherlock Holmes
Rio
(1939)
Paul Reynard
Tower of London
(1939)
Richard - Duke of Gloucester
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
(1939)
Sherlock Holmes
The Sun Never Sets
(1939)
Clive Randolph
The Mark of Zorro
(1940)
Captain Esteban Pasquale
The Mad Doctor
(1940)
Dr. George Sebastian / Dr. Langamann
Rhythm on the River
(1940)
Oliver Courtney
The Black Cat
(1941)
Montague Hartley
Paris Calling
(1941)
Andre Benoit
International Lady
(1941)
Reggie Oliver
Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror
(1942)
Sherlock Holmes
Crossroads
(1942)
Henri Sarrou
Fingers at the Window
(1942)
Cesar Ferrari / Dr. H. Santelle
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon
(1942)
Sherlock Holmes
Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood No. 6
(1942)
Himself
The Spider Woman
(1943)
Sherlock Holmes
Above Suspicion
(1943)
Sig von Aschenhausen
Crazy House
(1943)
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes in Washington
(1943)
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes Faces Death
(1943)
Sherlock Holmes
The Pearl of Death
(1944)
Sherlock Holmes
The Scarlet Claw
(1944)
Sherlock Holmes
Bathing Beauty
(1944)
George Adams
Frenchman's Creek
(1944)
Lord Rockingham
The House of Fear
(1945)
Sherlock Holmes
The Woman in Green
(1945)
Sherlock Holmes
Pursuit to Algiers
(1945)
Sherlock Holmes
Terror by Night
(1946)
Sherlock Holmes
Dressed to Kill
(1946)
Sherlock Holmes
Heartbeat
(1946)
Professor Aristide
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
(1949)
Narrator (segment "The Wind in the Willows")
The Wind in the Willows
(1949)
Narrator (voice)
Casanova's Big Night
(1954)
Lucio / Narrator
A Christmas Carol
(1954)
Marley's Ghost
The General's Boots
(1954)
General Lee
We're No Angels
(1955)
Andre Trochard
The Court Jester
(1955)
Sir Ravenhurst
The Black Sleep
(1956)
Sir Joel Cadman
The Stingiest Man in Town
(1956)
Ebenezer Scrooge
The Lark
(1957)
Chief Inquisitor
The Last Hurrah
(1958)
Norman Cass Sr.
Aladdin
(1958)
Emperor
Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates
(1958)
Dr. Boekman
A Christmas Carol
(1959)
Scrooge
Victoria Regina
(1961)
Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (Lord Beaconsfield)
The Magic Sword
(1962)
Lodac
Tales of Terror
(1962)
Carmichael ("The Case of M. Valdemar")
Pontius Pilate
(1962)
Caiaphas
Two Before Zero
(1962)
The Comedy of Terrors
(1964)
John F. Black
Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet
(1965)
Prof. Hartman, Lunar 7
The Son of Frankenstein
(1965)
Frankenstein (archive footage)
Queen of Blood
(1966)
Dr. Farraday
The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini
(1966)
Reginald Ripper
Hillbillys in a Haunted House
(1967)
Gregor
Soldier in Love
(1967)
Duke of York
Autopsy of a Ghost
(1968)
Canuto Pérez
The Movie Orgy
(1968)
Self (archival footage)
Madhouse
(1974)
Basil (archive footage)
The Horror Show
(1979)
(archive footage)
The Horror of It All
(1983)
Carmichael (archive footage)
The Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes
(1985)
Sherlock Holmes (archive footage)
The Great Mouse Detective
(1986)
Sherlock Holmes (voice)
Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook
(1991)
Baron Wolf von Frankenstein (archive footage)
In the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes
(1996)
The Adventures of Errol Flynn
(2005)
Self / Various Roles (archive sound) (archive footage)