Movie: ***** _____ DVD Quality: ***** _____ DVD Extras: N/A

Delightful entry in the classic Sherlock Holmes series with typically outstanding performances by Basil Rathbone as the urbane master of deductive reasoning and Nigel Bruce as his partner and foil, Dr. Watson. In this outing, based on Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Six Napoleons", the pair are searching for the Borgia Pearl, a priceless jewel which has been stolen and hidden away; time is of the essence because a gang of thieves is also conducting a frantic hunt for the pearl, murdering innocent people who happen to cross their paths. The mystery takes up a mere 69 minutes and is pure unadulterated fun, made all the more enjoyable by a first-rate supporting cast, including Evelyn Ankers as a shady lady who's a master of disguise; Miles Mander as the calculating master thief; Rondo Hatton as a brutishly strong assassin; and series stalwart Dennis Hoey as Inspector Lestrade.

The MPI video release features a superb video and audio transfer from a 35mm print restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Simply put, it doesn't get any better than this! The picture is sharp and clear with perfect contrast, and the soundtrack is remarkably crisp and clean. Very enthusiastically recommended, MPI's release of "The Pearl of Death" is a worthy candidate for addition to your home video library.

SHERLOCK HOLMES IN THE PEARL OF DEATH combines one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's better stories with a film series that was effortlessly producing a creepy, fun noir-like atmosphere multiple times a year. The result is a very effective mystery/action-adventure -- one of the best that the Basil Rathbone / Nigel Bruce series would produce.

The story is, of course, a derivative of Doyle's "The Six Napoleons", where Holmes must solve a series of bizarre, but seemingly related murders. The original tale has been augmented -- additions in the form of some classic 1940s film elements. The most obvious is The Creeper, the huge, deformed henchman of the villain, who stalks through the film like a horror movie Frankenstein, skulking in the shadows and doing the bad guy's killing.

Watson and Lestrade are back again as the film's comic relief. They function well in this role, although the movie's one poor scene involves Watson not realizing that he has a newspaper clipping glued to his elbow. I understand the filmmaker's desire to give Watson something to do (other adaptations would be less successful at this), but it's this moment that he turns from being slightly comical to downright buffoonish.

Still, Holmes more than makes up for the bungling of his two colleagues. His deductions coming more or less straight from a Doyle story rather than some less-than-brilliant Hollywood writers, he bursts through the story at almost a God Emperor level. Rathbone plays the part with relish and his confrontations with the villains make for great scenes.

I'm an admitted fan of this Holmes series, but this one would probably even be enjoyed by people who haven't seen one of these before. Try to catch this on one of the classic film channels, or, better yet, pick up the DVD. The image quality and sound are fantastic.

In some quarters, "The Pearl of Death" is considered the best of Universal's 12 Sherlock Holmes films if only because, unlike most of the others, it is generally faithful to one of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, in this case "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons." But the fact is that it's not as effective as "The Scarlet Claw" which directly preceded it, nor is it as entertaining as several other entries in the series ("Spider Woman," "House of Fear"). Nonetheless, it remains a highlight in the legendary sleuth's film career.

Director Roy William Neill once again turns out the lights and heightens the gloom with his customary dark shadows giving the film beautiful atmosphere, and Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce are as reliable as ever. Cranking out an average of three Holmes films a year, you could expect them to have grown weary of their roles but neither ever showed the slightest hint of fatigue.

As for the villains, Rondo Hatton steals the show as The Creeper, but he almost inspires more sympathy than dread. Voted the most handsome boy in his high-school class and immensely popular due to his good looks and athletic abilities, Hatton was exposed to poison gas in World War I and left horribly deformed, a condition that Hollywood's ever so sensitive "dream factory" was happy to exploit. After small roles in "The Ox Bow Incident" and "In Old Chicago," he became a star through his encounter with Sherlock Holmes and was publicized by Universal as the "Monster Without Makeup." Whoever came up with that tag may have been more deserving of being called "The Creeper" than Hatton, but...oh well, enjoy the movie. It's a good one.

It's great fun to watch the Queen of Screams--Universal's Evelyn Ankers--finally able to do some acting. In Pearl, she portrays one of her rare villianess' (you should see her strut her stuff as Illona in the camp classic "Weird woman". As Naomi, she portrays a cockney dishwasher, a bookish clerk of antiques, while all the time terrified by The Creeper--played by real-life acrogomaliac, Rondo Hatton. No one can display terror as la Ankers: her blue eyes widen, she uses her palm to press against her temple, her breathing quickens and usually there's a blood-curdling scream. There's plenty of Universal fog-machines at work here with Rathbone deftly solving the murders (along with Dr. Watson-Nigel Bruce). Ankers wrote in her memoirs that the set of Pearl was unusually British and droll. She and Nigel addressed Basil Rathbone--as Rasil Bathbone. The spry but elderly Nigel flirted with Ankers who took it with good humor but terrified her admirer when she brought her new husband on the set, B-movie king, Richard Denning, who had just joined the Navy since this was during World War II. Sharp little gem of a thriller. Wish Universal would put all the Sherlock Holmes movies on tape, or in a boxed series. Especially "Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror' which showcases Ankers talents and beauty more than any other flick she made--with the exception of "The Mad Ghoul."

This film and "The Scarlet Claw" are generally considered to be the best of the Universal Holmes series. Rathbone and Bruce are in good form with a clever and resourceful script to back them up and Miles Mander gives a fine performance as Giles Conover,master criminal.