# who was the better sherlock holmes - jeremy brett or basil rathbone? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 29, 2006, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-better-sherlock-holmes-jeremy-brett-or-basil-rathbone/358652 "2006-05-29T19:49:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-better-sherlock-holmes-jeremy-brett-or-basil-rathbone/358652/41 "2006-06-01T16:49:51Z")
[QUOTE=BarnOwl] Does either Brett or Rathbone ever say, “Elementary, my dear Watson.”? [/QUOTE] Not sure about Rathbone; it wouldn’t surprise me, though. Don’t think that Brett ever did. Of course, Conan Doyle never put those exact words into SH’s mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@Mycroft\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_H)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-better-sherlock-holmes-jeremy-brett-or-basil-rathbone/358652/42 "2006-06-01T18:26:39Z")
Jeremy Brett’s portrayal of Holmes is what got me hooked on what has become an obsession. (Interest \> hobby \> passion \> obsession.) For me, his presentation of Holmes is perfect. I do have a hard time separating the acting from the story writing though. The early Granada Series episodes with Brett followed the original writing very closely. The Basil Rathbone movies were poorly written by people who didn’t care if the plots held together or were even remotely close to the original stories. While Rathbone may have been a good actor and look the part, I can’t get past the writing and directing to see it. Hijack: > [@jimm](#): > > By the way, I drove past 221B Baker Street the other day, and it now exists (having been both a non-existent address and part of the Abbey National Building Society offices until recently). They’ve done a great job with recreating what it would have looked like had it ever been real. Thank you for the update. I was along Baker street last summer (two days before the bombing) and saw the big gaping hole where Abbey National had stood. I was wondering how the progress was going. I’ll have to see if I can find any on-line pictures of the final result. ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-better-sherlock-holmes-jeremy-brett-or-basil-rathbone/358652/43 "2006-06-01T21:58:51Z")
Be sure to check out [this previous thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=163983) of similar content. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-better-sherlock-holmes-jeremy-brett-or-basil-rathbone/358652/44 "2006-06-02T02:28:22Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] Not sure about Rathbone; it wouldn’t surprise me, though. Don’t think that Brett ever did. Of course, Conan Doyle never put those exact words into SH’s mouth. [/QUOTE] Brett would have refused to say them, for that reason. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-better-sherlock-holmes-jeremy-brett-or-basil-rathbone/358652/45 "2006-06-02T05:23:04Z")
I should’ve added… on New Year’s Eve, 1989, a friend and I saw Brett and Hardwicke on a London stage in their roles as Holmes and Watson. Don’t remember the name… it might even have been the Gilette play? All I remember is that it was glorious; both were just as great as in the Granada/A&E series. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-better-sherlock-holmes-jeremy-brett-or-basil-rathbone/358652/46 "2006-06-02T06:35:30Z")
I’d have to vote for Brett over Rathbone, but part of that is probably prejudice. I’ve seen pretty much all of the Brett work, and only a few of the Rathbone pieces, but the Brett material is (as I understand and perceive it) much more true to the source than the Rathbone. Thus, what I’ve seen of Rathbone didn’t intrigue me. Brett, on the other hand, was endlessly fascinating, since I’d just finished reading the canon right before starting to watch his shows. Brett all the way, for me. I saw ONE spot he did for PBS Festival (the fundraising drive), which was the _strangest_ thing I’ve ever seen, but it was never repeated. Brett, hands down. Hardwicke as Watson. Favorites, rather than perhaps “best”, but I’m sticking to it. ---
**Author:** ![Madwoman\_in\_the\_Annexe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/94ad74/32.png) [@Madwoman\_in\_the\_Annexe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madwoman_in_the_Annexe)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-better-sherlock-holmes-jeremy-brett-or-basil-rathbone/358652/47 "2006-06-02T08:02:13Z")
While I wouldn’t pretend that roses stay in full bloom until Christmas, you might be surprised at how late they do stay in bloom up here. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-better-sherlock-holmes-jeremy-brett-or-basil-rathbone/358652/48 "2006-06-02T09:12:22Z")
[QUOTE=Madwoman in the Annexe] While I wouldn’t pretend that roses stay in full bloom until Christmas, you might be surprised at how late they do stay in bloom up here. [/QUOTE] Take that, Bosda! 😃😃😃 Don’t you love it? \ ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-better-sherlock-holmes-jeremy-brett-or-basil-rathbone/358652/49 "2006-06-02T09:16:52Z")
What’s more, Tom Sellick is a better cowboy than Brett or Rathbone ever dreamed of being. 🙂🙂🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-better-sherlock-holmes-jeremy-brett-or-basil-rathbone/358652/50 "2006-06-02T12:41:53Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] I should’ve added… on New Year’s Eve, 1989, a friend and I saw Brett and Hardwicke on a London stage in their roles as Holmes and Watson. Don’t remember the name… it might even have been the Gilette play? All I remember is that it was glorious; both were just as great as in the Granada/A&E series. [/QUOTE] That was “The Secret of Sherlock Holmes,” written by Granada scriptwriter Jeremy Paul. I have a copy of it; I can only imagine how good it must have been live. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-better-sherlock-holmes-jeremy-brett-or-basil-rathbone/358652/51 "2006-06-02T13:02:27Z")
Let’s not sneer too much at Rathbone’s work, he was an actor during the studio era and was not in a position to do much else than what he was told. Despite the handicaps his performance still resonates and his Holmes was definitive until Brett came along, backed by a production company that pulled out alll the stops to top everything done earlier by focusing on accurately telling the stories that were written. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-better-sherlock-holmes-jeremy-brett-or-basil-rathbone/358652/52 "2006-06-02T14:16:41Z")
[QUOTE=BarnOwl] Take that, Bosda! 😃😃😃 Don’t you love it? \ [/QUOTE] **BarnOwl** , are you…medicated? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-better-sherlock-holmes-jeremy-brett-or-basil-rathbone/358652/53 "2006-06-02T18:51:51Z")
Yes, I think that _was_ the title! And come to think of it, it was New Year’s Eve, 1988 (just hours before 1989 began, that is). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-better-sherlock-holmes-jeremy-brett-or-basil-rathbone/358652/54 "2006-06-02T18:53:21Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] Yes, I think that _was_ the title! And come to think of it, it was New Year’s Eve, 1988 (just hours before 1989 began, that is). [/QUOTE] That post was directed at **Nonsuch** , of course (hadn’t realized this thread had done over onto p. 2). ---
**Author:** ![ambushed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@ambushed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ambushed)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2006, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-better-sherlock-holmes-jeremy-brett-or-basil-rathbone/358652/55 "2006-06-04T08:09:14Z")
[QUOTE=633squadron] I think Jeremy Brett is physically a bit closer to Doyle’s conception of Holmes. He also portrays Holmes with more of a nervous energy than Rathbone, which I like. But Rathbone was more theatrical, and had greater range. On the whole, Brett’s Holmes is too modern, too much like a British detective series of today. [/QUOTE] The fact that Rathbone displayed range and was theatrical is **exactly** the reason he made such a terrible Holmes compared to Brett (apart from the easy non-canonicity of anything other than the Brett series). Holmes was a reserved, dry, extraordinarily intellectual figure who absolutely _hated_ emotions and the display of emotions. There can be no doubting that Holmes was the inspiration for the Spock character. Anyone who displays range and theatricality is, by definition, a lousy Holmes. Brett, by contrast, hit _exactly_ the right notes. I am quite in awe of his performance! [QUOTE=633squadron] I’m too lazy to get the details, but another British actor recently portrayed some fictional adventures of Doyle’s real medical school instructor. Can’t remember the name (Doyle’s instructor was Scottish). I liked that more even, nuanced portrayal of a turn-of-the-century detective. [/QUOTE] You’re thinking of the masterful and popular British actor Ian Richardson, who played the real-life Dr. Joseph Bell in 1999’s _The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes_, whom Conan Doyle stated was his inspiration for Holmes. ---
**Author:** ![ambushed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@ambushed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ambushed)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2006, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-better-sherlock-holmes-jeremy-brett-or-basil-rathbone/358652/56 "2006-06-04T08:32:20Z")
As an aside, was anyone else as pleasantly surprised to see Max Quordlepleen from the TV series _Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_ (played by actor Colin Jeavons) as Lestrade? I thought he, too, exactly hit his character! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-better-sherlock-holmes-jeremy-brett-or-basil-rathbone/358652/57 "2006-06-05T15:09:10Z")
Yes, he made a great Lestrade. His shift from gloating to outrage to acknowledgement of Holmes’s skills in “The Norwood Builder” is my favorite Lestrade sequence. Jeavons also played Tim Stamper, the top aide to Ian Richardson’s villainous British politico Francis Urquhart in the _House of Cards_ series (and of course Richardson has played Holmes, too!). ---
**Author:** ![RoberttheWallace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9bcb4/32.png) [@RoberttheWallace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RoberttheWallace)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-better-sherlock-holmes-jeremy-brett-or-basil-rathbone/358652/58 "2020-04-21T19:31:00Z")
My personal Most Beloved portrayal of Sherlock Holmes { although I firmly believe that Jeremy Brett 's Holmes productions are way more faithful to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories }, Most Assuredly goes to Basil Rathbone! Clearly, Basil predominantly measures up to the criteria set down in Doyle’s assertions of Holmes’s personality: violin playing, cerebral, extremely intelligent, fascination with ciphers–anagrams–chemistry and the like, drug-addicted, etc. The one thing [unlike Brett], Basil was not twitchy! Besides alluding to Holmes’s drug addiction in " The Hound Of The Baskervilles " Basil’s Holmes was way more compassionate to others feelings; when telling Mrs. Barryman { of course, Barrymore in the novel}, of her brother’s murder–when she exclaims " They’ll hang him for sure ", Basil’s Holmes replies with " No Mrs. Barryman, he’s beyond the law now, he’s in More Merciful Hands "! Absolutely the Most Beautiful way I’ve ever heard it expressed, referring to the demise of a Loved One! I understand that, that line was pure Basil’s insertion in the script–as we’re others that he felt were much better than the script as first written ! Anyway, Brett’s Holmes productions for Granada, more authentic to Doyle’s stories–however, for me. . .Basil hands down! ! ! ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-better-sherlock-holmes-jeremy-brett-or-basil-rathbone/358652/59 "2020-04-21T23:14:17Z")
Basil, Basil, and thrice Basil. I don’t _care_ how good Jeremy Brett may really have been. I don’t _care_ if a Bentley is better engineered than a Rolls Royce - you’d still say “Wow, my compliments to the chef, that sirloin really is the Rolls Royce of steaks!” You’d still walk into a bar and order a “Jack and Coke” not a “Jack and Pepsi” _even if they only served Pepsi_. Jeremy Brett is probably a better Holmes, all things considered. But Basil Rathbone is Coke to Jeremy Brett’s Pepsi. And yeah, Fentiman’s Cumberbatch, what a tremendously clever cola-style recipe you have. “I’ll have a George Dickel & Fentiman’s Curiosity Cola please. No ice. Dash of bitters, kumquat wheel.” Nobody orders that, however good it might be. ---
**Author:** ![Boycott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boycott/32/6741_2.png) [@Boycott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boycott)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-better-sherlock-holmes-jeremy-brett-or-basil-rathbone/358652/60 "2020-04-22T00:15:22Z")
Basil Rathborne. Especially because Nigel Bruce’s Watson was portrayed to be a bit of a dunce. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-better-sherlock-holmes-jeremy-brett-or-basil-rathbone/358652.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-better-sherlock-holmes-jeremy-brett-or-basil-rathbone/358652.md?page=4)