Actor · Acting

Basil Rathbone

Born 1892-06-13

Died 1967-07-21

📍 Johannesburg, South African Republic

Sir Basil Rathbone, KBE, MC, Kt (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967), 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.

Filmography 122

The Adventures of Errol Flynn

as Self / Various Roles (archive sound) (archive footage)

In the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes

Dracula in the Movies

The Great Mouse Detective

as Sherlock Holmes (voice)

The Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes

as Sherlock Holmes (archive footage)

The Horror of It All

as Carmichael (archive footage)

The Horror Show

as (archive footage)

as Basil (archive footage)

Autopsy of a Ghost

as Canuto Pérez

as Self (archival footage)

Hillbillys in a Haunted House

Soldier in Love

as Duke of York

The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini

as Reginald Ripper

as Dr. Farraday

Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet

as Prof. Hartman, Lunar 7

The Comedy of Terrors

as John F. Black

Two Before Zero

The Merv Griffin Show

Tales of Terror

as Carmichael ("The Case of M. Valdemar")

The Magic Sword

Victoria Regina

as Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (Lord Beaconsfield)

as Frederick Foray

A Christmas Carol

The Last Hurrah

as Norman Cass Sr.

Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates

DuPont Show of the Month

as Chief Inquisitor

The Stingiest Man in Town

as Ebenezer Scrooge

The Black Sleep

as Sir Joel Cadman

Affair in Sumatra

as Paul Charters

The Court Jester

as Sir Ravenhurst

Screen Director's Playhouse

as Paul Charters

We're No Angels

as Andre Trochard

A Christmas Carol

as Marley's Ghost

Casanova's Big Night

as Lucio / Narrator

Hallmark Hall of Fame

Hallmark Hall of Fame

Hallmark Hall of Fame

as Lord Beaconsfield

Hallmark Hall of Fame

as The Duke of York

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

as Self - Host / General Lee

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

as The Jewel Thief

The Jack Benny Program

as Basil Rathbone

Your Show of Shows

What's My Line?

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

as Narrator (segment "The Wind in the Willows")

The Wind in the Willows

as Narrator (voice)

as Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde

as Sherlock Holmes

as Hazelton Crome

Dressed to Kill

as Sherlock Holmes

as Professor Aristide

Terror by Night

as Sherlock Holmes

Pursuit to Algiers

as Sherlock Holmes

The Woman in Green

as Sherlock Holmes

The House of Fear

as Sherlock Holmes

Frenchman's Creek

as Lord Rockingham

The Pearl of Death

as Sherlock Holmes

as George Adams

The Scarlet Claw

as Sherlock Holmes

The Spider Woman

as Sherlock Holmes

as Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes Faces Death

as Sherlock Holmes

Above Suspicion

as Sig von Aschenhausen

Sherlock Holmes in Washington

as Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon

as Sherlock Holmes

Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood No. 6

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror

as Sherlock Holmes

as Henri Sarrou

Fingers at the Window

as Cesar Ferrari / Dr. H. Santelle

as Andre Benoit

International Lady

as Reggie Oliver

as Montague Hartley

as Dr. George Sebastian / Dr. Langamann

The Mark of Zorro

as Captain Esteban Pasquale

Rhythm on the River

as Oliver Courtney

Tower of London

as Richard - Duke of Gloucester

as Paul Reynard

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

as Sherlock Holmes

The Sun Never Sets

as Clive Randolph

The Hound of the Baskervilles

as Sherlock Holmes

Son of Frankenstein

as Baron Wolf von Frankenstein

Breakdowns of 1938

as Basil (archive footage) (uncredited)

The Dawn Patrol

The Adventures of Robin Hood

as Sir Guy of Gisbourne

The Adventures of Marco Polo

as Commissar Dimitri Gorotchenko

as Johnny Selden

as Michael Michailow

Love from a Stranger

as Gerald Lovell

The Garden of Allah

as Count Ferdinand Anteoni

Romeo and Juliet

as Thomas Wroxton

A Tale of Two Cities

as Marquis St. Evremonde

as Henry Abbott

A Feather in Her Hat

as Captain Randolph Courtney

The Last Days of Pompeii

as Pontius Pilate

as Alexei Alexandrovitch Karenin

David Copperfield

as Mr. Edward Murdstone

as Ferdinand de Levis

One Precious Year

as Jack Harrowby

A Woman Commands

as Capt. Alex Pastitsch

Sin Takes a Holiday

as Reginald 'Reggie' Durant

A Lady Surrenders

The Lady of Scandal

The Flirting Widow

A Notorious Affair

as Paul Gherardi

as Paul Parisot

The Bishop Murder Case

The Last of Mrs. Cheyney

as Lord Arthur Dilling

The Great Deception

The Masked Bride

Trouping with Ellen

as Tony Winterslip

The Loves of Mary, Queen of Scots

as Undetermined Subordinate Role

The School for Scandal

as Joseph Surface

as Amadis de Jocelyn