Basil Rathbone
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- 13 June 1892 · Johannesburg, South African Republic
- Died
- 21 July 1967
Basil Rathbone, 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.
Known for
Acting 110
- 2026Marlene Dietrich: Home Movies as Himself
- 2005The Adventures of Errol Flynn as Self / Various Roles (archive sound) (archive footage)
- 1996In the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes
- 1992Dracula in the Movies as (archive footage)
- 1991Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook as Baron Wolf von Frankenstein (archive footage)
- 1986The Great Mouse Detective as Sherlock Holmes (voice)
- 1985The Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes as Sherlock Holmes (archive footage)
- 1983The Horror of It All as Carmichael (archive footage)
- 1979The Horror Show as (archive footage)
- 1974Madhouse as Basil (archive footage)
- 1968Autopsy of a Ghost as Canuto Pérez
- 1968The Movie Orgy as Self (archival footage)
- 1967Hillbillys in a Haunted House as Gregor
- 1967Soldier in Love as Duke of York
- 1966The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini as Reginald Ripper
- 1966Queen of Blood as Dr. Farraday
- 1965Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet as Prof. Hartman, Lunar 7
- 1964The Comedy of Terrors as John F. Black
- 1962Two Before Zero
- 1962Tales of Terror as Carmichael ("The Case of M. Valdemar")
- 1962The Magic Sword as Lodac
- 1962Pontius Pilate as Caiaphas
- 1961Victoria Regina as Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (Lord Beaconsfield)
- 1961Mystic Prophecies and Nostradamus as Narrator
- 1960The Black Cat
- 1959A Christmas Carol as Scrooge
- 1958The Last Hurrah as Norman Cass Sr.
- 1958Aladdin as Emperor
- 1958Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates as Dr. Boekman
- 1957The Lark as Chief Inquisitor
- 1956The Stingiest Man in Town as Ebenezer Scrooge
- 1956The Black Sleep as Sir Joel Cadman
- 1956Affair in Sumatra as Paul Charters
- 1955The Court Jester as Sir Ravenhurst
- 1955We're No Angels as Andre Trochard
- 1954A Christmas Carol as Marley's Ghost
- 1954The General's Boots as General Lee
- 1954Casanova's Big Night as Lucio / Narrator
- 1949The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad as Narrator (segment "The Wind in the Willows")
- 1949The Wind in the Willows as Narrator (voice)
- 1946Dressed to Kill as Sherlock Holmes
- 1946Heartbeat as Professor Aristide
- 1946Terror by Night as Sherlock Holmes
- 1945Pursuit to Algiers as Sherlock Holmes
- 1945The Woman in Green as Sherlock Holmes
- 1945The House of Fear as Sherlock Holmes
- 1944Frenchman's Creek as Lord Rockingham
- 1944The Pearl of Death as Sherlock Holmes
- 1944Bathing Beauty as George Adams
- 1944The Scarlet Claw as Sherlock Holmes
- 1943The Spider Woman as Sherlock Holmes
- 1943Crazy House as Sherlock Holmes
- 1943Sherlock Holmes Faces Death as Sherlock Holmes
- 1943Above Suspicion as Sig von Aschenhausen
- 1943Sherlock Holmes in Washington as Sherlock Holmes
- 1942Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon as Sherlock Holmes
- 1942Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood No. 6 as Himself
- 1942Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror as Sherlock Holmes
- 1942Crossroads as Henri Sarrou
- 1942Fingers at the Window as Cesar Ferrari / Dr. H. Santelle
- 1941Paris Calling as Benoit
- 1941International Lady as Reggie Oliver
- 1941The Black Cat as Montague Hartley
- 1940The Mad Doctor as Dr. George Sebastian / Dr. Langamann
- 1940The Mark of Zorro as Captain Esteban Pasquale
- 1940Rhythm on the River as Oliver Courtney
- 1939Tower of London as Richard - Duke of Gloucester
- 1939Rio as Paul Reynard
- 1939The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes as Sherlock Holmes
- 1939The Sun Never Sets as Clive Randolph
- 1939The Hound of the Baskervilles as Sherlock Holmes
- 1939Son of Frankenstein as Baron Wolf von Frankenstein
- 1938Breakdowns of 1938 as Basil (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1938The Dawn Patrol as Maj. Brand
- 1938If I Were King as Louis XI
- 1938The Adventures of Robin Hood as Sir Guy of Gisbourne
- 1938The Adventures of Marco Polo as Ahmed
- 1937Tovarich as Commissar Dimitri Gorotchenko
- 1937Make a Wish as Johnny Selden
- 1937Confession as Michael Michailow
- 1937Love from a Stranger as Gerald Lovell
- 1936The Garden of Allah as Count Ferdinand Anteoni
- 1936Romeo and Juliet as Tybalt
- 1936Private Number as Thomas Wroxton
- 1935Captain Blood as Levasseur
- 1935A Tale of Two Cities as Marquis St. Evremonde
- 1935Kind Lady as Henry Abbott
- 1935A Feather in Her Hat as Captain Randolph Courtney
- 1935The Last Days of Pompeii as Pontius Pilate
- 1935Anna Karenina as Alexei Alexandrovitch Karenin
- 1935David Copperfield as Mr. Edward Murdstone
- 1933Loyalties as Ferdinand de Levis
- 1933One Precious Year as Derek Nagel
- 1932After the Ball as Jack Harrowby
- 1932A Woman Commands as Capt. Alex Pastitsch
- 1930Sin Takes a Holiday as Reginald 'Reggie' Durant
- 1930A Lady Surrenders as Carl Vandry
- 1930The Lady of Scandal as Edward
- 1930The Flirting Widow as Col. Smith
- 1930A Notorious Affair as Paul Gherardi
- 1930This Mad World as Paul Parisot
- 1929The Bishop Murder Case as Philo Vance
- 1929The Last of Mrs. Cheyney as Lord Arthur Dilling
- 1926The Great Deception as Rizzio
- 1925The Masked Bride as Antoine
- 1924Trouping with Ellen as Tony Winterslip
- 1924The Loves of Mary, Queen of Scots as Undetermined Subordinate Role
- 1923The School for Scandal as Joseph Surface
- 1921The Fruitful Vine as Don Cesare Carelli
- 1921Innocent as Amadis de Jocelyn