Here’s another Sherlock tale, this one also from 1944, THE PEARL OF DEATH, directed by Roy William Neill. Rathbone and Bruce return, of course, and it’s another fun and creepy mystery, this time involving a master criminal (Miles Mander) who robs the Royal Regent Museum of a pearl.
This time it’s personal, because the theft comes after Holmes has already recovered the pearl from another attempt, and is stolen in Holmes’ presence as the museum’s security systems are being tested.
This one lands firmly in Universal’s horror canon thanks to the presence of Rondo Hattan as a killer known as The Creeper whose signature finishing move is breaking his victim’s backs. Rondo Hattan plays the “monster” with no special makeup appliances because he suffered from acromegaly in real life, and had a suitably interesting face as a result. You’d probably recognize it if you saw it, even if he never made it to super stardom before his untimely demise. He made two more films as The Creeper, outside of the Holmes series, and the one I’ve seen (HOUSE OF HORRORS) was pretty good.
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