| The Pearl of Death | |
|---|---|
 1944 Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Roy William Neill |
| Screenplay by | Bertram Millhauser |
| Based on | The Adventure of the Six Napoleons 1904 story bySir Arthur Conan Doyle |
| Produced by | Howard Benedict |
| Starring | Basil Rathbone Nigel Bruce Evelyn Ankers |
| Cinematography | Virgil Miller |
| Edited by | Ray Snyder |
| Music by | Paul Sawtell |
Production company | Universal Pictures |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 69 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Pearl of Death is a 1944Sherlock Holmes film starringBasil Rathbone as Holmes andNigel Bruce as Dr. Watson, the ninth offourteen such films the pair made.[1] The story is loosely based onConan Doyle's short story "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons"[2] but features some additions, such asEvelyn Ankers as an accomplice of the villain played byMiles Mander, andRondo Hatton as a brutal killer.
Master criminal Giles Conover (Miles Mander) steals the famous "Borgia Pearl" from the Royal Regent Museum under the very nose ofSherlock Holmes andDr. Watson, but when caught the pearl is not found on him, he is released.
Later, Holmes hears of an apparently motiveless murder. An elderly colonel is found with his back broken amid a pile of smashedchina. Holmes takes an immediate interest in the case as the unusual method of killing is that of "TheHoxton Creeper" (Rondo Hatton), known to be Conover's right-hand man.
Another murder occurs, of a little old lady, also surrounded by smashed china. Conover makes two attempts to kill Holmes, who surmises that Conover is desperately trying to recover the stolen pearl.
After a third killing Holmes finds the common feature of each: a bust ofNapoleon. Conover, when pursued by the police, had fled through the workshop where they were being made, and hid the pearl inside one of six identical busts.
Holmes tracks down the vendor of the busts and finds out that one is still unaccounted for, as does Conover's accomplice Naomi. Conover and The Creeper arrive at the house of the owner of the final bust, only to find that Holmes has taken his place. Overpowered, Holmes convinces The Creeper that Conover is responsible for the fact that Naomi (whom the Creeper adores) will be hanged. The Creeper turns on Conover and kills him, after which Holmes kills the Creeper before the police finally arrive. Holmes smashes the final bust and recovers the pearl "with the blood of five more victims on it".[3]
Universal Studios attempted to capitalise onRondo Hatton's effective portrayal of the Hoxton Creeper, casting him in two more (unrelated) films as "the Creeper":House of Horrors (filmed in 1945, but not released until 1946, after Hatton's death) andThe Brute Man (1946, also released posthumously).[2]
A character called "The Golem," a direct reference to the Creeper, appears in the third episode of the first series ofSherlock. Like the Creeper, the Golem is a brutal assassin who crushes his victims with his bare hands.