Ok, here is today’s pic by popular demand. No idea when it’s taken, but judging by his general appearance I’d guess the late 30s or early 40s. Eagle-eyed Hally noticed he isn’t wearing a wedding ring, but I don’t know what that signifies. Perhaps he’s in character for some role. The kitchen looks sort of small and plebeian to belong to Ouida Rathbone. I mean how do you cater for one of her parties on THAT stove? So maybe he isn’t at home.
But anyhow, here is the great Basil Rathbone drinking a glass of milk and holding what might be a cheese sandwich in one hand. Enjoy peeps 🙂
The Baz 
Lovely. Just lovely.
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As a Newbie Baz Fan(sister bought the entire collection of his Sherlock Holmes films and since watching them I have been hooked), I am really enjoying this lovely, funny, witty, intelligent site. I love that it can be serious and fun and respects him without idolizing him. I am reading his autobiography at the moment and from what I’ve read of his humor and his unassumingness, it’s the kind of fansite he’d have most appreciated.
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I am currently on a voyage of Rathbone discovery, and this blog is my other must-see as well as his official site. My God, he was a gorgeous man. Where has he been all my life? I recently watched The Hound of the Baskervilles in pursuit of Sherlock thrills after having watched all of the BBC Sherlock and Elementary, and my jaw just dropped to the floor at first sight of him. He was both a physically stunning Holmes and an absolute babe! That face.That gorgeous long lean bod! I’m smitten, and am devouring all the information about him I can get. I have about a thousand questions – is it ok to ask them here or willI bore the regulars?
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No – the more the merrier, it’s Christmas! ask away 🙂
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Awesome blog. Aweome gentleman. Thanks Again. Fantastic.
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great Golden Age blog!
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Basil could make anything sexy?
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Basil Rathbone makes milk sexy
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i think i will just live on this site now, is that ok? Basil I love you so much, why do you have to be dead like all the coolest men?
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I found the magazine article that has this photo of Baz drinking milk. It’s in the June 1944 issue of Screen Stars and is called “Debunking a Villain.” It’s basically a pictorial showing what a normal guy Basil is, and how he’s not a villain off screen. The caption to the milk picture reads “It may be caviar and such fancy foods on the screen for this suave villain, but after a hard day of labor around the house, it’s milk and cheese that he indulges in to supply him with vim, vigor and vitality.”
There’s nothing about mildew on the tiles, so that was probably dirt on the scanner. Since the year was 1944, the photo was taken in the house in Bel Air, not Los Feliz.
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1944 — That would make him 52, just the right age for me now… I knew there was something special about that picture. Come into my kitchen for some milk and cookies….
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For Basil as just an ordinary guy, I recommend the first 2/3 of Make a Wish, which is not as bad as you would think. He has a pleasant natural charm and a good rapport with the child actors. The last 1/3 is about the mostly awful operetta (even the “good” operetta is mostly awful). But it’s nice to see Basil fishing, rowing a boat, talking to kids, and being generally charming — the kind of role Melvyn Douglas or Ray Milland might have in that era.
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I watched that on YT! He’s the best thing in it by miles, someone should have euthanazed Bobby freakin’ Breen though
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Yes! I love it when he skips down the forest path, all cheerful and carefree. The whole fim is on youtube.
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Love that film Im sorry to say. And yeah, Basil is an ordinary guy, and really likeable
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You have to keep in mind the context of the film. This was the era of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, Deanna Durbin, etc. — these operetta type things that modern audiences really can’t stomach. Of its kind, it’s not bad. Breen actually had a lovely voice, but his personality is rather cloying, especially toward the end. Rathbone’s a charmer, though — how could the leading lady even think of marrying that drip who wanted her to give up her career.
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That’s one of my fave Baz movies of all time (ಠっಠ)
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The character he “plays” in this film IS Basil, in real-life……now, THAT’S the boy I fell in love with—his TRUE self.
Simple. Funny. Caring. Just a sweet, cuddly guy. 🙂
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Awwwwwww I love him even more when he’s just a guy drinking milk
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I.LOVE.THIS.SITE
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moi aussi
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I love this pic! He’s so normal. Like you could just talk to him like a normal person
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He’s so sweet. And yeah i think that’s mildew. I bet Ouida sacked the maid when she saw it
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Thanks, Neve. I love this picture. I’m sitting down having that sandwich with him right now. Good thing hubby’s out of town….
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LOL
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Thanks! Did you enlarge it somehow? the detail is great.
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Yes, it works doesn’t it
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God, I love this guy’s arms! they’re so manly and toned and just enough hair without being like too much or not enough so they’re girly
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agreed, Im a very big connoisseur of male arms and his are pretty fine
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HUGE fan of Basil, as Sherlock Holmes and just as…well, Basil. Can I plug this?
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Very nice!
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nice hat
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I don’t know–that stove looks pretty fancy to me for 1938 or 39. I’m feeling like this is the house on Los Feliz, from back in a time when kitchens weren’t as sprawling and integral to home design as they are now.
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Ohhh, ok. I didn’t know kitchens tended to be smaller in the past. I’m going by my mom, who’s a realtor and gets scathing if a property doesn’t have a kitchen big enough to host a football game. And look, is that mildew on their tiles? 😉
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Do you know when they left Los Feliz and why?
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Aww bless, he looks so real and normal, like someone you could just talk to
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