ARTWORK, PHOTOS, THE BLOG
Published on July 17, 2013
Comments 34

The Baz on Tumblr #2

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Another update of the highlights on our Tumblr dash.

http://the-baz.tumbr.com

Basil and Mae Murray in THE MASKED BRIDE (1926).

Not sure if he’s just made a startlingly frank suggestion, stabbed her with a pin or succeeded in hypnotizing her. But here they are again on the front cover of Picture Show. Mae is making quite sure that hair isn’t a wig before letting him have his way.


IReallyShouldBeDrawing looking at dear Nigel Bruce’s very individual style of delivery…

The artist even adds a link to a recording of Basil impersonating Nigel Bruce which you must listen to if you haven’t yet heard it.

Bluebell of Baker Street’s projected Basil/ Sherlock Holmes paper dolls

Love Ida Lupino’s rather cute offering in the current Tumblr flower crown craze (I have no idea where or why it started but it entails adding flower crowns to pictures of your current craze. I dunno, kids today :))

Visit us on Tumblr to see more.

34 Comments

  1. the countess says

    Thank You so mutch Gretchen I shall go check it all out before passing judgment or comenting on it.PS. Didnt know about FDR and Eleanor.Never heard about him having an afair. [F.D.R. that is] Oh I will say this without even reading any of it. The Family has a right to there privicy! To continualy pesster Marcia and Neve about makes one seem like a gradeschooler..Ahh come on plezzzz plezzz come on, beging like that is xceptabel from a puppy, but it wears thin real quick when an adult does it to another adult.Think how any of us would feel if it was our family.

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  2. GRETCHEN says

    Alyssia, it’s NOT “degrading” for a person to be gay or bi-sexual, NOR for anyone to infer that Basil was…even if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have been OFFENDED by it, as you are. It’s something one is BORN with, and it’s beautiful— there’s nothing shameful about it. In FACT, if you knew Basil SO well, you’d also know he was very much AGAINST sexual-discrimination; and, that he’d wanted the public to be better-informed about and more aware of homosexuality, his ENTIRE life…and I didn’t need to “invent” that. 🙂

    I’m only speculating that he MAY have been bi-sexual, himself. This has not been undoubtedly-proven; but, enough people have come forward to tell their stories about it’s possibility, that my assumptions COULD BE correct. Whether this was true of him or NOT however, isn’t important. What DIFFERENCE could it make to you if he was or wasn’t?? It certainly doesn’t affect MY feelings toward him. Why be SO judgmental? It shouldn’t even MATTER if he had a crummy marriage, OR if he was having affairs!

    Also, it’s not that we “don’t like” you, it’s that we are upset by your invented view of his “perfection”…NO one is perfect. Basil himself was the FIRST to admit his mistakes, and was quite ashamed of some things he’d done in his past. He also had to learn to accept these failings as part of HIM, and to embrace the COMPLETE person he was.

    And— our understanding that Basil was actually HUMAN should not be called “bad-mouthing him”, either. The ONLY person showing Basil disrespect on this blog is yourself. The GREATEST respect we can give him is to realize his faults, and love him ANYWAY—like God does. Now, THAT’S true love! To concoct a completely FABRICATED tale of how AMAZING both he and his marriage were (in SPITE of the obvious facts to the contrary)—for the unique purpose of “idealizing” him to fit your personal specifications of what he SHOULD have been—has to be the MOST disrespectful thing I can think of anyone doing to him. Can you not love Basil even MORE, knowing how very FRAGILE his precious soul was?? I suppose NOT, if an “ideal” man is the ONLY one you could ever have loved.

    I can relate-to your deep feelings of love for him, and your need to “come to his rescue” as his HERO whenever you believe he’s being “attacked”— but, he doesn’t NEED a hero. What he needs is a FRIEND. I don’t have to “rescue” him, because as his friend I DEFEND him. I DEFEND his decisions in life—good OR bad—because he was given the RIGHT to make them. I DEFEND his goodness, because it was BORN into him. I DEFEND his character, because it defines who he WAS as a person. Most of all I DEFEND his truth, whether I happen to AGREE with it or not, because it’s the HONORABLE thing to do. Basil has a LOT of friends on this blog!! 🙂

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    • GRETCHEN says

      To add to my previous comment above:

      I also wanted to say that Basil lived HIS life, in HIS way…it’s not our place to decide whether what he DID with it makes him “worthy of approval” or not. To either accept or reject a person simply based-upon whom (or how many) they’ve chosen to sleep with (or cheat-on)—and decisions they’ve made which WE determine to be “wrong” ones—seems VERY superficial to me!!

      I happen to love the person whom GOD sees in Basil, NOT the one clouded by inferior human-perception of what “goodness” is and isn’t. Look BEYOND what others see, and you’ll know what I mean. I love Ouida this way too, despite her negative behavior, because in her own way she DID love her husband…she just didn’t realize she had mental problems that caused her strangeness and perceived cruelty.

      When someone attempts to “re-create” Basil by inventing him into the person that suits their “idea” of how he’d have been BETTER, this degrades and dishonors him by telling him he wasn’t ENOUGH. That’s such a hurtful, selfish thing to do to a person. He IS still listening and watching you know, and his heart can STILL be broken.

      Just SAYIN’! 🙂

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    • Alyssia says

      I apreciate what you are trying to do and that you are reaching out to me. I am just so upset by some people and the things they say. It’s not that I feel a need to pretend he is some way he wasn’t. I know how he really was. I can’t say how I know as it upsets people and provokes jealousy, so I am just saying I KNOW. I have his own words. Those letters were written by him, ok. But they were written to Ouida when he was taking care of a woman who was deranged.

      He stayed with her because her friends did not want the publicity of her being taken to a sanitorium. The part where it says “Ouida came in the kitchen” is misreading. if you notice it isn’t his handwriting it’s a typed copy and someone has read wrong, it is the name of the famous actress who was insane at the time. She is also the person who wrote the article about him that Neve quoted. I know who it was though I can’t say. She was later known for being insane when it couldn’t be covered up any more.

      She believed she had an affair with Basil but it was only her insanity. I know where Neve got the interview from and I have some things Basil said to his wife about the actress’s insanity. Marcia does not have the whole story but I do.

      Thank you for saying you don’t all dislike me as it feels as if you all do and it is intimidating to post here.

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      • Marcia Jessen says

        I don’t dislike you, Alyssia, but I do wonder why you cannot share any of the letters or pages of the diary that you claim to have. If you know the whole story, and I don’t, why can’t you tell it? The reason people verbally attack you is that you keep saying you have proof that your claims are true and the rest of us don’t know anything. But then you don’t show us your proof. If you want to be taken seriously, you need to back up your claims with proof.

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      • the countess says

        Ive been out of the loop here basicly all summer so… Please… Alyssia, enlighten me what your talking about?”written to Ouida when he was taking care of a woman who was deranged. ” WHO? is the deranged person? Where does this come from? Link me please to what letters your talking about. Is Weedy the one that should be hauled off? I’m confused..Also people saying Weedy tryed to kill her self where did this idea come from?

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        • GRETCHEN says

          Welcome BACK, Countess!!! 🙂

          I’ll clue-you-in to what’s been UP, lately…

          As an answer to your inquiries above:

          Go to basilrathbone.net—at the bottom of Basil’s bio-page, you’ll find a link to: “The Women in Basil Rathbone’s Life”. There are 2 pages of info. regarding the KNOWN relationships he had with girlfriends, wives, and various alleged “affairs”, during his lifetime. On the second of these pages are some recently-posted letters……written by Basil to an unnamed-woman (her family doesn’t want her identity known at this time), whom he was supposedly sleeping-with from the late 1930s to the early 1940s. One letter is handwritten—the other, typed. In them, he basically eludes-to the fact of Ouida having “discovered” their affair, and how he and the servant had to go through the house and hide all the “meds” and “sharp objects”, after she’d apparently attempted suicide (to of course gain attention and pity, as well as control over a situation she most likely brought-about by her OWN selfish behavior in the marriage). He also briefly speaks of caring for her during her recovery—mentioning how things are going with his wife at home—and her strangely “calm” reaction, when awakening and coming-upon him in the kitchen getting water for Cynthia, after his having sneaked-in LATE one night from being with his lover (sometime much later, after the suicide attempt). He also writes to this woman (whom, it sounds like, he loves VERY much): “I want to crawl back into your bed and never leave”. This suggests his need to “escape” from the prison he’s living-in with his wife, and how very DESPERATE he is to get away and feel safe with this other person. I have a STRONG sense that if there was any sex still happening with Ouida at ALL just prior to this time in his marriage (which I highly doubt), I’m sure there probably wasn’t any MORE after this whole ordeal…perhaps NEVER again, until his death. I’ll bet she held sex (which also = intimacy) over his head and used IT to control him, too. (Remember how Eleanor Roosevelt withheld sex from Franklin for the remainder of their lives together, to “punish” him—after HIS affair?) 😦

          It also sounds as though Basil and his lover were communicating to each other via Nigel Bruce and his wife with their “secret” correspondences, so as NOT to allow Ouida to find them in the mail……I wouldn’t be surprised at the Bruces’ “helping” him in this way, since they both DESPISED Baz’s wife!!

          These letters caused some controversy on this site, and comments had to be CLOSED on the blog-page we were discussing them on, because of there being TOO MANY (well-over 100)……I believe it was called: “Baz and Livvy Again”, if you want to read ALL the juicy details! Anyway, so of COURSE Alyssia went at-it with us, saying the letters were “forgeries”—that the handwritten one didn’t match Basil’s writing (in her “diary” of his)—when it was IDENTICAL to all his known letters and writing-samples. Then, on TOP of that, everyone was trying to guess WHO this “mystery-woman” was, that he’d cheated with. Finally, I commented that it was being DISRESPECTFUL of people to keep bugging Marcia and Neve about this woman’s identity, since it’s her family’s wish for her to remain anonymous; and that it’s NOT important “who” she was, but rather the significance of the CONTENT of the writing, that matters. After that, it was agreed that ALL inferences to the name of the receiver of these particular “letters” would be politely refused by Neve, out of kindness to this lady’s family. I’m not SURE, but I think we’re also NOT supposed to discuss the letters in depth on this site any longer, so I HOPE I’m not breaching that new rule with this post!!

          That’s pretty-much all the BIG news that’s happened since you were gone……besides the usual enamored fans drooling over HOT pics of Baz, and our discussions about his basic AWESOMENESS. 🙂

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  3. Ellen Foley says

    You fail to realize this IS a Baz fansite,with people busting their tails to do genealogical research and to confirm beyond a doubt facts about the man.Unlike some sites that trashmouth people diss anything and everything sacred,this is wellrun,well-researched and RESPONSIBLE!What some sites where people trash recent jury decisions,celeb deaths,addictions,what have you,no one has said anything here that couldn’t be said to someone’s family,or at someone’s wake.He is my all-time fav actor,and becoming more so with the facts about his myth and legend.I was someone who had a different opinion about Flynn from other bios,but he’s gotten much love & respect here,warts and all,for the human being,flaws and all and he worked well with our guy.

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  4. Alyssia says

    I know no one here likes me and it seems they don’t like Basil either. All you want to do is bad mouth and degrade him. I don’t understand fans doing that. When someone says he was homosexual and used to like younger men no one asks how they know,but I say he was happily married and everyone jumps on me. Now people are saying he was like Errol Flynn! What’s going on????? Basil was a mature and responsible person. He was not selfdestrructive!!! I truly do not get why people say these things and call themselves fans.

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    • the countess says

      Umm…Belive it or not Alyssa .I like you. what made you think otherwise? I dont like your posting things as a fact and claiming you can PROVE it when you cant,or wont,whichever it is. But that doesnt mean I dont like you.Please dont confuse my rabid distaste for Weedy as a dislike for you.I find your coments sometimes funny sometimes frusterating but always interesting,and I respect you for standing your ground even if no one else agrees with you. Furthermore I flippin adore Basil! probly sense b4 you were born. I have never ever said he was selfdestructive! A selfdestructive man would have blown his brains out living with Weedy. I have NEVER EVER said he was gay! I have been the one all along saying NO WAY! I never said he wasnt a mature and responsible person so please dont generlise everyone who posts here into a ‘all of you’ aginst me,and all of you degrade him.Because it’s just not true.

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  6. rosebette says

    That radio clip is so much fun! Basil is a riot. By the way, the American detective’s voice is Dick Powell, I believe.

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  9. CarolinaPanthersFan says

    Love the little pic top right of Nigel with the flowers all over his cap 🙂

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    • Hannah says

      Wow he looks just like him in this pic! it is so weird because he doesn’t mostly look like him!

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    • BASIL says

      I think Michael Dawson should play Baz. (So what if he’s a footballer, they’re IDENTICAL.)

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  11. Darius says

    That top pic is very cute. He looks like the very essence of the 1920s ideal man

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  13. Ann Crosby says

    Wow for that first photo. Barrymore was the Profile but the title really should have gone to Basil. His profile is Grecian in its perfection.

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    • the countess says

      John was older and got it before Basil got to stardom. I agree though Basil profile IS better.

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  14. Ellen Foley says

    You’re sure to hear from OR/BR champion on these pics,and give her another topic for her blog about how he never cheated,OR never tried to OD,there was never a bromance with any co-star,he willingly threw money away for his wife,etc.Love the pics,got a kick out of the florals.

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    • Ellen Foley says

      I swear,all I could think of when I see Mae’s face in that photo is,”Is she wearing earphones?” even tho’ it;s not possible,and her expression!Like a dim bulb.My apologies to any of her fans.

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  15. GRETCHEN says

    WOW…Nigel Bruce did an AMAZING job imitating Basil Rathbone in that radio-show clip!!! (Check it out, up ABOVE.) And, that Baz was pretty FUNNY too, as ol’ Nige’! I swear, they’re like two CARTOON-CHARACTERS sometimes— those silly GOOFBALLS!! 🙂

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