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Published on December 11, 2013
Comments 51

Ouida’s Sherlock Hits the Presses…

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Just a quick post to tell you all the Baker Street Journal sent out a reminder today that people have until Saturday to sign up for their Christmas edition which features the text of Ouida’s ill-fated 1953 stage play, SHERLOCK HOLMES.So go along and order a copy and discover whether it really was as hair-tearingly bad as everyone said.

http://bakerstreetjournal.com/itemsforsale/subscriptions.html.

51 Comments

  1. MIKUFAN says

    There was a paragraph about Basil in a TV guide today because the BBC Sherlock’s coming back. I’ve never read such inaccurate garbage in my life.

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      • MIKUFAN says

        It wasn’t just about Basil, it was Sherlock too, it was stuff like…
        ‘This English born actor’ (But they managed to find out about the ‘Errol Flynn’ thing!)
        ‘Like Holmes, Rathbone had 2 wives’ (Since when did Sherlock have….?)
        There was something else as well, it was at my grandparents and they have a different TV guide to us, I wrote it down but I can’t find the paper, it’s probably right next to me or something…

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  4. MIKUFAN says

    I got ‘Basil Rathbone-His life and his films’ for Christmas. ;u; I got the complete collection of Sherlock books and a book about Miku too. Dang Christmas, you have some good books! >_<
    I need to make it a rule to not to ever cuddle my new Baz book when I sleep. I've cuddled his autobiography a few times, and where I've tossed and turned in bed quite a bit, and where it's fallen out of bed and been cuddled so much, it's sort of ruined beyond repair. ;_;
    What's with that face? All teens cuddle books with dead actors on the front of them! I mean seriously dude, DUH!

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    • rosebette says

      My father gave me a copy of Tony Thomas’ The Films of Errol Flynn when I was 13. I would sleep with it under my pillow. Flynn was my first love, but I had only seen his early films when he was young, gorgeous, and not yet dissipated. Of course, I was not completely aware of what a rascal he really was and of his sad fate! I still have that book an it’s much beloved. However, I learned that particular edition would now be worth megabucks if it were in mint condition, which it isn’t!

      My admiration for Basil came later, and I must admit he appealed more to my intellectual side at the time.

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      • the countess says

        Not at all odd. I cuddeled the cover of this book in my sleep for ages…http://www.asjcollection.com/current/graphics2/book4.jpg. way back in 1970something till you can hardly make out who they are. About 3 years ago I found a pristeen copy in a second hand store,for a quarter I couldnt buy it fast enough. Merry Christmas a day late yu’all,Oh and I didnt get anything Basil related for Christmas but I did get back in Nov. A concert ticket to see Mike Nesmith.My WONDERFULL sister.bought it for me for Christmas and we went. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYU_9bedWZI

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        • MIKUFAN says

          Nice song! ^_^
          I’ve seen most of my favourite artists live! ^_^ Except from Miku. ;_; There’s a fan-made Miku concert in the UK soon…well…apparently. They’ve been changing the dates virtually a few days before it’s planned, then they put it off and do it again. I don’t want to pay for tickets and travel then get there and be told it’s cancelled, so I’m not going. Of course if they came to comic con or something I’d be in the front row! xD

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          • the countess says

            How odd..We had front row tickets to see Mike in concert [oh over 10years ago I think it was] and he cancled the concert. Yea it realy HAS taken sence the 1960s for me to get to see him. last year was the 1st time. this was my 2nd time seeing Mike. last year with Peter and Micky and this year alone.He was the last one I got to see on his own.

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            • MIKUFAN says

              I got into Blondie when I was about 9 years old, got to see them earlier this year. Then passed out due to the heat. xD YAY!

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      • GRETCHEN says

        In 1996, I got my first EVER book about Vincent Price, called: “The Complete Films of Vincent Price” (written by his friend, Lucy Chase Williams). It showcased ALL the movies he did in his lifetime, and included his biography in the front half.

        I believe his soul sort-of “guided” me to it, because I only got it due to the fact that I had an assignment to write a detailed report (as part of our final grade at the end of the semester) about Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, for my college art history class……well, you know how MUCH Vincent loved art, art history, San Francisco, and Gothic cathedrals—it’s SO obvious!

        While there, my classmate and her friend and I went to lunch and did some shopping at Pier 39; it was late November—there were Christmas decorations everywhere—and those dreadful Charles Dickens-type traditionally dressed bell-ringer-carolers annoyingly hanging-around/singing ALL day. We happened upon this little gift shop that sold “retro-memorabilia” stuff like T-shirts, mugs, posters, etc. with photos of stars such as Elvis, Marilyn, The Beatles, and The Three Stooges on them. There was a spinning book-stand filled with shrink-wrapped softcover bios of all the people I’ve mentioned, plus many others. That’s when I FOUND it—the book about Vincent! I didn’t care how much it cost; even if it took all the money in my purse, I just HAD to buy it…thankfully, it was only $27. I felt like it was Vincent’s Christmas present to me, since he knew how terribly I’d missed him after his death only 3 years earlier, and I thanked him for his wonderful “gift”.

        For several YEARS after acquiring it, I kept the book beside my pillow, and kissed and touched the picture of Vincent on the cover and said “good-night” to him, before I fell asleep (and hugged it, sometimes!). It helped me feel “closer” to him, when I was sad. I cried whenever I thumbed through the photo-sections, thinking of how he’d deteriorated and suffered such a long, uncomfortable death (from Parkinson’s Disease and lung cancer). I looked at his face smiling back at me, and spoke to his soul with tears in my eyes……I still do. (Does this mean I have absolutely NO life, or WHAT??) I’m storing the book next to my bed in the nightstand now, so it won’t get any more messed-up from my touching it so much…it’s already got some pages coming unglued from the binding—oh, NO! 😮

        I received my other Vincent Price bio book (which his daughter wrote) for X-mas in 1999, from my oldest brother (the one who’s still alive).

        As for Christmas this year—I got a pair of plushy sleep-socks mailed to me by a friend from out-of-state, and my boyfriend gave me a box of chocolates…as well as enough money to finally buy myself a “Nintendo Wii” and some games/accessories, which is what I’ve wanted FOREVER. My mom couldn’t afford to send me anything, ’cause she’s almost as poor as me. Oh, and the late actor Emil Sitka’s son Saxon (who’s dad was in all those “Stooges” shorts playing the weird scientist guy, the butler, the minister, etc.) sent me a NEAT fridge-magnet with a photo of his dad and Larry, Moe, and Curly on it. He sends me an X-mas card each year, since we became pen-pals in 2000. 🙂

        P.S.—When I was supposed to turn-in that typed report about the artistic style of Grace Cathedral on finals day before our written-test, I realized I’d left it in my art history book……AT HOME! (I figured I didn’t need to bring all my heavy schoolbooks with me during finals week, so I took them out of my backpack.) The teacher wouldn’t let me turn it in at a later date, so I basically did all that work for nothing, and it counted as 30% of my final grade!! I still passed the class, but with something like a C+. This kind of thing happens to me ALL the time. Oh, well…at least I got that awesome Vincent Price book out of the deal—it was totally WORTH it! 😉

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        • GRETCHEN says

          Actually, my mom DID give both of us something……along with her Christmas card, she sent us some Applebee’s Restaurant gift-cards, and 2 prepaid movie-tickets to ANY film—my boyfriend and I would like to see “The Hobbit”, but I think it’s only in IMAX 3D right now, and that’s not covered by a “regular” prepaid ticket. Dang!! 😦

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          • MIKUFAN says

            I wanna see it too! ;_; All my friends have and it’s all the ever talk about, but my parents and I have been so busy over Christmas we’ve not been able to go. ;_;

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            • the countess says

              Ditto! but its not around here right yet. We have one of those multi-plex theaters with in walking distance of me but it dosent ALWAYS get the best films. I prefer our 2nd run theater it plays classics. saw “Paint Your Wagon” in nov.

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          • rosebette says

            We often get those movie passes as gifts or credit card bonuses, and we’ve used them for IMAX 3D — typically, the theater will charge the difference between the regular ticket price and the IMAX 3d price, so you’ll still have the bulk of the cost covered.

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        • MIKUFAN says

          Woah, I didn’t even know you COULD die from Parkinsons disease! :O
          My Nan’s had it since before I was born and she’s still managing, and she knows a heap of other people who have it too…I’ve never heard of any of them dieing from it! Vincent must have had a REALLY bad case of it, although I can’t see his cancer helping either.
          Poor Vincent! ;_;
          I wouldn’t call myself a HUGE Vincent Price fan, but I am one of his fans, definitely! So are my parents.

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          • GRETCHEN says

            Vincent died from emphysema, due to his lung cancer—thankfully, BEFORE the Parkinson’s took it’s worst effects on his body and mind. His friends Terry-Thomas and Jim Backus were completely incapacitated by the disease, cared for by their loving wives…until succumbing to the pneumonia it finally causes after ravaging a person and turning them into a vegetable. These were all once thriving, vibrant lives; eventually destroyed by this wretched illness. 😦

            Check out this video—it’s heartbreaking:

            Not only was Terry an unresponsive invalid, he was living in total poverty—as destitute as Basil, in his later years. Thank God for the friends who helped pay for his nursing-home care before his death. He deserved SO much more. This made me SICK. And ANGRY. 😡

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            • Ellen Foley says

              When read about Terry-Thomas’ being so destitute,and the friend who learned of his being in care,it made me cry.I believe they had a fundraising for him,see you mentioned his friends helped out.I remember an aunt with Parkinsons’ and the pill-rolling,the lack of animation to her face.Not to mention the Irish B.S. she put up with from her son,throwing her out of her home,actually his wife did the deed,to be expected from a rat who worked in same town we lived in and could never call my disabled mother,his 1st cousin atall during all those years as an overpaid aerospace exec,but my mom could call his b-tchy wife when she was in local hosp in CT for knee replacements.No,lots of people in this country do anything BUT revere the elderly,disabled,infirm until it’s themselves,and then everyone’s ignored them or out to get them.

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        • Lucy Chase Williams says

          Gretchen, I read your post, and just had to reply how pleased I am that you have been enjoying my book on “Vinnie.” He’d be so pleased, too, that his life and work have touched you, and still resonate 20 years after his death. Wishing you all the best, Lucy Chase Williams

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          • GRETCHEN says

            Lucy—OMG!!!! 😮

            I don’t know if you remember writing to me in the ’90s a few times, when I contacted you about your book, but perhaps that’s another reason why you responded to my above comment. How on EARTH did you even FIND me randomly on this Basil Rathbone blog?? NO-WAY! This is SO weird……in the late ’90s, I believe you’d moved your office to New York or something, and I couldn’t reach you anymore, ’cause there was no forwarding address. Over these many years after receiving your last correspondence, I’ve wondered how you were doing, and stuff.

            It’s REALLY nice to hear from you, again. THANK-YOU!! 🙂

            If you’d like to keep in touch with me, you can e-mail Neve (who runs this site), and ask her to e-mail me your address (e and/or snail-mail). She can also send you my e-mail address. My home-address has changed since we last communicated, as I am no longer living at my parents’ place; I have a P.O. Box, now.

            Hmmm……I’m thinkin’ maybe Vincent had something to do with you and me “accidentally” crossing one-another’s paths, again. He’s such a SLY GUY!

            Pretty SNEAKY there, Vinnie—I mean, “Binky”. 😉

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            • Lucy Chase Williams says

              Gretchen, nice to re-connect. You’re welcome to write me at GoldenRoar@aol.com, an address I have no problem posting here, as it is published in many places in connection with my book. all best, LCW

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      • MIKUFAN says

        Pfft, I’ve had a thing for Baz since I was 10 or 11. xD
        My parents thought it was adorable at first, now they see it as just..I have no idea, they accept it and everything, since I have living crushes too.

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        • rosebette says

          In his prime years (between 1935 and 1942), quite possibly the most physically beautiful man that ever lived, and he had a wonderful dynamic, charming screen presence. He could say any ridiculous dialogue and it would sound believable. In my opinion, THE Robin Hood. However, hard living dissipated him quickly. He used alcohol, drugs, and yes, women, to excess.

          BTW, since Peter O’Toole just passed, his performance in My Favorite Year, embodies Flynn’s charm and self-destruction. It’s a funny, loving, comi-tragic portrait, and never fails to bring a few tears from me.

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          • GRETCHEN says

            TCM played “My Favorite Year” last night (as well as a bunch of other stuff with Peter in it), but I didn’t have the heart to watch, since he died so recently…I’m weird like that. If an actor has passed, I tend not to watch anything they were in until a sufficient period of time has gone by, after their death. I guess I’m just emotionally sensitive, and it’s difficult for me to see that person again, for a while—WAY too sad. 😦

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  5. GRETCHEN says

    Basil Rathbone and his friends from Heaven (and ME) all want to wish you—

    A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS, and A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR!!! 🙂

    Have a GREAT holiday season, everyone! 😉

    A little X-mas poem, by Gretchen:

    Yippee-yay,
    It’s Christmas Day!!
    Can’t wait to see
    What’s under my tree!
    No presents there??
    Hey, that’s no fair!
    Wait, what’s this?
    It’s not about the gifts?
    Oh yes, I know now…
    It’s all about how
    Someone’s love
    Came from above
    To set us free—
    Both you and me.
    I’m so happy to know
    He loves us so;
    And that family, friends and lovers
    Are our TRUEST gift…
    The gift of others.

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    • MIKUFAN says

      ‘And that family (CHECK), friends (CHECK) an lovers (Oh hold on a moment….*Holds up picture of Basil* CHECK ;u; *Insert forever alone face here*)

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  6. MIKUFAN says

    According to this Miku video, Sherlock can now shoot lasers from his eyes.
    (3 minutes 28 seconds in :D)

    I spotted a Nigel Bruce look-a-like on the London underground the other day, he had the right nose, and their eyes were almost identical! He had a moustache and the pointy eyebrows aswell! XD

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  7. Ellen Foley says

    Just read of Joan Fontaine’s passing.RIP,loved Frenchman’s Creek.Hope she givesOR what she deserves for the rent of apartment business.Sad about Peter O’Toole,RIP,another great never appreciated enough by the Academy of Motion Pictures with a proper award,just like Baz.I’ll always maintain he was robbed,esp by not being nominated for the right pic in 1938,The Dawn Patrol.At least he still has fans who show him his propers.

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    • Ellen Foley says

      Romeo & Juliet and If I Were King showcased our Baz,but Dawn Patrol not only introduced Rodion to film,too bad he didn’t continue,but he had a more suitable to him,calling,but that movie was Academy Awards all-around,esp for Baz’s heartfelt contributions,IMHO.

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      • Ellen Foley says

        Saw Baz shirtless when Adv Marco Polo on yesterday.Def not the movie I noticed him drop his robe,pretty sure it was Last Of Pompeii.Had to still my racing heart.Lovely blue-eyed Saracen Baz made in Marco,think he’d been better Marco,but great villain.Nice chest in rubdown scene.Hilarious as he fidgets while waiting on Princess as she delays marriage ceremony.

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        • the countess says

          DROPS HIS ROBE? I want a Basil Bare for Christmas too Santa.Marco Polo..Princess stalls a lot or what ever her name is.Always makes me laughs ..who was the dau..of who was the dau of…who was the dau off…Amhad and I whould have been on the honneymoon,while she is still stalling.Ditch her I’ll take you. I also LOVE that the Emperor has a southern accent.But wait Ahhhmedd yur removinin ar arrrmies fromm the narthhhh.Expect the next line to be..We’ll never get to Gettysburg at this rate.

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    • Ellen Foley says

      Loved the TCM Festival rebroadcast of Peter O’Toole interview.Lovely Sunday Salutes to Peter and Joan Fontaine,and a Peter as Errol Flynn-type actor in My Favorite Year,one of my favs from more recent vintage.

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  8. GRETCHEN says

    I read some SAD news online today……

    Rest In Peace, Peter O’Toole. 😦
    1932-2013

    At least he’s with all his buddies in heaven, now. 🙂

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    • Judy D. says

      Loved him so much in “Venus” that I bought the video. Tearful ending. And there’s another he did toward the end, title I don’t remember, where he’s in a devilish contest with another man to have the best-rated TV quiz show. LOL. Hopefully TCM and others will play lots of his stuff over the next month. Bright blue eyes to the end, finally dimmed forever, except on screen..

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