In honor of Basil’s birthday this year, I’m sharing some of my favorite candid photos of him. Candid photos are interesting because they show him being himself, and not playing a role.  Here we see Basil unabashedly flirting with Olivia de Havilland on the set of The Adventures of Robin Hood. She clearly enjoys his attention! Olivia was not the only woman Basil flirted with, of course. Here we see him with Veda Ann Borg on the set of Confession: and here with Marlene Dietrich. Basil, dressed as Richard III in Tower of London, was visiting Marlene on the set of Destry Rides Again. Basil loved children; he was especially close with 10-year-old Freddie Bartholomew. They met on the set of David Copperfield, in which Freddie played young David and Basil played David’s cruel stepfather Murdstone. They also acted together in Anna Karenina. Their friendship grew after that, and Freddie was a frequent visitor at the Rathbone home, where he was treated as an adopted son. Since Freddie’s real father was back in England with the rest …