"Never regret anything you have done with a sincere affection; nothing is lost that is born of the heart."
Philip St. John Basil Rathbone MC (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967) was a South African-born English actor best known for his role as Sherlock Holmes in fourteen Hollywood films and in a radio series.
When he wasn't playing Sherlock Holmes, he was often playing sneering villains. He was a real-life Master Swordsman, so he got cast in a lot of swashbucklers (where he almost always lost those sword fights to the likes of Errol Flynn).
Film roles with TV Tropes pages:
- Sin Takes a Holiday (1930)
- Anna Karenina (1935)
- Captain Blood (1935)
- David Copperfield (1935)
- A Tale of Two Cities (1935)
- Romeo and Juliet (1936)
- Tovarich (1937)
- The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
- The Dawn Patrol (1938)
- Son of Frankenstein (1939)
- The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)
- The Mark of Zorro (1940)
- The Baker Street Dozen
- Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942)
- Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1943)
- Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943)
- Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943)
- The Spider Woman (1944)
- The Scarlet Claw (1944)
- The Pearl of Death (1944)
- Sherlock Holmes and the House of Fear (1945)
- The Woman in Green (1945)
- Pursuit to Algiers (1945)
- Terror by Night (1946)
- Dressed to Kill (1946)
- We're No Angels (1955)
- The Court Jester (1956)
- The Magic Sword (1962)
- Tales of Terror (1962)
- The Comedy of Terrors (1963)
- Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (1965)
- Queen of Blood (1966)
Voice acting roles with TV Tropes pages:
- The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
- Peter and the Wolf
- The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
- The Great Mouse Detective - sort of, a sample from the 1966 reading of "The Adventure of the Red-Headed League" by Rathbone was used for the voice of Sherlock Holmes
Tropes associated with this actor:
- Awesome, Dear Boy: He was a longtime fan of Sherlock Holmes, so when he was offered the role of the Great Detective, he naturally jumped at the chance.
- The Cast Showoff: Rathbone was judged the premiere fencer in Hollywood, as demonstrated in his many swashbuckling roles.
- Large Ham: By his own admission, this was why he enjoyed performing in radio shows.
- Master Swordsman: He was a skilled and enthusiastic fencer in real life, which meant that he was often called upon to either play these or make other, less martially-talented actors look like they were these.
- No Stunt Double: As The Cast Showoff (above), Rathbone largely did his own stunts in fight scenes.
- Sinister Schnoz / Villainous Cheekbones: Rathbone has played a lot of villains.
