The Pearl of Death
(1944), 69 minutes b&w

The Pearl of Death, the ninth film in the Rathbone/Bruce series of Sherlock Holmes films, was inspired by or loosely based on the Conan Doyle story "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons." In the Conan Doyle story, Lestrade consults Holmes to solve the mystery of why someone is breaking into homes and smashing plaster busts of Napoleon. At this point in the story, they know nothing about the pearl. Holmes eventually deduces that the famous black pearl of the Borgias was hidden in a plaster bust of Napoleon. The pearl had been stolen from the Prince of Colonna by the Princess' maid, and an accomplice hid the pearl in a bust of Napoleon. The only person murdered was Pietro, the brother of the maid, and he was killed by the accomplice who hid the pearl.

The film is quite different. It pits Holmes against a slimy villain called Giles Conover, who is assisted by Naomi Drake and a huge, hideous killer called the "Creeper." On board a ship crossing the English Channel, Holmes, disguised as an elderly clergyman, outwits Naomi Drake (Conover's pretty accomplice) after she steals the Borgia pearl from a courier for the Royal Regent Museum. 

Holmes proudly turns over the pearl to the curator of the museum and it is put on display. However, in his eagerness to demonstrate how inadequate the museum security is, Holmes disconnects the alarm system, thereby inadvertently allowing Giles Conover to steal the pearl. Holmes is thoroughly discredited and derided in the newspapers.  Even Lestrade laughs at him. (Conan Doyle is no doubt rolling over in his grave now.) With the police on his heels, Conover ducks into a pottery shop workroom and hides the pearl in the base of a wet plaster bust of Napoleon. 

Conover is arrested, but without evidence, the police can only hold him for 48 hours. Over those two days while Conover is imprisoned, six busts of Napoleon, including the one containing the pearl, are sold. One by one, Conover tracks down the owners of the busts, and then uses a back-breaking brute, the Oxton Creeper, to kill them. 

Removing his "elderly clergyman" disguise, Holmes says of Conover, "If I could free society of this sinister creature, I should feel my own career had reached its summit."

Lestrade chuckles at Holmes's faux pas.

Investigating the first murder, Holmes suspects a connection to the theft of the pearl. Since the body is found in a litter of broken china, Holmes deduces that the killer was searching for something. Holmes knows he's on the right track after Conover, disguised as a former client, visits Baker Street and leaves a large book for Holmes. The book actually contains a springing knife, intended to kill Holmes when he opens the book. Thanks to Holmes' familiarity with tobacco ash, he realizes that the visitor was not who he pretended to be, and is suspicious of the book.

Two more murders occur and the bodies are also found in a litter of broken china. Holmes and Watson are able to find pieces of a Napoleon bust in the broken china from each murder scene. They question the museum guard who admits that Conover ran into a pottery shop just before he was captured. Gelder, the pottery shop owner, sends them to Amos Hodder, a London shopkeeper who bought six busts of Napoleon. Holmes recognizes the young woman working in the shop as Naomi Drake, and he learns that she broke two busts of Napoleon on her first day there. The other four busts were in turn sold to four different people: the three murder victims and Dr. Julian Boncourt.  

Realizing that Dr. Boncourt will be the next victim, Holmes disguises himself as the doctor and waits for Conover in the doctor's surgery. While Conover holds a gun on Holmes, Holmes tricks the Creeper into turning on his master, and then Holmes shoots the Creeper.

After Watson arrives with the police, Holmes breaks open Dr. Boncourt's bust of Napoleon and finds the Borgia pearl. Holmes comments thoughtfully, "The Borgia pearl...with the blood of five more victims on it." To which Watson says, "Anyway, Conover was one of them." Holmes continues, "What's Conover? No more than a symbol of the greed and cruelty and the lust for power that has set men at each other's throats down through the centuries. The struggle will go on, Watson, for a pearl, a kingdom, perhaps even world dominion...until the greed and cruelty has been burned out of every one of us, and when that time comes perhaps even the pearl will be washed clean again."

Even though the similarity to Conan Doyle's story, "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons," is only slight, The Pearl of Death is nevertheless a very entertaining film with its share of action and suspense.  The atmosphere, especially in the final scene with the Creeper, is gripping. The sets are wonderful in their detail. Look for the Persian slipper and other well-known Holmesian artifacts in the 221B Baker St. set. The extras and details in the museum set and Gelder's pottery shop also give them an appearance of authenticity. 

Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce turned in their usual excellent performances.

Holmes and the dependable Mrs, Hudson

Holmes and Watson examine busts of Beethoven at the pottery shop.

Several clever disguises are used in this film: Naomi as a matchgirl, a shopgirl, and a kitchen helper; Conover as a bibliophile and a museum workman; and Holmes as an elderly clergyman and Dr. Boncourt. In addition, Holmes impersonates Conover's voice on the telephone. According to Chris Steinbrunner and Norman Michaels (The Films of Sherlock Holmes, 1978), Rathbone actually does imitate Miles Mander's voice—it's not dubbed. 

The film also contains humorous dialogue such as the following, after Lestrade reports the murder of Horace Harker* to Holmes and Watson: 

*There is also a Horace Harker in "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons," but he is a newspaper reporter, and he wasn't murdered.

Many of the cast members in The Pearl of Death have appeared in other Sherlock Holmes films:

• Evelyn Ankers (Naomi Drake) appeared in The Voice of Terror.
• Miles Mander (Giles Conover) appeared in The Scarlet Claw.
• Ian Wolfe (Amos Hodder) appeared in Sherlock Holmes in Washington, The Scarlet Claw, and  Dressed to Kill.

• Harry Cording (George Gelder) appeared in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Voice of Terror, Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon, The Spider Woman, The House of Fear, Terror by Night, and Dressed to Kill.

• Holmes Herbert (James Goodram) appeared in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon, Sherlock Holmes in Washington, The House of Fear, and Dressed to Kill.

• Leyland Hodgson (Customs Officer) appeared in The Voice of Terror, Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon, Sherlock Holmes in Washington, Terror by Night, and Dressed to Kill.

• Leslie Denison (Constable Murdock) appeared in The Voice of Terror, Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon, Sherlock Holmes in Washington, The House of Fear, and The Woman in Green.

• Harold De Becker (Café Boss) appeared in Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon, Sherlock Holmes Faces Death, and The Woman in Green.

• Charles Francis (Digby, the museum curator) appeared in The Scarlet Claw.

• Mary Gordon (Mrs. Hudson) appeared in The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Voice of Terror, Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon, Sherlock Holmes in Washington, Sherlock Holmes Faces Death, The Spider Woman, The Woman in Green, and Dressed to Kill.
• Dennis Hoey (Lestrade) appeared in Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon, Sherlock Holmes Faces Death, The Spider Woman, The House of Fear, and Terror by Night.

From a film budget of $192,225 Basil Rathbone was paid $20,000 for portraying Sherlock Holmes in The Pearl of Death. Nigel Bruce was paid only $12,000 for his role. And yet that was an increase in his salary; he was paid only $5,700 for his role in the previous Sherlock Holmes film.

Holmes interviews Amos Hodder to find out who bought the Napoleon busts.

Holmes surprises Conover.

The TV Guide Motion Picture Database review of this film erroneously states that the thief hid the pearl in one of six busts of Beethoven. (There were busts of Beethoven in Gelder's shop when Holmes and Watson questioned Gelder.)

Although the Creeper was killed at the end of The Pearl of Death, the public liked the character so well that Rondo Hatton was cast in the role of the Creeper in Jungle Captive, House of Horrors, and The Spider Woman Strikes Back.

The film was released in some cities in the United States on August 26, 1944. Other U.S. cities saw a release date of September 22, 1944.

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See Page Two for more reviews and pictures from The Pearl of Death.  See Page Three for pictures of posters, lobby cards and promo photos.

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Images on this page and pages 2 and 3 are from the film The Pearl of Death.

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The Pearl of Death is available on DVD: Click to order

DVD also available as part of The Sherlock Holmes Collection, Volume 2: Click to order

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All original content is copyright Marcia Jessen, 2025