The Scarlet Claw (1944) dir. Roy William Neill, Universal Pictures
The Universal Sherlock Holmes series is generally seen as more mystery than horror, but as we move into the historical slasher section, we do have an unusual entry.
Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce) are visiting Canada for a lecture on the occult. Their host, Lord Penrose (Paul Cavanagh), cancels the lecture when he receives word that his wife (Gertrude Astor) has been found dead. Holmes and Watson are about to return to England when Holmes gets a telegram...from Lady Penrose.
Yes, it seems that the dear lady rushed off a telegram to Holmes before her untimely death. She feared for her life and begged for help, so the detectives rush off to the quaint little village of La Mort Rouge.
Arriving at the remote little hamlet, nearly person there seems to have a theory about the murder, namely it was done by a monster. Holmes is a bit skeptical, especially when he learns that the late Lady Penrose used to be the actress Lillian Gentry. Gentry had quite the scandalous background, as her former costar Alistair Ransom (Gerald Hamer) murdered a man in a jealous rage over her. Ransom was reported killed in a daring prison escape two years ago, so we can safely remove him as a suspect, right?
The case keeps going back to Ransom, however, as there is another murder. Judge Brisson (Miles Mander) was the judge on the Ransom case. There are other people in town connected to the case however. Can Holmes figure it out before the body count rises?
As far as slashers go, decent. We have a killer we can't see, a remote location, and a unique weapon. Throw in some nudity and this could have played just as well in the 80's.
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