Basil Rathbone: His life and his films - Hardcover

Druxman, Michael B.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0498014711 ISBN 13: 9780498014710

Publisher: A.S. Barnes & Co., 1975

Synopsis

Out-of-print for over thirty-five years, Michael B. Druxman’s Basil Rathbone: His Life and His Films is a carefully researched work that thoroughly examines the life and professional career of one of Hollywood’s most respected character actors. This new edition includes an Introduction by the author, a Biography, Filmography, and more than 250 rare photographs.

About this title

From the Back Cover

    To the average moviegoer, the name of Basil Rathbone conjures up an image of fiction's most famous detective - Sherlock Holmes.   Certainly, of all the actors who have played the Baker Street sleuth, his interpretation was the most definitive.


     Yet, for the true aficionado of the cinema, the actor was much more than the personification of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character.   He was also Mr. Murdstone in David Copperfield, Richard III in Tower of London, Louis XI in If I Were King, Tybalt of Romeo and Juliet, Captain Estaban Pasquale in The Mark of Zorro, Sir Guy of Gisbourne from The Adventures of Robin Hood and, of course, the Son of Frankenstein.


     For most of his years in motion pictures, Rathbone was the victim of type-casting.   During the 1930s, he was known as the screen's ultimate villain - constantly in demand by producers to carry out dastardly deeds against such heroes as Errol Flynn, Tyrone Power, Ronald Colman, Gary Cooper and Leslie Howard, as well as leading ladies like Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer, Loretta Young, Olivia deHavilland and Joan Crawford.   Then, he assumed the guise of Sherlock Holmes and his past accomplishments were virtually forgotten.   Although the role brought him more fame than he had ever before been accorded, it at the same time irrevocably damaged his acting career.


     Out-of-print for over thirty-five years, Michael B. Druxman's Basil Rathbone: His Life and His Films is a carefully researched work that thoroughly examines the life and professional career of one of Hollywood's most respected character actors, and the quintessential Sherlock Holmes.


     This new reprint edition mirrors the original 1975 biography/filmography, including its more than 250 rare photographs, and also contains a new Introduction by the author.

About the Author

Michael B. Druxman is a veteran Hollywood screenwriter.  His credits include CHEYENNE WARRIOR with Kelly Preston; DILLINGER AND CAPONE starring Martin Sheen and F. Murray Abraham; and THE DOORWAY with Roy Scheider, which he also directed.

He is also a playwright.   His one-person play, JOLSON has had many productions around the country.  Other stage credits include one-person plays about Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, Spencer Tracy and Orson Welles.

Mr. Druxman is the author of 15 other books, including nonfiction works about Hollywood, its movies, and the people who make them (e.g., PAUL MUNI: His Life and His Films, MAKE IT AGAIN, SAM: A Survey of Movie Remakes, MERV [Griffin] and THE MUSICAL: From Broadway to Hollywood).

He has written 2 novels, NOBODY DROWNS IN MINERAL LAKE and SHADOW WATCHER, plus the humorous revisionist history, ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD: From the Secret Files of Harry Pennypacker, and a book of short stories, DRACULA MEETS JACK THE RIPPER & Other Revisionist Histories.

An acknowledged Hollywood historian, he has also written documentaries and has been interviewed for various retrospective featurettes that have accompanied DVD releases of classic films (e.g. THE MALTESE FALCON). Mr. Druxman is a former Hollywood publicist of 35 years experience who has represented many film and TV stars, as well as noted directors, producers and composers.

He has taught dramatic writing and film appreciation courses in an adult university and is the author of How to Write a Story...Any Story: THE ART OF STORYTELLING, which has been used as a college text.

A native of Seattle who graduated from Garfield High School and the University of Washington, Mr. Druxman moved with his wife, Sandy, from Los Angeles to Austin, TX in 2009.

His memoir, MY FORTY-FIVE YEARS IN HOLLYWOOD AND HOW I ESCAPED ALIVE, was published in 2010.

Edition details

• Publisher: A.S. Barnes & Co.
• Publication date: 1975
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0498014711
• ISBN 13: 9780498014710
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Profusely Illustrated
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 360