The Baz Posted by Neve on May 27, 2013

There have been some terrifically insightful discussions on THE BAZ over the last year, and some great individual comments. I think they can tend to get lost in the crush of the comments section, which is not the best layout for following a discussion. So as part of marking our...   read more

The Baz Posted by Neve on May 23, 2013

Reblogged from Once upon a screen...: In honor of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930). ♦ The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was an old-time radio show which aired in the USA from October 2, 1939 to July 7, 1947. Originally, the show starred Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel...   read more

The Baz Posted by Neve on April 1, 2013

I thought I’d talk briefly about two movies – SON OF FRANKENSTEIN and TOWER OF LONDON – the Baz made for Universal between November 1938 and October 1939. The quotations are courtesy of Cinegeek. “In the scene where Bela slowly tells Basil “He does things for me” and there I   read more

The Baz Posted by Neve on March 18, 2013

As suggested by a couple of readers,and after consulting with the owner, I’ve decided to publish a larger part of the text of one of the letters quoted in my blogpost “a life divided” (March 12 2013). Names and portions of text are being withheld by request. There’s no d   read more

The Baz Posted by Neve on March 12, 2013

I think BR’s life can be divided roughly into (slightly uneven) quarters. “Before the war” (1892-1914), “after the war” (1919-23), “The Ouida years”),1923-46, and the “post-Hollywood years (1946-67). Each one of these segments or chapters i   read more

The Baz Posted by Neve on March 3, 2013

Comments are still being weird, I’m sorry, but I’m doing my best to look into it. Anyhow today being Sunday, I thought I’d upload a pic for your delectation. I’ve chosen a really high res photo from that currently lost classic THIS MAD WORLD, in which BR plays a French...   read more

The Baz Posted by Neve on February 24, 2013

Hey peeps, and thanks for all the good wishes – and your patience. I’m struggling back to form, and promise to be a better blogger from now on . I also apologize to people who made comments that have gone astray. But anyhow, here’s another bit of analysis of BR’s...   read more

The Baz Posted by Neve on February 6, 2013

The second part of this series is going to look a bit more closely at the claim that portions of this book, maybe even the majority of it, were written, not by Rathbone, but by Ouida Bergere, his somewhat “controversial” second wife. The claim was actually made to me quite...   read more

The Baz Posted by Neve on January 30, 2013

Today the Baz is talking to Michael B.Druxman, author of Basil Rathbone, His Life & His Films, about his new one-person play Rathbone. Michael B. Druxman is a veteran Hollywood screenwriter whose credits include Cheyenne Warrior with Kelly Preston; Dillinger and Capone starring Martin Sheen an   read more

The Baz Posted by Neve on January 18, 2013

So, here we are, back where we should have been in October last year. The first part of my thesis is an analysis of certain chapters or portions of Basil’s autobiography IN AND OUT OF CHARACTER, and I’m going to be posting the analysis on the blog over the next...   read more

The Baz Posted by Neve on January 15, 2013

The blog is growing and amassing a lot of material and I’ve been thinking it could do with a bit of restructuring to make things easier to locate, so I’m working on a way to do that while keeping the essential look and color scheme, which I like and which...   read more

The Baz Posted by Neve on January 14, 2013

I saw this quotation on tumblr and thought I had to reproduce it. Anyone heard it or the story that BR and Conrad Veidt were friends before? I wonder if Ouida approved of CV or if he was one of the “undesirable chums.” “One of Conrad’s best friends in Hollywood...   read more

The Baz Posted by Neve on January 13, 2013

This I have to include it, as I think it’s gorgeous. Basil Rathbone as Karenin, by Verre-a-Vitres. Check out their other artwork, you’ll be happy you did.   read more

The Baz Posted by Neve on November 17, 2012

Love this quote from Norma Shearer, which I’ve never come across before. It’s dated 1929, but no idea where it first appeared, presumably in some fan mag. It was blogged on tumblr by one of our readers, who goes by the name Cherryice, and her blog is called “The Most...   read more

The Baz Posted by Neve on November 11, 2012

Today, to mark Armistice Day (Veterans’ Day in the US), THE BAZ is talking to Richard Van Emden, WW 1 expert and author of numerous books, including FAMOUS 1914-18 that features the war experiences of various well known people, including Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. I’ve been inspired   read more

The Baz Posted by Neve on November 8, 2012

Our boy is on TCM’s main page atm http://www.tcm.com/ Here are some very Baz-centric user reviews of the epic SIN TAKES A HOLIDAY And Frank Miller’s review of the same includes this rather nice para on the Baz that helps reassert his heretofore forgotten stint as matinee idol:   read more

The Baz Posted by Neve on November 4, 2012

Continuing our Sunday thing of featuring photos, artwork, fan art that’s either been sent to me or I’ve come across in my etheric travels. Let’s be totally fangirly today. Firstly, a very gorgeous photo from the Tumblr account The Two Profiles. Don’t know the date or anythin   read more

The Baz Posted by Neve on November 2, 2012

Strathairn as dr Sloper and Chastain as his homely, oppressed daughter The new production of THE HEIRESS opened in NYC yesterday, at the Walter Kerr theatre on West 48th, starring Jessica Chastain, David Strathairn and Dan Stevens. This is the second or maybe third revival since the Baz created the   read more

The Baz Posted by Neve on November 2, 2012

Marcia Jessen has just created a fantastic page about Rathbone and the Great War: http://basilrathbone.net/biography/ww1.htm Included is this quote from Rathbone, when asked, in a 1940 interview, what constituted real horror to him: The Liverpool Scottish in the line, 1915 “War! . . . Goi   read more

The Baz Posted by Neve on October 31, 2012

So it’s Halloween!… Light your pumpkin lantern, extinguish the lights (if you’re in lower Manhattan yo can skip this step), throw a log on the stove, get a glass of wine and a slice of pie and settle down for a selection of reader-nominated excerpts of The Baz at All...   read more