“I had hoped to escape being typed, which is the bane of every screen player, and I certainly don’t want to make my fans hate me. When you undertake to create a characterization you tie it in with a definite mood and your very success may be your undoing.” — Basil Rathbone.
Source: Maude Cheatham (1936)
Photo: The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)
Artist: W. Stancil. Date: Circa 1930. Oil pastel, 16″ x 19″ illustration board. Signed and inscribed by Rathbone to the twin sons of Lawrence Tibbett: Larry and Richard.
With Norma Shearer at a costume party thought to have been thrown at Marion Davies’ Santa Monica Beach House around 1930.
A Night of Terror (1937), also known as Love From a Stranger. With Ann Harding.
“I’m through with horror and villainy. A man has only so many villains in him, and I’ve played all mine.” – Basil Rathbone in 1939.
Source: Sheilah Graham
Photo: Son of Frankenstein (1939)
“Most Hollywood players don’t like having their pictures taken by amateurs. I shoot a lot of 16-mm movies and I find that professional actors, even around their own homes, still have to be directed. The women are cleverer: they generally can think of something to do, and they know better how to pose.” – Basil Rathbone in 1939.
Source: Columnist Paul Harrison
Pictured: With Jane Bryan.
“When you become the character you portray, it’s the end of your career as an actor.” — Basil Rathbone
Brian Aherne, Greer Garson, Joan Fontaine and Basil Rathbone in 1944.
The Court Jester (1955). With Danny Kaye.
Famous Monsters Magazine from 1962. On the cover are Peter Lorre, Basil Rathbone, and Vincent Price.
