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HOLMES AND WATSON: MISSING!

Author	Comment
davlghry	HOLMES AND WATSON: MISSING!	Lead	[-]
(02/18/08 11:50 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	After SHERLOCK HOLMES FACES DEATH in 1943, Universal dropped Holmes' name from the titles of the subsequent films. To add insult to injury, they also reduced the names of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson on the posters and in some cases -- didn't even mention them at all. Was the series running out of gas and the studio felt that Holmes' name in the advertising had actually become a liability? Was there a rights issue? Coincidentally, around the same time, Charlie Chan's name was dropped from the titles of HIS films. Same with Boston Blackie. Was there a public backlash against these series? And most importantly, have I brought this up before?
rvoyttbots		#1	[-]
(02/18/08 12:38 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	I would guess the studios felt the movie going public would instantly recognize that the films were Sherlock Holmes or Charlie Chan etc just by looking at the ads or posters. The Chan films had been in theaters since 1931 & Holmes since 39. Boston Blackie didn`t have as many films without his name as the others. There was about a 2 year break between the Fox Chans and the Monogram ones. The first Monogram did include Chan`s name in the title. Last Edited By: rvoyttbots 02/18/08 12:53 PM. Edited 2 times.
davlghry		#2	[-]
(02/18/08 6:27 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	The Chan posters at least featured "CHARLIE CHAN IN" above the title in prominent letters. The latter Holmeses don't use Sherlock's name in the poster copy at all. I detect a bigger reason for this omission than the studio figuring audiences would simply "know" Rathbone and Bruce were playing Holmes and Watson.
Rick Pruitt		#3	[-]
(02/19/08 1:18 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	The BLONDIE series went through this as well. Both of the '43 releases dropped the name from the titles, and those were the only ones in the series to do so.
Wich2		#4	[-]
(02/19/08 10:42 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Maybe they thought: 1. (as stated above) "The folks who look for these characters are already sold" 2. "By playing them down in the promo, maybe we can draw in folks just looking for any Mystery or Comedy"? Best, -Craig W.
Lawrence Nepodahl		#5	[-]
(02/21/08 10:07 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	At that period in time; Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson, were synonymous with Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce.

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