Philip St. John Basil Rathbone MC was an Anglo-South African actor. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in more than 70 films, primarily costume dramas, swashbucklers, and, occasionally, horror films.
The Great Deception is a 1926 American silent drama film starring Basil Rathbone, Ben Lyon, and Aileen Pringle. It is based on the 1915 novel The Yellow Dove by George Gibbs about World War I era espionage, previously adapted as the 1919 film Shadows of Suspicion. This film is currently a lost film. A New York Times review considered "this photoplay possesses an element of mystery and suspense".
Make a Wish is a 1937 American musical comedy film directed by Kurt Neumann and starring Bobby Breen, Basil Rathbone and Ralph Forbes.
Lady Windermere's Fan is a 1916 British silent comedy film directed by Fred Paul and starring Milton Rosmer, Netta Westcott and Nigel Playfair. It was the first film adaptation of Oscar Wilde's 1892 play Lady Windermere's Fan. A print of the film still exists and it has been released on DVD by the British Film Institute.
The School for Scandal is a 1923 British silent comedy film directed by Bertram Phillips and starring Queenie Thomas, Frank Stanmore, and Basil Rathbone. It is an adaptation of the play The School for Scandal by Richard Brinsley Sheridan.
A Romance of Wastdale is a 1921 British silent adventure film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Milton Rosmer, Valya Venitskaya and Fred Raynham. It was based on the 1895 novel of the same name by A. E. W. Mason.
The Woman Tempted is a 1926 British silent drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Juliette Compton, Warwick Ward and Nina Vanna. It was based on a novel by Vera, Countess Cathcart. The film was shot at Cricklewood Studios, and was backed by John Maxwell's Wardour Films which was dramatically increasing its role in the film industry. It was first given a trade show screening in June 1926, but did not go on full release until the following March. By that time Elvey had departed to work for Maxwell's rival Gaumont-British.
The Loves of Mary, Queen of Scots is a 1923 British silent historical film directed by Denison Clift and starring Fay Compton, Gerald Ames and Ivan Samson. The film depicts the life of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her eventual execution. It was one of the final films made by Ideal, one of the leading British studios, before they were hit by the Slump of 1924.
The Romany is a 1923 British silent adventure film directed by Floyd Martin Thornton and starring Victor McLaglen, Irene Norman and Harvey Braban.
Missing the Tide is a 1918 British silent drama film directed by Walter West and starring Violet Hopson, Basil Gill and Ivy Close. The film is based on a novel by Alfred Turner. The screenplay concerns a woman who leaves her cruel husband for another man, only to discover that he has recently got married.
Innocent is a 1921 British silent drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Madge Stuart, Basil Rathbone and Edward O'Neill. The film marked the screen debut of Rathbone, with his casting as a villainous figure pointing towards the sort of roles he would play in later British and Hollywood films. The film was made by Stoll Pictures, Britain's leading film company of the era, at Cricklewood Studios.
The Street of Adventure is a 1921 British silent drama film directed by Kenelm Foss and starring Lionelle Howard, Margot Drake and Irene Rooke. It was based on the 1919 novel of the same title by Philip Gibbs. The title is a reference to Fleet Street in London.
Half a Truth is a 1922 British silent crime film directed by Sinclair Hill and starring Margaret Hope, Lawford Davidson and Miles Mander. It was based on a 1911 novel by Eliza Humphreys writing as Rita.
Running Water is a 1922 British silent drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Madge Stuart, Lawford Davidson and Julian Royce. The film is an adaptation of A.E.W. Mason's 1906 novel Running Water.
One Precious Year is a 1933 British drama film directed by Henry Edwards and starring Anne Grey, Basil Rathbone and Owen Nares. It was made at British and Dominion Elstree Studios by the British producer Herbert Wilcox for release by the British subsidiary of Paramount Pictures. The film's sets were designed by the art director C. Wilfred Arnold.
Little Brother of God is a 1922 British silent crime film directed by F. Martin Thornton.
Westward Ho! is a 1919 British silent historical adventure film directed by Percy Nash and starring Renee Kelly, Charles Quatermaine and Irene Rooke. It is an adaptation of the 1855 novel Westward Ho! by Charles Kingsley, set during the Spanish Armada (1588).
The Ballet Girl is a 1916 American silent drama film directed by George Irving and starring Alice Brady, Holbrook Blinn and Robert Frazer. It is an adaptation of the 1912 novel Carnival by the British writer Compton Mackenzie.
The Fruitful Vine is a 1911 novel by the British writer Robert Hichens.
Henrietta Elizabeth Spiers was a British costume designer for the theatre and silent films, a screenwriter, and an author. Columbia University's Women Film Pioneers Project counts her among those on its list of 'Unhistoricized Women Film Pioneers'.
