Lord Arthur Dilling:
By marrying I can make only one woman miserable. By remaining single I can make so many happy.
--Basil Rathbone (as Lord Arthur Dilling) in The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
--Basil Rathbone (as Lord Arthur Dilling) in The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
Mr. Micawber:
[to young Copperfield] Boy, as I have frequently had occasion to observe, "When the stomach is empty, the spirits are low."
--Basil Rathbone (as Mr. Murdstone) in David Copperfield
--Basil Rathbone (as Mr. Murdstone) in David Copperfield
Pontius Pilate:
I am innocent of the blood of this just man.
--Basil Rathbone (as Pontius Pilate) in The Last Days of Pompeii
--Basil Rathbone (as Pontius Pilate) in The Last Days of Pompeii
Pontius Pilate:
My boy, I've heard such ideas, a long time ago. They are dreams - beautiful dreams, I know, but dreams nonetheless.
Flavius, as a Man: Was it a dream that once I knew a man who said "Love thy neighbor as thyself"?
Marcus: There never was such a man, I tell you.
Pontius Pilate: Don't lie to him, Marcus. There was such a man.
Flavius, as a Man: What happened to him?
Pontius Pilate: I crucified Him.
--Basil Rathbone (as Pontius Pilate) in The Last Days of Pompeii
Flavius, as a Man: Was it a dream that once I knew a man who said "Love thy neighbor as thyself"?
Marcus: There never was such a man, I tell you.
Pontius Pilate: Don't lie to him, Marcus. There was such a man.
Flavius, as a Man: What happened to him?
Pontius Pilate: I crucified Him.
--Basil Rathbone (as Pontius Pilate) in The Last Days of Pompeii
Sherlock Holmes:
...I must confess I shied at the thought of disemboweling a complete set of Charles Dickens.
--Basil Rathbone (as Sherlock Holmes) in Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon
--Basil Rathbone (as Sherlock Holmes) in Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon
Sherlock Holmes:
[a portrait that he has just seen fascinates him] You must - you must dine with us before you sail.
Sir Henry Baskerville: Well, there's the old boy himself - Sir Hugo, the Beast of the Baskervilles.
Dr. Watson: Done by Ransome, one of the minor painters.
Sir Henry Baskerville: I don't imagine it's very valuable.
Sherlock Holmes: I can't quite agree with you, Sir Henry.
[ominously]
Sherlock Holmes: One day, it might prove to be of the greatest value.
--Basil Rathbone (as Sherlock Holmes) in The Hound of the Baskervilles
Sir Henry Baskerville: Well, there's the old boy himself - Sir Hugo, the Beast of the Baskervilles.
Dr. Watson: Done by Ransome, one of the minor painters.
Sir Henry Baskerville: I don't imagine it's very valuable.
Sherlock Holmes: I can't quite agree with you, Sir Henry.
[ominously]
Sherlock Holmes: One day, it might prove to be of the greatest value.
--Basil Rathbone (as Sherlock Holmes) in The Hound of the Baskervilles
Sherlock Holmes:
[Describibg Andrea Spedding as she is being arrested] A remarkable woman! Audacious and deadly as one of her own spiders!
--Basil Rathbone (as Sherlock Holmes) in The Spider Woman
--Basil Rathbone (as Sherlock Holmes) in The Spider Woman
Sherlock Holmes:
[sitting down gingerly to remove his make-up] Oh, I'm as stiff as a varnished eel!
--Basil Rathbone (as Sherlock Holmes) in The Pearl of Death
--Basil Rathbone (as Sherlock Holmes) in The Pearl of Death
Sherlock Holmes:
[to Watson] My dear chap, I really must caution you against hitting newspaper reporters in the teeth...
--Basil Rathbone (as Sherlock Holmes) in The Pearl of Death
--Basil Rathbone (as Sherlock Holmes) in The Pearl of Death
