The Pearl of Death is an American 1944 detective movie, directed by Roy William Neill and starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson. This is the ninth installment to the series of fourteen Sherlock Holmes films starring Rathbone and Bruce. The plot is adapted from "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons" and set in 1940s. The famous Borgia Pearl is stolen, and when the thief is arrested, the pearl is not found on him. A series of apparently motiveless murders follow, and when Holmes investigates these crimes, he finds the common feature of each: a bust of Napoleon.
The following weapons were used in the film The Pearl of Death:
When Giles Conover (Miles Mander) sneaks in Dr. Boncourt's house, he is armed with an Iver Johnson Bulldog revolver with white grips, supposedly a Model 1900. Later Holmes' Webley Bulldog switches to this Iver Johnson Bulldog. Supposedly this gun is the same prop that was used in Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon.
When Holmes takes the Iver Johnson Bulldog to break a bust of Napoleon in which the pearl is hidden, his revolver switches to a large frame Colt New Service, also with white grips.
Dr. Watson carries a compact top break revolver during the shootout with Conover's gang. This gun may be a Smith & Wesson, an Iver Johnson or some other similar revolver. While such revolvers on screen are very often nickel plated, this one is blued.
