In tribute to Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce’s Sherlock Holmes movie legacy, Odd Moon Media Reviews offers its candid assessment of their 1939-1946 movie franchise.
Twentieth Century Fox produced the first two films in 1939 with first-caliber budgets allowing reasonably close adherence to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s storytelling. Curiously, the second entry (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes) shares the name of an actual Conan Doyle short story anthology; however, the movie is really a loose adaptation of William Gillette’s popular 1899 same-named stage play.
Contractual issues with the Conan Doyle estate stalled the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce franchise for three years until Universal Pictures revived it with cost-effective changes. Due to streamlined budgeting (and a practical nod to war propaganda), the films’ setting was updated to the wartime 1940’s. Further, these subsequent Rathbone/Bruce films lifted various elements from Conan Doyle’s tales rather than freely adapting a Holmes title like The Hound of The Baskervilles. In a few instances (i.e. Sherlock Holmes in Washington), the original screenplay is even devoid of Doyle’s work.
Released in quick succession, Universal’s twelve entries are of a generally consistent caliber. For instance, Universal’s rotating stock ensemble where character actors inhabit different roles throughout the series (i.e. three different actors portray ‘Professor Moriarty’) might give observant viewers a sense of déjà vu. Hence, judging these films objectively becomes somewhat harder than it sounds.
Gauging their current watchability, the entire roster of films are ranked below in reverse order.
ANALYSIS:
14. Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943) 71 minutes. Universal Pictures (Director: Roy William Neill).
Premise: At England’s behest, Holmes and Watson go to Washington, D.C. to help retrieve missing microfilm that the Allies can’t dare let fall into enemy hands. Their ruthless opposition is an international spy ring that will readily eliminate anyone getting in their way.
Apart from Holmes & Watson’s chauffeured tour of the city’s national landmarks, the film is merely a wartime espionage caper without an actual mystery to solve. Quoting Winston Churchill, Rathbone’ Holmes supplies one of the franchise’s many poetic tributes to England’s allies. Though Rathbone & Bruce are easy to watch, their Washington, D.C. adventure is forgettable.
13. Dressed To Kill (1946) 72-76 minutes. Universal Pictures (Director: Roy William Neill).
Premise: A femme fatale is at the center of a murderous counterfeiting scheme involving stolen British engraving plates.
Franchise fatigue is personified by Rathbone’s phoned-in effort, as he subsequently quit the series. It’s no wonder, considering this tired cliché-fest pitches multiple elements (i.e. a brunette femme fatale, an elaborate treasure hunt, etc.) weakly recycled from previous installments. Dressed To Kill isn’t necessarily horrible viewing, but its unimaginative plotting fails to conjure up anything worthwhile or even new for fans.
12. Pursuit To Algiers (1945) 65 minutes. Universal Pictures (Director: Roy William Neill).
Premise: After faking his death in an airplane crash, Holmes rejoins Watson and a prince under their protection on an overseas voyage to the nation of Algeria. Plotting against them onboard, of course, is a murderous ring of foreign spies, who don’t want the handsome, young king-in-waiting making it back to the city of Algiers alive.
Hampered by minimal plotting, Pursuit To Algiers resorts to several musical numbers to obviously pad its running time. Still, routine cast performances led by Rathbone and Bruce only worsen the storyline’s dull and eye-rolling predictability (i.e. a formulaic romance subplot).
11. Sherlock Holmes and The Voice of Terror (1942) 65 minutes. Universal Pictures (Director: John Rawlins).
Premise: In wartime London, Holmes & Watson are recruited to aid British Intelligence in thwarting a Nazi cell group from decimating England one insidious terrorist attack at a time. Meanwhile, the group’s unseen leader issues ominous taunts and threats to the public via live radio.
The movie’s purpose is again war propaganda, as the arch-villain is meant to resemble real-life British traitor/Nazi war propagandist, ‘Lord Haw-Haw.’ Packing a few intriguing surprises (including Evelyn Ankers’ great performance), The Voice of Terror is by no means unwatchable. It’s just that this package, as a whole, is a middling endeavor, as compared to Rathbone & Bruce’s better installments. For instance, Holmes’ climatic deductions are pulled seemingly out of nowhere and depriving viewers a fair chance to guess the ringleader’s identity.
Of interest, a deliberate nod to the franchise’s new setting has Watson gently scolding Holmes into donning a contemporary fedora vs. his iconic deerstalker cap before they depart from their Baker Street lodgings.
10. Terror By Night (1946) 72 minutes. Universal Pictures (Director: Roy William Neill).
Premise: During an overnight train ride, a mysterious killer searches for an elusive prize hidden onboard. All that stands in the culprit’s way is Holmes, Watson, and Dennis Hoey’s befuddled Inspector Lestrade.
Even if this whodunnit falls far short of Murder on The Orient Express, using a train as the primary crime scene is at least a welcome change of pace for this series. More so, deploying a different Conan Doyle villain (instead of a fourth Moriarty) helps Rathbone and Bruce make Terror By Night easily watchable.
9. Sherlock Holmes and The Secret Weapon (1942) 68 minutes. Universal Pictures (Director: Roy William Neill).
Premise: Professor Moriarty (Lionel Atwill) has abducted a pivotal Swiss scientist for the Allied cause. Parts to construct his captive’s experimental bombsight, however, are hidden in multiple locations. Hence, Moriarty races Holmes to decipher a baffling code first to unlock their whereabouts one by one. After being taken prisoner himself, Holmes risks a torturous death to thwart Moriarty’s scheme.
Crisp and well-played, the film’s plotting makes for solid entertainment. Atwill’s chemistry as the second ‘Moriarty’ matching wits with Rathbone proves just as good as he had been as ‘Dr. Mortimer’ in The Hound of The Baskervilles three years earlier.
8. Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943) 68 minutes. Universal Pictures (Director: Roy William Neill).
Premise: Watson is the on-call physician at the Musgrave family’s posh British manor, which is serving as a convalescence home for mentally disturbed war veterans. As the Musgraves are brutally killed off one by one, Holmes, Watson, and Dennis Hoey’s Inspector Lestrade stumble upon an ancient family ritual possibly spelling doom for all involved.
For a routine whodunnit, neither the culprit nor the motive is much of a surprise. Still, Sherlock Holmes Faces Death makes for worthwhile viewing, as its sense of campy suspense rides first-class.
7. The Woman in Green (1945) 68 minutes. Universal Pictures (Director: Roy William Neill).
Premise: Reminiscent of Jack The Ripper, a fiendish serial killer is targeting women and then sending each victim’s severed finger to taunt the baffled authorities. Holmes suspects that a series of subsequent suicides committed by guilt-ridden prime suspects is an extortion scheme hatched by Professor Moriarty (Henry Daniell). A complication is Moriarty’s alluring blond accomplice, who uses hypnosis to reel in expendable victims.
Daniell’s performance as the franchise’s third-and-final Moriarty coldly mirrors Rathbone’s Holmes, making them ideal on-screen foes. Daniell might have made a decent Holmes himself, but his Jeremy Irons-like acting style lacks Rathbone’s timeless panache. As for the film’s contents, be forewarned that its grisly shock value (much like The House of Fear) somehow bypassed the era’s strict censors. With most of the plot’s nastiness inferred and/or occurring off-screen, The Woman in Green effectively injects film noir into the Holmes/Moriarty rivalry.
6. The Spider Woman (1944) 62 minutes. Universal Pictures (Director: Roy William Neill).
Premise: Having faked his own demise, Holmes subsequently goes undercover to probe a suspicious series of deaths plaguing London. As he suspects, the common link is a cold-blooded female ‘Moriarty’ and her use of a lethal spider venom.
Often overlooked, The Spider Woman’s best noir asset is Gale Sondergaard’s devious criminal mastermind, making her an intriguing new foe for Holmes & Watson. By far, Sondergaard prevails as the franchise’s signature femme fatale. Including the shooting gallery sequence, there is a welcome aura of unpredictability percolating in the plot. Though the film’s running time is perhaps a few minutes too short, The Spider Woman merits a chance for rediscovery.
5. The Pearl of Death (1944) 69 minutes. Universal Pictures (Director: Roy William Neill).
Premise: A criminal gang’s deadly ransacking search of London for an elusive pearl includes a giant-sized, silent henchman. Dubbed ‘The Creeper,’ this behemoth brutally kills prey with his bare hands. Holmes and Watson may realize too late that they are facing more than one adversary.
Though this comic book-style ‘Creeper’ should be facing off vs. either Batman or James Bond, this Universal movie monster is a potent challenger for Rathbone’s Holmes. Despite its otherwise formulaic plotting, The Pearl of Death concocts an underrated gem (pardon the pun) for viewers.
4. The Scarlet Claw (1944) 74 minutes. Universal Pictures (Director: Roy William Neill).
Premise: During an occult convention visit to Canada, Holmes & Watson are recruited to help snare a ghostly serial killer utilizing a bloody claw-like weapon for vengeance. Reaching a remote Canadian village where the murders are accumulating, the two detectives must pursue their elusive quarry in a nocturnal fog.
Along with director Roy William Neill, Rathbone and Bruce are at the top of their deductive game in a gothic chiller worthy of Universal’s other movie monsters. A terrific Holmes hat trick would be viewing The Pearl of Death, The Scarlet Claw, and The House of Fear together – arguably, they are Universal’s three best mystery-thriller entries in this series.
3. The Hound of The Baskervilles (1939) 80 minutes. Twentieth Century Fox (Director: Sidney Lanfield).
Premise: The storyline is a relatively close adaptation of Conan Doyle’s iconic novel, as Holmes and Watson pursue a bloodthirsty ‘apparition’ stalking members of the Baskerville clan on the Scottish Moors.
In terms of first-class production values, this gothic Hound meets all expectations. Its only limitation is, as with the novel, the plot’s mid-section drags without Holmes present. For anyone seeking a faithful black-and-white rendition of Doyle’s most celebrated Holmes tale, this one is highly recommended.
2. The House of Fear (1945) 69 minutes. Universal Pictures (Director: Roy William Neill).
Premise: In a secluded Scottish village, the local castle’s residents are being gruesomely killed off one by one. Each grisly murder is foretold by the receipt of an ominous packet of orange pips. The insidious rub is that each victim’s life insurance policy is subsequently split amongst their housemates – calling themselves ‘The Good Comrades Club.’ Hired by the suspicious insurance company, Holmes and Watson’s subsequent arrival (along with Scotland Yard) only accelerates the culprit’s haunted-house scheme.
Deftly blending ghoulish off-screen carnage with well-played humor, this macabre cinematic cocktail nearly equals the classic And Then There Were None from that same year. As long as one doesn’t ponder a gaping plot hole, The House of Fear’s sheer Halloween entertainment value is tough to beat.
and at Number # 1 …
1. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939) 81 minutes. Twentieth Century Fox (Director: Alfred L. Werker).
Premise: Set in the mid-1890’s, Holmes is frustrated that Professor Moriarty (George Zucco) escapes the British court system’s death penalty on a legal technicality. Subsequently, with their young female client being stalked by vicious killers, Holmes & Watson try to protect her and the woman’s family. Worse yet, Holmes senses that an elaborate ruse is masking Moriarty’s most audacious heist ever.
Exceptionally well-played! Including Holmes’ undercover turn on a British vaudeville stage, this film’s entertainment value assembles a timeless Holmes mystery worthy of Conan Doyle. With Rathbone and Bruce in peak form, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is the franchise’s crown jewel.
Notes: Four of these films: The Secret Weapon; The Woman in Green; Terror By Night; and Dressed To Kill have long since shifted into the public domain, with colorized versions subsequently released. However, all fourteen black-and-white films are now available in remastered DVD, Blu-Ray, and digital formats.
- Rathbone and Bruce also performed a weekly New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes radio series from 1939 to 1946. After Rathbone’s 1946 departure, actor Tom Conway replaced him on the radio show. Universal Pictures evidently considered hiring Conway as Rathbone’s live-action replacement, but the studio instead opted to retire the franchise as is. As for the radio show, Bruce and Conway left the program in 1947. The New Adventures relied upon character actors afterwards to fill the void before ending its eleven-year run in 1950.
- For trivia’s sake, though perhaps briefly mentioned once, Irene Adler never appears in these films.
