Most of the joint efforts between European countries that speak different languages are awful. Usually it is two directors with two different points of view that are only made worse by the language barriers, and the end result is edited together mish-mash of the best scenes from each director. By comparision, while this movie is a bit rough and choppy, it gets to all the points and ends well.
Christopher Lee is excellent as Sherlock Holmes. Until recently (Jeremy Brett, Robert Downey, Jr., and Cumberbatch) most Sherlock Holmes movies were low budget. Basil Rathbone was great as Sherlock Holmes, but his movies usually had no props and very little action besides the great acting and the great stories. It was all low budget.
Professor Moriarty has an outstanding home office which is full of excellent Egyptian artifacts and serpent memorabilia. Moriarty is now a world known archaeologist as the cover for his crime syndicate. I thought that was a creative twist that made Moriarty a lot more interesting. While Hans Söhnker, playing Moriarty, was not as nefarious as George Zucco, Lionel Atwill, or Henry Daniell; he was no slouch either.
Thorley Waters as Dr. Watson tries hard to look and act like Nigel Bruce. Compared to Nigel Bruce, Waters is very wooden. His performance is a bit creepy. There are a couple of scenes were Waters is literally recreating remarks and gestures that are straight from Nigel Bruce. As a big fan of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, seeing Waters mimicking Nigel Bruce was a bit too much. I give Waters credit for good intentions, but he is way short of the Dr. Watson that Nigel Bruce was.
Overall, the story is better than a lot of other movies that are not based on original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories. It has some good ideas, some good acting, and some good action. I appreciate that the actors did their best to create a united artistic effort between two nations that were bitter enemies during World War II.
