User reviews

This might rate as the most entertaining of all the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes films, which I still think are the best renditions on film of the famous detective.

This has a surprising amount of action and is simply a fun story to watch. Packed into just one hour are such scenes as Holmes faking his death, a near-poisoning of he and Dr. Watson by gas, a strange little boy who hops around a room, tarantulas on the loose, on and on.

Nigel Bruce is his normally funny Dr. Watson and Gale Sondergaard makes an excellent villain. Credibility is stretched in the beginning and ending scenes but it's an enjoyable ride all the way through.

One of the best in Universal's Sherlock Holmes series, The Spider Woman dispenses, for the most part, with the overt WWII subject matter (which was also reasonably sparse in the previous outing, Sherlock Holmes Faces Death). The climax does make use of the image of Hitler and other Axis figures, but this was (aside from a brief mention in Dressed to Kill) the final direct war reference in the series. This bears mentioning because the film benefits strongly from the general lack of wartime subterfuge. Rather than battling Nazi agents, Rathbone's Sherlock is embroiled in a truly Holmesian mystery, surrounding several apparent suicides...which Holmes, naturally (and correctly), deduces to be homicides.

Though the opening credits proclaim "Based on a Story by Arthur Conan Doyle," The Spider Woman adapts (quite freely) major incidents from no less than five of Conan Doyle's tales...The Sign of Four, The Speckled Band, The Final Problem, The Empty House (also referenced in Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon), and The Devil's Foot. False advertising, maybe...but the script (courtesy of Bertram Millhauser) manages to weave them all into a framework that makes for a fun and intriguing mystery.

Other assets include the performances, which are better than in some of the earlier films (though Rathbone and Bruce never disappointed), and the more sure-handed guidance of regular directer Roy William Neill...by this time, a vast improvement over the direction in his first Holmes outing, Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon. It's also appropriate (if somewhat superficial) to note that Holmes's hairstyle, which changed for the better in Sherlock Holmes Faces Death, thankfully does not revert in this one (nor at any time for the duration of the series) to the shambles that it was in the first three films.

All in all, one of the best made, and most entertaining, films in the Universal series. It doesn't quite rise to the heights of The Scarlet Claw, but it's easily one of the best.

I'm becoming a huge fan of Universal's classic Sherlock Holmes series. The more of them I see, the more I enjoy the series and the more I am impressed by Basil Rathbone's excellent portrayal of the great literary detective. This mystery follows a mysterious series of suicides and it sees Holmes and his good friend Dr Watson at their best once again. While I wouldn't consider this entry in the series as one of the very best, it's certainly very good and anyone who likes this sort of thing will no doubt enjoy themselves. Really, though, Holmes could be investigating what makes steam come out of the kettle and it would be invigorating and exciting just thanks to the way that Basil Rathbone plays the man. The mannerisms, the voice and the screen presence of the great actor combine to create a fantastic representation of the eloquent detective and you really can't imagine anyone but Basil Rathbone playing Sherlock Holmes in these films. One problem with this entry in the series, however, is that it's very short at just an hour long and this ensures that the film can never really get it's teeth into the central mystery plot line, and it feels somewhat underdone because of this. However, this is made up for with some great sequences, most notably the one in which Doctor Watson meets an entomologist that Holmes has hired, which I say is the best scene in any Sherlock Holmes movie, ever. These sorts of films work because they're a lot of fun to watch, and this instalment is no different. If you like Sherlock Holmes mysteries; this isn't as good as the likes of Hound of the Baskervilles, The Scarlet Claw and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes; but it stands up as an admirable entry into the series in it's own right!

With an involved, detailed mystery and an elegant adversary played by Gale Sondergaard, this is one of the most entertaining features in the Sherlock Holmes series of movies starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. The story gets a little far-fetched, but it is quite interesting. It is loaded with plot devices pulled from several different Arthur Conan Doyle stories, and it's interesting to see how many you can catch. It also features the usual pleasant camaraderie between Rathbone and Bruce, plus Dennis Hoey as Inspector Lestrade.

As "The Spider Woman", Sondergaard creates a memorable opponent for Holmes. The slightly exaggerated role cannot have been much of a challenge for such a fine actress, but she puts her heart into it, and looks as if she is enjoying herself - as her character certainly is. By creating such a dynamic character, she also helps make the complicated story seem more plausible, and it creates a worthy challenge for Holmes.

The movie also contains the amusing bits of dialogue and detail that characterized so many of the movies in the series. The climactic sequence, in particular, is a very good combination of suspense and wit. It is a fitting way to cap off an enjoyable entry in the popular series.

Universal's Sherlock Holmes series is one of the greatest film franchises in history. The instalments with our brilliant detective versus the Nazi's ("The Secret Weapon", "The Voice of Terror") are somewhat weaker, but the ones that feature sinister horror aspects ("The Scarlet Claw") and convoluted murder methods ("The House of Fear") are downright genius classics. Another thing I truly admire about this franchise is how progressively feminist it was! Along with "The Woman in Green" and "Dressed to Kill", this "The Spider Woman" is the third entry to feature a strong female protagonist; - another villainous one. The plot of "The Spider Woman" is incredibly far-fetched, but I suppose it has to be because ordinary crimes are far too easy for Holmes to solve. The titular lady, portrayed by the naturally enigmatic Gale Sondergaard, found a method for murder so perfect and effective that the media are referring to them as suicides. To take on this woman, Holmes must fake his own death, disguise himself as an Arab gambler, act as bait for the deadliest spider in the world and then STILL she outsmarts him effortlessly! In fact, she came closer to defeating Holmes than Professor Moriarty ever did! The dialogues are terrific (again) and the clumsiness of both Dr. Watson and Inspector Lestrade provides a couple of lovely comical moments, but there's also suspense and creepiness.

Sherlock Holmes matches wits with THE SPIDER WOMAN, a fiendish femme fatale responsible for a series of ingenious London murders.

Holmes & Watson face one of their most dangerous enemies in this highly enjoyable little crime mystery. Angry arachnids, toxic gas, Hitler's deadly heart and a very sinister little boy are only some of the elements Holmes must contend with in order to solve the latest crime spree to baffle the Metropolitan Police. Behind it all is the malice of a clever, cruel & cunning woman who gleefully challenges the great detective to do his best to stop her.

The movie is not without its faults. The brief running time and abrupt conclusion are unfortunate, and the ultimate reason for all the murders is really not all that exciting, but the vivid characters and dangerous adventure more than compensate for the film's shortcomings.

Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce remain perfect in their leading roles. Rathbone obviously relished playing the cerebral genius and he gets to spice out his characterization with a couple of dead-on disguises. Bumbling Bruce only grows more lovable with each passing film, playing his part with fierce loyalty as well as charming naiveté.

Oscar winning actress Gale Sondergaard portrays the title role with deadly feline guile, teasing Holmes the way a cat plays with a mouse. Alec Craig & Arthur Hohl steal a few screen moments as eccentric entomologists. Back for their recurring roles are Dennis Hoey as dogged Inspector Lestrade and dear Mary Gordon as Mrs. Hudson.

This film -- which was based on wisps of plot from Conan Doyle's

The Final Problem, The Empty House, The Speckled Band, The Sign of Four, and The Devil's Foot -- followed SHERLOCK HOLMES FACES DEATH (1943) and preceded THE SCARLET CLAW (1944). Miss Sondergaard reprised her villainous role two years later in THE SPIDER WOMAN STRIKES BACK (1946).

The 1942-43 Holmes/Watson films are often pathetic nonsense involving Nazi spies and have Holmes dashing all over the place firing guns at all and sundry, which doesn't work at all.

Yes, this is wartime, and the targets in the fairground shooting gallery are Hitler, Hirohito and Mussolini, but this is a proper detective story about mysterious murders.

It's an amalgam of Conan Doyle's original stories The Sign of Four and The Final Problem rather than a farrago of cod secret agents, and it works pretty well as a mystery.

Gale Sondergaard makes a marvellous villain, and plays excellently opposite Rathbone's Holmes.

Well worth while

Here Sherlock Holmes : the great Basil Rathbone , takes on a Mistress of Death, the Spider Woman : Gale Sondergaard . This time happens a series of suicides in London, as newspapers nickname the pyjamas killings . But Holmes suspects these murders have been committed by a sinister mastermind, an ominous woman who is as cunning as Doctor Moriarty. Holmes helped by his bumbling , dumb colleague Doctor Watson: Nigel Bruce starts investigating the strange events . Then Holmes takes his own death, faking a deadly disappearance, and going after the female behind them. His best Mystery of all !. Grim Mystery to hold you breathless!.

Good Sherlock Holmes movie with nice settings , thrills, plot twists , suspense , unanswered mysteries and outstanding a first-class villain excellently played by Gale Sondergaard. Along with Holmes appears his ordinary partner the botcher Doctor Watson, Nigel Bruce, here more amusing as ever. And other regulars from Arthur Conan Doyle novels as Inspector Lestrade performed by Dennis Hoey and brief appearance by Mrs Hudson performed by Mary Gordon .

Displaying atmospheric settings , cinematography with plenty of lights and shades, as well as evocative musical score . The motion picture was compellingly directed by Roy William Neill who directed efficiently various episodes of the splendid series . Neill directed in his ordinary style , in fact he was regular filmmaker -along with John Rawlins- of the stunning series , such as : Scarlet Claw , Dressed to Kill, Terror by Night , Pursuit to Algiers , The Woman in Green, The House of fear , Sherlock Holmes in Washington , Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon , among others . Rating : Better than average. 7. 5/10. The picture will appeal to fans of the fantastic serie starred by Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, resulting to be one of the best episodes.

Adrea Spedding (Gale Sondergaard), the evil mastermind of The Spider Woman, concocts a particularly absurd scheme in order to make herself filthy rich: she convinces wealthy men with cash flow problems to use their life insurance policies as collateral against a loan; then she bumps them off, not with anything as simple as a gun or dagger, but by releasing a pygmy into the ventilation ducts where they live, and having him release a poisonous spider into their bedroom while they sleep. So excruciating is the pain from the spider's bite, that the men hurl themselves to their death rather than endure the agony. With no clues as to why the men have killed themselves (the obedient spider obviously having wandered back into the vent having done his duty), the press report these mysterious deaths as 'pyjama suicides'.

Holmes (Basil Rathbone) naturally suspects otherwise and cooks up with own crazy plan to discover the truth: whilst enjoying a relaxing fishing break in Scotland with trusty sidekick Watson (Nigel Bruce), the great detective fakes his own death, and then adopts a series of silly disguises to investigate the case, soon coming face to face with The Spider Woman, who proves to be every bit as devious and deadly as Holmes' old nemesis Moriarty, but better looking.

This preposterous plot makes for one of the most entertaining films in the series, Holmes' sporting patently false facial hair for his roles as a rude postie and a down-on-his luck Indian Rajni Singh, Watson making a complete fool of himself with an eminent entomologist, and Spedding ordering pint-sized Obongo from the Congo, the Prancing Pygmy (Angelo Rossitto, one-half of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome's Master Blaster) back into his case! The film also benefits from a suitably silly ending in which Adrea tries to do away with Holmes in a manner so convoluted it would shame Austin Powers' Dr. Evil: she ties him up in a fairground shooting gallery, his heart directly behind one of the targets, and leaves it up to an oblivious Watson to do her dirty work!

Arthur Conan Doyle was a very intelligent man. His Sherlock Holmes stories were not just entertaining, but the mysteries were intelligently constructed and his characters exciting and multidimensional. The Sherlock Holmes stories made by Universal from 1939 through the 1940s were NOT intelligently constructed and the characters were simply caricatures. In the original stories, Watson was quite bright and sometimes helpful. With Nigel Bruce, on the other hand, he's so brain-addled that you wonder how anyone this stupid could become a doctor at ANYTHING!!! As for Holmes, while the Basil Rathbone version is interesting to watch, he's often rather stupid himself. Because of this, these Universal films are a tad repellent to folks who read and enjoyed the actual Sherlock Holmes stories. As for me, I'm a HUGE fan of the stories but watch these Universal films and try to pretend the characters are NOT Holmes and Watson...just two dummies.

In "The Spider Woman", once again the story seems to have been written by a lemur. Holmes and Watson are dumb and parts of the plot simply betray that the writer didn't bother doing ANY research before writing the story! For example, a bunch of murders are occurring by folks bitten by poisonous tarantulas. The problem is that a tarantula's bite is no stronger than a bee sting...and idiots writing this and "Dr. No" obviously never consulted a text book or an entomologist. Also, the writer took bits and pieces from the Conan Doyle stories but artlessly tossed them together in a haphazard and ineffective manner--such as Holmes' faked death which really made little sense and this story element was VERY quickly and inexplicably abandoned. Also stupid was Holmes visit from the Spider Woman...and the brilliant detective clearly was a dunderhead in taking this psychotic killer so lightly.

Overall, it's yet another exciting to watch but really stupid Holmes film from Universal. Written by an idiot and often illogical.

The "hopping boy" with cat-quick reflexes is one of the most unusual and unsettling figures of the decade. I don't think I've ever seen such an imaginative and offbeat use of a young person in any other movie. The film itself has many imaginative touches, but among them, it's that bizarre little "hop" (never explained, and neither is the boy) that's so memorable. He's a perfect adjunct to the leeringly evil Adrea (Sondergaard) who looks like she's having a delicious time playing cat-and-mouse with the tricky Sherlock (Rathbone). In fact, their devious encounters are models of beautifully "layered" acting as each has several things going on internally at the same time. She's a perfect foil for the master detective, with a flashy smile that says one thing while her eyes say another. Too bad the imperious Sondergaard was lost to the blacklist of the early 50's.

I never did figure out just how the pygmy (Angelo Rossito in blackface) fit into the suicide scheme, but that's okay because the movie has so many intriguing touches, including the highly contrived but suspenseful climax. Even Hoey's Inspector Lestrade is wisely restrained, and when he walks off proudly arm-in-arm with the eye-catching Adrea at the end, it's a rather charming little moment. I guess my only complaint is with the poorly done process shot of the raging river that contrasts starkly with the well-stocked foreground. Nonetheless, this is one of the most imaginative entries of any detective series of the period.

Sherlock Holmes in The Spider Woman faces a female master criminal, one as Basil Rathbone describes 'as deadly as Moriarty'. Gale Sondergaard is in the infamous title role and she's got the brain of a Professor Moriarty and the charm of a Mata Hari.

In fact as the film begins Holmes and Watson are finally on a long postponed fishing trip in Scotland and they are discussing a series of suicides of wealthy men, men dying with no apparent cause. Forensics certainly was not what it is today or Gale Sondergaard's method of execution might have been discovered.

Holmes fakes his own death, the better to put the still unknown villain at some ease and for him to assume some disguise. Rathbone's disguise as an Indian Maharajah is a good one, but Sondergaard sees right through it. Then it's a battle of brains and wits.

The Spider Woman is a good if not great Holmes feature totally dominated by Gale Sondergaard's evil character. Sondergaard even got another crack at the role of the Spider Woman. She earned it with this film.

The fantastic Sherlock Holmes has solved yet another murdering mystery, in a nice '40's atmosphere and with fantastic performances by the cast especially Basil Rathbone as the legendary well known Sherlock Holmes is fantastic.

It's a shame you can see that this movie has been based on a book. Some needless characters and plot lines give this away. But the charm of the movie is the nice atmosphere and the top notch performances by the cast.

The story is quite nice with the exception of course of the needless plot lines and it contains some nice humor and the movie truly has a fantastic and tense ending but the movie is too short to become really interesting. Still the movie is just as entertaining and good as an 1 hour long English detectives series episodes that are made these days.

Great for the fans, fun for the casual viewers.

6/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

One of the best of the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes series at Universal. This one has Holmes faking his own death in order to investigate a series of suspicious suicides. His investigation leads him to one of his most formidable foes: a villainess with a use for spiders played with deliciously evil glee by Gale Sondergaard.

This is a fun one. It's smart and humorous with nice atmosphere, fine suspense, and solid performances all around. It's got many of the trademarks of the series, including the lovable buffoonery from Nigel Bruce's Watson, Holmes in disguises that shouldn't fool anyone, and Dennis Hoey's Inspector Lastrade, always a day late and a clue short on every case. Watson and Lestrade aren't just around for comic relief, though. They have a very touching scene together when they believe Holmes has died. The scene stealer in this one is Gale Sondergaard, who easily matches any male villain the Holmes series had and tops most of them. Her chemistry with Rathbone is terrific. Universal was so impressed they signed her to a contract, intending to do a whole series of B films based on the Spider Woman character. Plans changed, however, and the only other Spider Woman movie Sondergaard made -- The Spider Woman Strikes Back -- had no connection to the character from this movie. That's a shame because Sondergaard was perfect for horror/thriller films and those could have been some enjoyable movies. This is definitely one of the high marks for the series and one you will want to see.

Men are seemingly jumping to their deaths. The newspapers call them "Pajama Suicides". Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) is fishing with Doctor Watson (Nigel Bruce) in Scotland. When he reads a newspaper report, he immediately realizes that these are murders. He falls into the river and is presumed killed. In reality, he faked his own death to catch a Moriarty-like villainess.

This is an original present-day plot with elements of several Arthur Conan Doyle stories. It's a fun little Sherlock Holmes movie. The Rathbone Bruce combination continues to be good. I normally dislike brown-face acting but the disguise does serve a purpose. It's a good episode in this Sherlock series.

The Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes films are generally good(great in the case of Hound of the Baskervilles, Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Scarlet Claw) films and Rathbone's Holmes is easily the best of the movie incarnations of the characters, second only to Jeremy Brett overall. While not in the top 3 Rathbone/Holmes entries, The Spider Woman is one of the better and most entertaining films of the series. It is far too short and the ending could have been more rounded off but that was all that came off as not-as-good with The Spider Woman. It is well photographed and lit with evocative period detail and the music does a good job at being energetic and having a good amount of atmosphere. The dialogue is both thought-provoking with Holmes and amusing with Watson and Lestrade, while the story is well-paced, suspenseful and easy to follow with a few far-fetched moments(though not enough to harm the film), fun-to-spot references to Sherlock Holmes stories and a tense and eerie climax. Thank goodness also that there isn't any out-of-place patriotic speech here either. The characters are still engaging and have good chemistry with one another, with the villain being one of the most memorable of the series. The acting is very good, Gale Sondergaard's beautiful but chillingly and deliciously deadly performance steals the film but Basil Rathbone is still his usual brilliant self and Nigel Bruce(less of a bumbling fool than he can be in the role) and Dennis Hoey provide some amusing moments without jarring. All in all, an extremely entertaining film, if you love Sherlock Holmes and Rathbone's portrayal you are most likely to really like The Spider Woman. 8/10 Bethany Cox

This is one of the funnier of the Holmes/Rathbone movies. The premise itself defies belief, but we can still go along for the ride. The question for me is, "How do you train spiders to seek out and attack people?" You make up a spider that can do this. You also throw in a boy in a British school uniform who hops every three steps and goes around catching flies. He is the nephew of the spider woman. He is responsible for throwing something into the fireplace that almost asphyxiates our boys. This is about a series of suicides that are unexplainable, until we realize there is an insurance scam involved. How can suicide be murder. You find this out. There is the usual Holmes speechmaking and pontificating. Watson does everything he can to obstruct things. Gail Sondegaard is a pretty good villain, kind of an in-your-face threat, hiding in plain sight. Holmes is aware that she is on to him, but has to find evidence. Still, a delightful B-movie that I remember as a child.

Roy William Neil directed this entry that takes different elements from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories. Here, Sherlock Holmes(played by Basil Rathbone) and Doctor Watson(played by Nigel Bruce) investigate mysterious deaths that the press have called "The Pajama Suicides", but are really cunning murders committed by the Spider Woman(played by Gale Sondergaard), whom Holmes calls a female Moriarty, who uses spiders to bite the men in their sleep, the venom driving them to suicide in a plot to collect on their life insurance policies. Holmes goes undercover to stop her. Despite a good premise, film feels stodgy and dull, though also too outlandish to succeed.