Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon

In the midst of WWII, Holmes is involved in the protection of a scientist working on a secret weapon that may prove to be a turning point against the Nazi's. When the scientist and his formulae goes missing, Holmes becomes involved in a rush to rescue the man and prevent nemesis Professor Moriarty getting hold of the rest of the formulae.

Although I'm not a major fan of the Holmes films where he finds himself in the modern day world, this is one of the better ones I have seen thus far. The plot is a little thick at the start but really gets going when the scientist goes missing. The investigation by Holmes is very engaging and the climax has a nice couple of scenes where Holmes and Moriarty match wits.

Rathbone makes a good Holmes as always and here he happily hasn't as bad a haircut as he did in some of the modern films. Bruce is much better than usual - he is less of a mug and is made less fun of by Holmes, he actually shows a bit of sense about him. Indeed so does Lestrade (Hoey), so often a comedy figure, it's nice to see him involved a bit more than usual! Atwill's Moriarty is good but I always saw him as a leaner, meaner man - Atwill looks more like Watson than Sherlock, even though their battle of wits is good I never felt that he was any match for Holmes, never mind being a nemesis.

Overall I enjoyed this film. It does have a small bit of propaganda at the very end but, unlike some of the other films, doesn't ram it down your throat - by making it about Moriarty rather than Nazi goons, the film works better. It has a slow start but it opens up to be very enjoyable.

Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) begins this story in disguise, helping to smuggle famous physicist "Dr. Franz Tobel" (William Post) out of Switzeralnad and under the watchful eye of the Nazis, who want his bomb sight plans. The Allies obviously want it, too, and Sherlock is there to help. Dr. Tobel has invented an instrument which greatly aids in the accuracy of aerial bombardment.

Holmes and Dr. Tobel arrive safely back at Baker Street but the scientist would rather be alone, for some mysterious reason, although he had promised the English to help them, not the Germans. He stays true to that promise but there are some desperate moments for Holmes and the English along the way.

It's an entertaining film and one in which our famous detective uses not one but three different disguises. He needs all the help he can get when he goes up against his arch-rival, "Professor Moriarity." One complaint: if Moriarity was that evil, he would have dispensed with Holmes without batting an eyelash, instead of giving him openings to escape. It's pretty sad, too, when the usual dim-witted Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce) has to rescue his boss from certain death a couple of times!

Yes, there are some credibility issues in this story but if you can put your brain on hold a few times, it's a fun film to watch....and it looks beautiful, thanks to the great restoration job done on this DVD. It makes the old print come alive with some wonderful visuals, particularly the night-time shots.

One other note: whoever did the English subtitles in here misspelled or misinterpreted at least a half dozen words. It's very sloppy work, and not the first time I've encountered this watching the entire series on the restored DVD set.

This jingoist outing concerns the usual battle Holmes vs. Moriaty , but this time in an effort to save the British war against the Nazis . Sherlock Holmes (Rathbone) and Watson (Bruce), the detecting duo living in 223 Baker Street , again are up against their old enemy Dr. James Moriarty (Lionel Atwill , he earlier performed Mortimer in Hound of the Baskerville , 1939). The film starts in Switzerland where Holmes saves from the Nazis to an inventor scientific of a bomb-sight , named Dr. Tobel (Post). Back in London , Tobel hand over four parts of the device to diverse scientists . But Doctor Tobel is kidnapped by Moriarty . Sherlock must solve his disappearance and some vitally important . Sherlock helps Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard (Dennis Hoey , this was was the first of Universal's Sherlock Holmes series in which he appeared) resolve the case . Holmes only holds a clue left by his girlfriend (Kareen Verne) , the detective with an extraordinary mechanism gets decode it . But scientists dead bodies are accumulating , they have appeared murdered and Moriarty knows the keys , as well . Holmes disguised as a sailor goes out to investigate , finding the Moriarty's shelter . The picture is based on ¨The dancing men¨ by Arthur Conan Doyle . This is a Rathbone-Bruce effort for the WWII along with ¨The voice of terror¨ in which we are asked for believe the magnificent detective could have lived in this century . Both stories are completely patriotic and flag-waging movies . In fact , on the end there's an advertising about buying of war bonds with evident propaganda .

The movie is an excellent Holmes thriller with gripping wartime setting , unanswered mysteries and unstopped suspense . In the film appears the ordinaries from Holmes series : his nemesis Moriarty , Mistress Hudson , Inspector Lestrade (a funny Dennis Hoey) and , of course , the bumbling Dr. Watson . Basil Rathbone performance is splendid , he's the best cinema's Holmes , similar to television's Peter Cushing and Jeremy Brett . Rathbone as whimsical sleuth is top notch , he's in cracking form , intelligent , broody and impetuous . He's finely matched in battle of wits with Moriarty , his arch-enemy , a first-range villain : Lionel Atwill . Nigel Bruce plays Watson with humor , jinx , goofy and mirth . He's the perfect counterpoint to Holmes. Besides , appearing briefly distinguished secondaries as Paul Fix and Whit Bissell . This classic gets an atmospheric black and white cinematography , but available colorized in a horrible version . Adequate music score fitting to suspense by Frank Skinner . This was the second Holmes feature to be produced and professionally realized at Universal and it was the first to be directed by Roy William Neill , the usual saga director and habitual in the Universal monsters movies .

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a fair number of Sherlock Holmes accounts but the popularity of the famous detective insured that sequels in both print and on film would extend far beyond the author's works.

In "Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon," Holmes, Basil Rathbone, patriotically serves British intelligence in order to secure a Swiss scientist's desperately needed bombsight. The film is from 1942 and I wonder if the producers and writers realized how vital bombsight secrets were (the American Norden bombsight was guarded almost as zealously as the new radar sets that would change the course of World War II).

Holmes and his faithful but expectedly bumbling companion, Dr. Watson, Nigel Bruce, battle Dr. Moriarty, Lionel Atwill. As evil as Moriarty has always been it's a bit of a shock to see he's signed up with Hitler. Has the man no vestige of decency? I guess not. But Atwill is deliciously evil.

The story is reasonably fast-paced as Holmes and Watson seek to recover stolen bombsight components before they can be delivered to a U-boat. Rathbone is his usual suave self and several Holmsian disguises are well carried out.

This and other 1940s Holmes stories are now available on DVD and oldies.com has put out a very nice four-disc set in a wooden box: this film is included along with a bonus CD of an interview with the aged Doyle. The set retails for about $26 in major DVD and CD stores but I found this and other sets from oldies.com at a warehouse club for $14.98. The transfers are very good.

Very nice and relaxing late night viewing.

7/10.

The first two Rathbone/Bruce movies were pretty good. Not just because they were in period but because their production values were good and because some effort went into the script. Only the first, "The Hound of the Baskervilles", was based on a Conan-Doyle novella. The second was a pastiche made famous on the stage by Gillette.

Then the franchise was moved to Universal Studios and a series of mostly declining quality was established. This was an early example. It's not terrible, not embarrassingly bad, it just loses something in being updated to the 1940s and in not having the atmosphere Conan-Doyle managed to inject into his characters and into the atmosphere itself. Not to mention some of Conan-Doyle's sometimes unwittingly delicious bon mots -- "The wind sobbed like a child in the chimney."

"The Secret Weapon" doesn't tell us much we don't already know about Holmes and Watson. There is a variation on Conan-Doyle's "Dancing Men" but not really much else that's too interesting. I never cared much for Lionel Atwill as an actor, and he looks especially clunky as Moriarty. Moriarty should be a reptilian ectomorph with an oscillating head.

Still, this is okay for fans of the series. Homes wears his hair combed from back to front on the sides, which is a little different. I wish the code had allowed him to do some cocaine once in a while. The best of the Universal films was unquestionably "The Scarlet Claw," so if you have to choose, choose that one to watch.