This fine Holmesian adventure marks the second time that Rathbone took up the deerstalker and pipe and stands as one of the best episodes in the popular series. The material is solid, packed with incident, and the film boasts a strong budget used nicely to represent a late Victorian London, full of pea-souper fog, horse-drawn carriages and mysterious gentlemen hanging around on street corners. Holmes fans will find Basil Rathbone giving a definitive performance as the refined detective and I believe this to be his best turn in the role, equalling Cushing's steely determinism twenty years later.
Also fantastic is Nigel Bruce, at his most lovable as the doltish, good-natured Watson, and a supporting cast that give assured and lively performances. Standing out from the crowd are Ida Lupino as the strong-willed and beautiful heroine; Alan Marshal as the cultured but slightly sinister lawyer; and in particular everyone's favourite villain from the 1940s, George Zucco, as Holmes's arch-enemy, the inimitable Professor Moriarty. Zucco is the epitome of refined evil in his performance here and I don't think it could have been bettered in any way.
The story takes many twists and turns and pulls off the difficult job of dealing with two apparently separate story lines at once. At times it appears to be unfocused and doesn't make much sense, but everything ties nicely together in a little package at the end, as is the habit of these movies. This is a film featuring loads of interesting elements, including a South American weapon of death; murders on fog-bound streets; the "Crime of the Century" in the theft of the Crown Jewels; an Incan funeral melody (!); a chinchilla's foot; an albatross; even a greenhouse full of plants features strongly. Everything gels together nicely with some priceless dialogue from our two heroic leads. THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES is an exciting, entertaining, downright enjoyable interpretation of literature's most famous detective and showcases Rathbone and Bruce at the peak of their careers.
Also fantastic is Nigel Bruce, at his most lovable as the doltish, good-natured Watson, and a supporting cast that give assured and lively performances. Standing out from the crowd are Ida Lupino as the strong-willed and beautiful heroine; Alan Marshal as the cultured but slightly sinister lawyer; and in particular everyone's favourite villain from the 1940s, George Zucco, as Holmes's arch-enemy, the inimitable Professor Moriarty. Zucco is the epitome of refined evil in his performance here and I don't think it could have been bettered in any way.
The story takes many twists and turns and pulls off the difficult job of dealing with two apparently separate story lines at once. At times it appears to be unfocused and doesn't make much sense, but everything ties nicely together in a little package at the end, as is the habit of these movies. This is a film featuring loads of interesting elements, including a South American weapon of death; murders on fog-bound streets; the "Crime of the Century" in the theft of the Crown Jewels; an Incan funeral melody (!); a chinchilla's foot; an albatross; even a greenhouse full of plants features strongly. Everything gels together nicely with some priceless dialogue from our two heroic leads. THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES is an exciting, entertaining, downright enjoyable interpretation of literature's most famous detective and showcases Rathbone and Bruce at the peak of their careers.