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Highly Overrated But Still Good

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

It's not until the end of the movie that one realizes how many red herrings and factors unrelated to the real mystery are applied to the story. There's all that business about the chinchilla trinket and references to South America creating an expectation that those are important clues to solving a murder, and it's all for naught. Which is kind of cool because it all adds to the suspense relating to Professor Moriarty's (George Zucco) crime of the century.Moriarty's ruse was actually rather clever, a way to distract Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) from the Tower of London's Crown Jewels which the evil genius intended to steal. The sleight of hand with the Star of Delhi was a nifty touch too, but the way it was played was rather awkward. I thought Sir Ronald Ramsgate (Henry Stephenson) blew it big time when he declined the additional security that could have been provided by the authorities delivering the Star sapphire. But then we wouldn't have had that thrilling finale.Besides the great London fog atmosphere and Holmes' obsession for finding just the right note to drive his flies crazy, Ida Lupino is stunning in one of her earliest screen roles. You don't get a sense of her beauty in noir films she made a decade later like "High Sierra" or "Road House", so seeing her here as the vulnerable young woman attempting to prevent her brother's murder is a real treat. Not to mention Basil Rathbone's disguise as a gaucho entertainer, that was a real hoot too.

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.

The Addition of Holmes Alter-Ego Professor Moriarty, Aided this follow up to The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) and was so Well Done that it Guaranteed its Continuation.This Rathbone/Bruce Series was Extremely Popular and lasted for a Decade in many Entertaining Films.Basil Rathbone as Holmes was an Ingenious Casting Decision and a Faithful Interpretation. Nigel Bruce as Watson was Endearing, but Scripted not at all like his Literary Counterpart, the Fully functional, Intelligent, and Helpful Biographer and Physician. Especially in the Later Entries.The Holmes Verbal Put-Downs of Watson Begin here..."Watson you're such an incorrigible bungler." (but Watson does get the last laugh in the end). Ida Lupino Adds some Grievous Acting and She is in Mortal Danger Most of the Time. George Zucco's Moriarty is Superb.The Suspense is Intense and the Carriage Rush in the Finale is Excellently Filmed. The Movie Drips with Atmosphere and is a Haunting Tale of Deception and a Battle of Wits. This Could and Should be, at Least Considered, the Best of the Fourteen Films in the Series.

After the success of The Hound of the Baskervilles, a second Holmes film was quickly ordered, and opened the same year.We get to see Holmes archenemy Professor Moriarty (George Zucco). Unlike Holmes and Watson, this character would be played by many people over the years.The film had considerable excitement and suspense with Ida Lupino being chased as a diversion while the professor planned his nefarious deed that would prove him superior to Holmes.Plenty of laughs along the way and plenty of action make this a most enjoyable film.