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Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942)

6.6
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Ratings: 6.6/10 from 2,966 users  
Reviews: 53 user | 19 critic

Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson must protect a Swiss inventor of an advanced bomb sight from falling into German hands.

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(screenplay), (screenplay), 4 more credits »
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Title: Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942)

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942) on IMDb 6.6/10

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Cast

Complete credited cast:
...
Nigel Bruce ...
...
Kaaren Verne ...
Charlotte Eberli
William Post Jr. ...
Dr. Franz Tobel
Dennis Hoey ...
Holmes Herbert ...
Sir Reginald Bailey
Mary Gordon ...
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Storyline

Starting in Switzerland, Sherlock Holmes rescues the inventor of a bomb-sight which the allies want to keep from the Nazis. Back in London it sems that the inventor is not all that he seemed. Written by Michael Crew <m.crew@bbcnc.org.uk>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis


Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »
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Details

Country:

Language:

| |

Release Date:

12 February 1943 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Secret Weapon  »

Company Credits

Production Co:

 »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(Western Electric Recording)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

A modern source lists Philip Van Zandt as Kurt and includes Henry Daniell in the cast as well. However, the role of Kurt is played by Harry Woods and neither Van Zandt nor Daniell appear in the film at all. The unidentified actor mistaken for Daniell plays a Scotland Yard detective slowly driving the police vehicle following the trail of paint, toward the climax of the film. First seen in 3/4 profile leaning out the car window, he does seem to resemble Daniell. However, when he speaks the accompanying line "they fade out again sir" to Dennis Hoey (Insp. Lestrade), and subsequent lines, he clearly has a rather heavy *Brooklyn* accent, and seen in other shots during the scene does not in any way resemble Daniell, and the momentary appearance to the contrary is clearly an optical illusion. See more »

Goofs

In the shots of Dr. Tobel peering through his bombsight, the bomb-release switch is clearly shown as being a black Bakelite line-cord rocker switch, mounted inline on the bombsight's electrical trip-wire. Yet in the last bomb-drop shot, Dr. Tobel uses a large round push-button switch to release the bomb, and it appears to be mounted on the end of a trip-wire, not inline on the wire. See more »

Quotes

Dr. Franz Tobel: You would take the Nazis' own car?
Sherlock Holmes: One must adapt oneself to the tools at hand.
See more »

Connections

Version of The Mystery of the Dancing Men (1923) See more »

Soundtracks

"Rule Britannia"
(1740) (uncredited)
Music by Thomas Augustine Arne
Played in the score when London is shown
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
There'll Always Be an England (thanks to Sherlock Holmes)
15 February 2004 | by (New York, N.Y.) – See all my reviews

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.


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