Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942)

Director:

John Rawlins

Writers:

Arthur Conan Doyle (story) and
Robert Hardy Andrews (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

18 September 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller | Mystery

Tagline:

THE MASTER MINDS OF MYSTERY! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

England, at the start of World War Two. Mysterious wireless broadcasts, apparently from Nazi Germany are heard over the BBC...

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | Sequel | Limehouse | Beautiful Woman | Sherlock Holmes

Cast

Basil Rathbone	...	Sherlock Holmes
Nigel Bruce	...	Doctor Watson
Evelyn Ankers	...	Kitty
Reginald Denny	...	Sir Evan Barham
Thomas Gomez	...	Meade
Henry Daniell	...	Alfred Lloyd
Montagu Love	...	Gen. Jerome Lawford
Olaf Hytten	...	Adm. Sir John Prentiss
Leyland Hodgson	...	Capt. Roland Shore
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Arthur Blake	...	Unidentified Character [AFI catalog name: Crosbie] (unconfirmed)
George Sherwood	...	Unidentified Character [Cabby, per AFI catalog] (unconfirmed)
Donald Stuart	...	Unidentified Character [AFI Catalog name: Grady] (unconfirmed)

Also Known As:

Sherlock Holmes Saves London (USA) (working title)
Voice of Terror (UK)

Runtime:

65 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:U

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Debut of Thomas Gomez.

Goofs:

Factual errors: No-one - not even Sherlock Holmes - would be able to phone the BBC and ask for a specific record to be played on air immediately, in the manner of a jukebox. There were no "BBC request stations."

Movie Connections:

Features The Invisible Man (1933)

Soundtrack:

Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67

Let down by a few things, but still well worth seeing.

All of Universal's Sherlock Holmes movies are well worth watching, and even though The Voice of Terror is a lesser entry in the series, it still captures a lot of what makes the rest of the series so brilliant. As usual, the performances are right on cue; with the quintessential Sherlock Holmes, Basil Rathbone, once again bringing all the right cards to the table that make his performances as the great detective so brilliant. Nigel Bruce impresses once again as well as Holmes' sidekick Doctor Watson. These two are always great to watch, and they could be investigating why paint dries and it would still be interesting. The plot takes on a different stance from usual Holmes mysteries, and this time sees him working for the British government after a series of mysterious broadcasts from 'the Voice of Terror' baffle the country. Holmes is put in a situation where he's working for someone bigger than himself, and it puts something of a damper on the usual mystery plot. Because this film was made at the height of the second world war, it's social comments are a little out of date now; but you can see how the plot may have been frightening to the people at the time that this was made. Another thing that lets the film down is propaganda. It's obvious why the film is patriotic, but it goes over the top sometimes and Rathbone's monologue in a public house is of particular, cringe-worthy note. Still; this is a decent mystery and, like the rest of the series, is well worth seeing.