The Spider Woman (1944)

Sherlock Holmes investigates a series of so-called "pajama suicides". He knows the female villain behind them is as cunning as Moriarty and as venomous as a spider.

Director:

Roy William Neill

Writers:

Bertram Millhauser (screenplay), Arthur Conan Doyle (story)

Stars:

Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Gale Sondergaard

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Basil Rathbone	...	Sherlock Holmes
Nigel Bruce	...	Doctor Watson
Gale Sondergaard	...	Adrea Spedding
Dennis Hoey	...	Inspector Lestrade
Vernon Downing	...	Norman Locke
Alec Craig	...	Henchman Radlik
Arthur Hohl	...	Adam Gilflower
Mary Gordon	...	Mrs. Hudson
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sylvia Andrew	...	Charwoman (scenes deleted)
Marie De Becker	...	Charwoman (scenes deleted)

Storyline

Sherlock Holmes takes on a case that the press has dubbed the pajama suicides. Eminent men are going to bed in the safety of their own homes, with everything seemingly being normal, only to commit suicide in the night. Holmes fakes his own death in the hopes of giving him a freer hand in the investigation and is convinced that a woman, a female Moriarty as he describes her, is behind the deaths. The dead men were all eminent and very wealthy. He impersonates a wealthy retired Indian military officer in the hope of drawing out the woman and he soon meets Adrea Spedding but she quickly sees through his disguise and proves herself to be the challenge Holmes predicted she would be. She is a worthy adversary and soon traps him setting him up in a carnival shooting gallery that seems to assure his death.

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Plot Keywords:

suicide | pajamas | sherlock holmes | spider | casino | 

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Taglines:

Mistress of Murder !

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 January 1944 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sherlock Holmes and the Spider Woman

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

63 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shooting lasted from May 10-early June, 1943, released January 21, 1944 (copyright 1943) .

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Goofs

The first time Sherlock Holmes refers to the deadly spider that caused all of the suicides and nearly killed him, he calls it an "insect". Spider are "arachnids", which have 8-legs and 2 body segments, unlike "insects" which are 6-legged and have 3 body segments. Holmes is unlikely to make such a mistake.

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Quotes

Inspector Lestrade: Where is he anyhow?
Dr. John H. Watson: I'm blessed if I know. He said wait here, by the shooting gallery, and look inconspicuous.
Inspector Lestrade: Inconspicuous? Oh...
[Lestrade starts whistling and inspecting the ceiling]
Dr. John H. Watson: He said inconspicuous, Lestrade, not half-witted.

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Connections

Followed by Terror by Night (1946)

User Reviews

"As Deadly as Moriarty"

Sherlock Holmes in The Spider Woman faces a female master criminal, one as Basil Rathbone describes 'as deadly as Moriarty'. Gale Sondergaard is in the infamous title role and she's got the brain of a Professor Moriarty and the charm of a Mata Hari.

In fact as the film begins Holmes and Watson are finally on a long postponed fishing trip in Scotland and they are discussing a series of suicides of wealthy men, men dying with no apparent cause. Forensics certainly was not what it is today or Gale Sondergaard's method of execution might have been discovered.

Holmes fakes his own death, the better to put the still unknown villain at some ease and for him to assume some disguise. Rathbone's disguise as an Indian Maharajah is a good one, but Sondergaard sees right through it. Then it's a battle of brains and wits.

The Spider Woman is a good if not great Holmes feature totally dominated by Gale Sondergaard's evil character. Sondergaard even got another crack at the role of the Spider Woman. She earned it with this film.