Dressed to Kill (1946)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Roy William Neill

Writers:

Arthur Conan Doyle (story) and
Frank Gruber (adaptation)

Release Date:

7 June 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Queen . . . of a Crime Cult !

Plot:

A set of cheap music boxes that people are willing to kill for puts Sherlock Holmes on the case.

Plot Keywords:

Sherlock Holmes | Prison | Thief | Murder | Doctor

Cast

Basil Rathbone	...	Sherlock Holmes
Nigel Bruce	...	Dr. John H. Watson
Patricia Morison	...	Mrs. Hilda Courtney
Edmund Breon	...	'Stinky' Emery (as Edmond Breon)
Frederick Worlock	...	Colonel Cavanaugh (as Frederic Worlock)
Carl Harbord	...	Inspector Hopkins
Patricia Cameron	...	Evelyn Clifford
Holmes Herbert	...	Ebenezer Crabtree
Harry Cording	...	Hamid
Leyland Hodgson	...	Tour guide
Mary Gordon	...	Mrs. Hudson
Ian Wolfe	...	Commissioner of Scotland Yard

Also Known As:

Prelude to Murder (USA) (working title) (USA) (DVD title)
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Code (UK)
Sherlock Holmes in Dressed to Kill

Runtime:

72 min (video version) | 76 min (copyright length)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) (1992) | USA:Approved (PCA #11512, General Audience)

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The ploy of using a bogus fire to reveal the location of a hidden item is taken from "A Scandal in Bohemia" and connections are made between Mrs. Courtney and that story's villainess, Irene Adler.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: "Dressed to Kill" takes place in contemporary times at the end of World War II. Watson refers to the events in his story "A Scandal in Bohemia" taking place two years earlier. In the story Bohemia was a independent kingdom, but in 1943 it was obviously part of Hitler's Third Reich.

Quotes:

Watson: Irene Adler! What a striking-looking woman from the brief glance I had of her! Seemsa only yesterday! What charm! Hmmmm. What poise! And what a mind! Sharp enough and brilliant enough to outwit the great Sherlock Holmes himself!
Holmes: I take it that the new issue of the Strand Magazine is out containing another of your slightly lurid tales.
Watson: It is indeed!
Holmes: And what do you call this one?
Watson: I call it "A Scandal in Bohemia." Not a bad title, huh?
Holmes: Hmmmm. If you must record my exploits, I do hope you've given "The Woman" a soul. She had one, you know!
[...]

Movie Connections:

Follows The House of Fear (1945)

Soundtrack:

Ya Never Know Just 'Oo You're Gonna Meet

not the best, but still entertaining

this wasn't the greatest of the 14 main sherlock holmes videos, but it has a very interesting plot behind it. this movie has it all, secret codes, espionage, disguises, a beautiful woman, and a huge reward. this is the last of the 14 and it was my second least favorite. still, you might as well see it since its sherlock holmes with rathbone.