Terror by Night (1946)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Roy William Neill

Writers:

Arthur Conan Doyle (characters)
Frank Gruber (screenplay)

Release Date:

1 February 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

One Way Ticket to DEATH..!

Plot:

When the fabled Star of Rhodesia diamond is stolen on a London to Edinburgh train and the son of its owner murdered, Holmes must discover which of his suspicious fellow passengers is responsible.

Plot Keywords:

Diamond | Train | Inspector | Theft | Sherlock Holmes

Cast

Basil Rathbone	...	Sherlock Holmes
Nigel Bruce	...	Dr. John H. Watson
Alan Mowbray	...	Major Duncan-Bleek
Dennis Hoey	...	Inspector Lestrade
Renee Godfrey	...	Ms Vedder
Frederick Worlock	...	Prof. William Kilbane (as Frederic Worlock)
Mary Forbes	...	Lady Margaret Carstairs
Skelton Knaggs	...	Moran's Accomplice-killer
Billy Bevan	...	Passenger Car Attendant Taking Tickets
Geoffrey Steele	...	Roland - Lady Carstairs's son

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) (1992) | USA:Approved (PCA #11349)

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The thirteenth of fourteen films based on Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional consulting detective Sherlock Holmes starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Early in the movie the discovery of the Star of Rhodesia is shown. The diamond picked out of the mud looks perfectly clear, with sharp edges. However, raw diamonds have rough round edges and appear quite ordinary, with only a hint of regular crystal form.

Quotes:

Lady Margaret Carstairs: My husband gave it to me on our fifth anniversary.
Sherlock Holmes: 423 carats, isn't it?
Lady Margaret Carstairs: The original diamond was over 700 carats.
Sherlock Holmes: Really?
Lady Margaret Carstairs: [to her son] Your father had it cut. Less ostentatious.
Dr. John H. Watson: Less ostentatious? It's as big as a duck's egg.

Movie Connections:

Follows Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942)

The Sherlock Holmes Express

I'm especially fond of this late entry in the Rathbone-Bruce Sherlock Holmes series of the forties. It's one of the more cheaply made ones, set almost entirely aboard as fast-moving train. The story concerns Holmes' efforts to make sure that a valuable diamond, the Star Of Rhodesia, does not get stolen. There are some awfully suspicious characters around, some of them quite cranky. Holmes is his usual unflappable self, Watson bumbles and enrages people, Inspector LeStrade is his always stupid and yet somehow reassuring self. The supporting cast is, as usual for this series, exceedingly well-chosen. Skelton Knaggs makes the most of his small role. I especially like Alan Mowbray's performance as a fellow who pals around with Watson. Mowbray was smooth as silk as an actor, and in his languid way as sharp as Rathbone. The revelation of the criminal and the circumstances surrounding it are handled in a manner surprisingly baroque even for a Sherlock Holmes film, and are so sudden and jarring,--one doesn't expect the movie to end quite this way--that the ending actually improves on the second and third viewing. How many films can you say that about?