Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942)

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

Director:

Roy William Neill

Writers:

Edward T. Lowe Jr. (screenplay) (as Edward T. Lowe), Scott Darling (screenplay) (as W. Scott Darling)

Stars:

Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Lionel Atwill

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Basil Rathbone	...	Sherlock Holmes
Nigel Bruce	...	Doctor Watson
Lionel Atwill	...	Moriarty (as Moriarity)
Kaaren Verne	...	Charlotte Eberli
William Post Jr.	...	Dr. Franz Tobel
Dennis Hoey	...	Lestrade
Holmes Herbert	...	Sir. Reginald
Mary Gordon	...	Mrs. Hudson
Whit Bissell	...	London Bobbie (uncredited)

Storyline

Working for the British government, Sherlock Holmes manages to spirit Dr. Franz Tobel out of Switzerland and into England before the GESTAPO are able to get to him. Tobel has devised an immensely accurate bomb site and while he is willing to make it available to the Allies, he insists on manufacturing it himself. Soon however, he vanishes and it is left to Homes, assisted by the bumbling Dr. Watson, to decipher a coded message he left behind. Holmes soon realizes that he is up against his old nemesis, Professor Moriarty.

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Plot Keywords:

sherlock holmes character | dr. john watson character | six word title | psychotronic film | stuffed in a trunk | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Even though Lionel Atwill is cast as the main villain, it actually takes him quite a while to enter the film properly.

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Goofs

As Holmes and Dr. Tobel approach 221B Baker Street for the first time, Dr. Tobel trips over rubble and Holmes says "You must get used to our London blackouts." But as soon as they enter the flat, Holmes turns on the lights with the window curtains open - a clear breach of blackout procedure. Nor do Dr. Watson or Mrs. Hudson close the curtains or say anything when they enter.

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Quotes

Professor Moriarty: Brilliant man, Sherlock Holmes. Too bad he was honest.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: SWITZERLAND

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Alternate Versions

Also available in a computer-colorized version.

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Connections

Followed by The House of Fear (1945)

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Soundtracks

Sobre las Olas (Over the Waves)
(1887) (uncredited)
Music by Juventino Rosas
Heard as Sherlock Holmes leaves the Golden Hawk

User Reviews

Enjoyable Holmes outing

In the midst of WWII, Holmes is involved in the protection of a scientist working on a secret weapon that may prove to be a turning point against the Nazi's. When the scientist and his formulae goes missing, Holmes becomes involved in a rush to rescue the man and prevent nemesis Professor Moriarty getting hold of the rest of the formulae.

Although I'm not a major fan of the Holmes films where he finds himself in the modern day world, this is one of the better ones I have seen thus far. The plot is a little thick at the start but really gets going when the scientist goes missing. The investigation by Holmes is very engaging and the climax has a nice couple of scenes where Holmes and Moriarty match wits.

Rathbone makes a good Holmes as always and here he happily hasn't as bad a haircut as he did in some of the modern films. Bruce is much better than usual - he is less of a mug and is made less fun of by Holmes, he actually shows a bit of sense about him. Indeed so does Lestrade (Hoey), so often a comedy figure, it's nice to see him involved a bit more than usual! Atwill's Moriarty is good but I always saw him as a leaner, meaner man - Atwill looks more like Watson than Sherlock, even though their battle of wits is good I never felt that he was any match for Holmes, never mind being a nemesis.

Overall I enjoyed this film. It does have a small bit of propaganda at the very end but, unlike some of the other films, doesn't ram it down your throat - by making it about Moriarty rather than Nazi goons, the film works better. It has a slow start but it opens up to be very enjoyable.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Indonesian

Release Date:

12 February 1943 (USA)

Also Known As:

Secret Weapon

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1