Terror by Night (1946)

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

Director:

Roy William Neill

Writers:

Frank Gruber (screenplay), Arthur Conan Doyle (adapted from a story by) (as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Stars:

Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Alan Mowbray

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Basil Rathbone	...	Sherlock Holmes
Nigel Bruce	...	Dr. John H. Watson
Alan Mowbray	...	Maj. Duncan-Bleek
Dennis Hoey	...	Inspector Lestrade
Renee Godfrey	...	Vivian Vedder
Frederick Worlock	...	Prof. William Kilbane (as Frederic Worlock)
Mary Forbes	...	Lady Margaret Carstairs
Skelton Knaggs	...	Sands
Billy Bevan	...	Train Attendant
Geoffrey Steele	...	Roland Carstairs

Storyline

Holmes is hired by Roland Carstairs to prevent the theft of the Star of Rhodesia, an enormous diamond owned by Carstairs' mother, Lady Margaret. Believing the diamond will be stolen on a train trip from London to Edinburgh, Holmes deftly switches diamonds with Lady Margaret while in her compartment. Soon after, Roland is murdered and the fake diamond is stolen. Red herrings abound as Holmes, aided by Dr. Watson and Inspector Lestrade, discover the murderer's hiding place and deduce that long-time foe Moriarty's henchman Colonel Sebastian Moran is somehow involved in the crime.

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Plot Keywords:

sherlock holmes | diamond | rhodesia | train | colonel | 

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Taglines:

One Way Ticket to DEATH..!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 February 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sherlock Holmes: Terror by Night

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The stolen teapot appears to have come from the Beacon Hotel.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Sherlock Holmes: The Inspector's going to Scotland to fish for salmon!
Dr. John H. Watson: [to Lestrade] Oh really? The season doesn't start for another month, but you wouldn't know that, would you?
Inspector Lestrade: 'Oo says I'm gonna fish fer salmon?
Dr. John H. Watson: 'Oo? 'Im!

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Alternate Versions

Also available in a colorized version from Hal Roach Studios, that runs 63 minutes.

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Connections

Referenced in The Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes (1985)

User Reviews

Holmes, Watson, Lestrade, one speeding train, one coffin and one precious diamond.

Terror by Night is directed by Roy William Neill and written by Frank Gruber. It's based on characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle, loosely using ideas from the stories The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax, The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, The Adventure of the Empty House and the Sign of Four. It stars Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Alan Mowbray, Dennis Hoey, Renee Godfrey and Vivian Vedder. Music is by Hans Salter and cinematography by Maury Gertsman.

Plot finds Sherlock Holmes (Rathbone) hired to protect Lady Margaret Carstairs (Mary Forbes) and her precious diamond, the Star of Rhodesia. Who along with her son Roland (Geoffrey Steele), is aboard the express train from London to Edinburgh. It seems that the presence of the diamond on board this train is known by many characters, both good and bad. Holmes and his trusty companion Dr. Watson (Bruce), will need to keep their wits about them.

The thirteenth and penultimate film in the Rathbone/Bruce Sherlock Holmes series, Terror by night is a considerable improvement on the one before it, Pursuit to Algiers. Like that film, this one is also set mostly on a passenger vehicle, but where the boat premise wasn't utilised for great drama and mystery previously, here on board a speeding train it is. Clocking in at under an hour in running time, film does have the feel of a TV episode, but the characters are interesting and the twists and turns in the plot are most welcome. Picture also sees more of Lestrade; true enough he's more inept than ever, as is Watson, but they keep the comedy on the high heat till the story veers into mystery solving time. Here there's also enjoyment to be had in trying to guess who the villain is; OK, so you don't have to be Einstein to figure it out, but the mystery unfolds with some wily Holmes trickery and some Dr. Watson gusto. 7/10