Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1943)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Roy William Neill

Writers:

Edward T. Lowe Jr. (screenplay) &
Scott Darling (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

12 February 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

Starting in Switzerland, Sherlock Holmes rescues the inventor of a bomb-sight which the allies want to keep from the Nazis...

Plot Keywords:

Switzerland | Sherlock Holmes | Inventor | Rescue | Bomb

US TV Schedule:

Thur. July 23

3:00 AM

TCM

Cast

Basil Rathbone	...	Sherlock Holmes
Nigel Bruce	...	Doctor Watson
Lionel Atwill	...	Moriarity
Kaaren Verne	...	Charlotte Eberli
William Post Jr.	...	Dr. Franz Tobel
Dennis Hoey	...	Lestrade
Holmes Herbert	...	Sir Reginald
Mary Gordon	...	Mrs. Hudson

Also Known As:

Secret Weapon (USA) (short title)
Sherlock Holmes Fights Back (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

UK:80 min | USA:68 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Sweden:15 | UK:PG (video rating) (1990) | UK:U (original rating) (cut) | USA:Approved (PCA #8660)

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The lines that Holmes quotes at the end of the film are a condensed version of William Shakespeare's lines from Richard II. [Richard II, 2.1, 40-51]

Goofs:

Factual errors: Professor Moriarty's name is misspelled in the end credits as "Moriarity."

Quotes:

Professor Moriarty: Drop by drop, Holmes. In a way I'm almost sorry for you; you were a stimulating influence for me.
Sherlock Holmes: I shall be conscious long after you're dead, Moriarty.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

Soundtrack:

Rule Britannia

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.