Drama / Mystery
1939 / 79 minutes
RATING: 8/10
If there is any one film that deserves the primary credit as the inspiration for the many cinematic Holmesian interpretations that followed, this would be it. It seems like everybody who has played the principal part since is building on Basil Rathbone’s performance here.
In the opening scene we see Holmes’s arch-nemesis, the brilliant, villainous Professor Moriarty, quite literally getting away with murder. He is in court, standing trial, and the jury has returned to declare they find him “not guilty,”not because they think him at all innocent, but only because they don’t have the evidence they need.
So what is Moriarty going to do now that he has been set free again? He pledges to Holmes that “I am going to break you Holmes. I am going to bring out, right under your nose, the most incredible crime of the century and you will never suspect until it is too late. And that will be the end of you Mr. Sherlock Holmes.”
And with that, the game is afoot!
Cautions
While two people are murdered, it happens off screen. The scariest part is probably the mood music.
The only other concern is the question of whether Sherlock Holmes needed to bring this to the resolution he did. I don’t want to give spoilers, so I’ll just say, a discussion might be had about about what happens at precisely the 77 minute mark.
Conclusion
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was the second, and probably the best, in a series of 14 Sherlock Holmes movies made between 1939 and 1946, all starring Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. John Watson. The plot wasn’t based on the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story collection of the same name, but it does a great job of living up to its spirit. If you like the books, you should give this one a try.
I couldn’t find a proper movie trailer, but here’s a clip of the opening scene that’ll give you a good taste of what is to come.