Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942)

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror was the third of the Basil Rathbone-Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes movies and the first to be produced by Universal. Universal decided not only to bring Holmes into the present day but also to have him battle Nazi saboteurs. Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror was released in 1942, at a time when Hollywood was whipping itself up into a frenzy over the war.

The contemporary settings of the Universal films are not generally too much of a problem. The wartime background was a less successful experiment which Universal mercifully abandoned after the first few films.

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror was based, very loosely, on Conan Doyle’s short story His Last Bow. This 1917 story, which in my opinion is one of the weakest of all Conan Doyle’s stories, had pitted Holmes against a Germany spy during the First World War. The spy theme is the only element of the short story utilised in the screenplay by John Bright and Lynn Riggs. 

Britain is being demoralised by a series of propaganda broadcasts from Germany. The broadcasts predict acts of sabotage. What really worries the British intelligence chiefs is that the predictions are always accurate. They are so worried that they are prepared to resort to desperate measures - they have called on Sherlock Holmes for help. Holmes has one clue to work with - the dying words of one of his operatives. He also has the assistance of the dead man’s girlfriend Kitty (Evelyn Ankers) and can also count on assistance from London’s underworld after Kitty delivers a stirring patriotic speech to them. 

It is obvious that the Germans have a sophisticated espionage and sabotage operation in place in Britain and that they have access to secrets that can only come from sources in high places. They are determined to safeguard their spy ring and attempt have been made on the lives of several senior British intelligence chiefs - and on the life of Holmes as well.

Kitty will play a vital role in uncovering this network, having attracted the amorous attentions of one of the Nazi ringleaders. 

The German spy network is set to pull off its greatest coup and it appears that they have the British thoroughly bamboozled. Holmes however is not so easily fooled.

Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce had settled into their respective roles very well by this time. Bruce plays things fairly straight this time, as he was alway perfectly capable of doing. In fact there’s virtually no comic relief in this film. Thomas Gomez is a subtly menacing villain. The very underrated Henry Daniell provides fine support as does Reginald Denny. Evelyn Ankers shines as Kitty.

I personally have a strong dislike for wartime propaganda movies. The more hysterical the propaganda the less I like them and the tone of this film is very hysterical indeed. 

On the plus side this movie is very impressive visually. The look of the movie is reminiscent of both the great 1930s Universal gothic horror movies and the film noir style although in fact the noir style was only just beginning to emerge in 1942. Director John Rawlins is very fond of extreme close-ups which he uses to excellent effect. This was unfortunately the only Universal Sherlock Holmes movie that Rawlins directed.

There was nothing outrageous about having Sherlock Holmes hunting spies. Several of Conan Doyle’s original short stories are in fact espionage stories. Pitting the great detective against Nazis though just seems too anachronistic. The stridently propagandistic tone doesn’t help at all and there are way too many political speeches. 

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror is not a complete success. Critics at the time were unenthusiastic but it did great business at the box office. The best thing about this movie is that its success ensured that there would be more Universal Sherlock Holmes movies. It marked an uncertain start to what would be one of the great B-movie series. Recommended, with reservations.

The House of Fear (1944)

The House of Fear (also known as Sherlock Holmes: The House of Fear) was released in 1944 and was the eighth of the Universal movies starring Basil Rathbone as the Great Detective and Nigel Bruce as Dr Watson. 

It was based (albeit very loosely indeed) on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story The Five Orange Pips. 

It has a good deal of very effectively contrived gothic atmosphere and benefits from some very stylish (by B-movie standards) directing.

It is not by any means the best of the Universal Sherlock Holmes movies but it is an above-average entry in the cycle and it provides wonderful entertainment. 

You can read my full review at Classic Movie Ramblings.

The Scarlet Claw (1944)

The Scarlet Claw (AKA Sherlock Holmes and the Scarlet Claw) came somewhere about the middle of Universal’s Sherlock Holmes cycle of 12 films. It’s one of several to contain hints of horror, and it’s generally regarded as one of the best of the series.

In fact The Scarlet Claw is probably as close as this series came to a horror/mystery crossover film.

Holmes and Dr Watson are in Canada for a conference on the occult, chaired by Lord Penrose, when news is received that Lady Penrose has been found dead. Her throat has been slashed, but whether by a human, an animal or some supernatural beast is yet to be determined. The wounds are almost identical to those found recently on local livestock in the vicinity of the village of La Mort Rouge, and those attacks have been widely blamed on a supernatural creature. Local legend has it that this creature appears at lengthy and irregular intervals.

Lord Penrose being a firm believer in the supernatural is naturally inclined to attribute his wife’s death to this monster. While Sherlock Holmes is prepared to keep an open mind, he is much more inclined to suspect murder, and to suspect a very human murderer. Lord Penrose is not keen on having Holmes investigate the case, but when Holmes receives a letter written by Lady Penrose the day before her death, a letter in which she speaks of a threat to her life, there is no stopping him from becoming involved.

It is not long before Holmes has an encounter himself with the famous monster, and begins to unravel a mystery involving murders in a touring theatrical company and several people who are not the people they appear to be.

The Canadian setting makes very little difference to this film. I always think of Universal’s Sherlock Holmes films in much the same way I think of Hammer’s horror films - as taking place in a kind of imaginary world, in this case a blending of the 1940s with a dash of the 1890s and a setting that is not really Baker Street in London but Baker Street at Universal Studios. So having this film set in a Canada located on Universal’s back lot doesn’t disturb me.

The big problem with Universal’s genre films was always their conviction that such films needed to have comic relief. This comic relief ruined many of their horror films. The Sherlock Holmes movies also had to have comic relief, but they were more fortunate in that it was provided mostly by Nigel Bruce as Dr Watson. While this annoys Sherlock Holmes purists who dislike seeing Watson portrayed as a buffoon it does at least have several advantages - Nigel Bruce was a capable comic actor and his Dr Watson was basically likeable, so the comic relief is rarely annoying. At times it’s even actually amusing.

In this outing both Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce are in good form. They have a competent if not overly exciting supporting cast.

Roy William Neill does his usual competent job as director. Being a Sherlock Holmes story you don’t really expect for one moment that the supernatural explanation is going to stand up to Holmes’s scrutiny, but Conan Doyle included suggestions of the supernatural and elements of horror in several of his original stories so it’s a perfectly valid plot device in a Holmes movie.

There’s an abundance of plot twists, Dr Watson gets to act the fool but he also gets to save Holmes’s life, and there’s plenty of entertainment to be had. The Scarlet Claw is a great deal of fun.

The Spider Woman (1944)

The Spider Woman (also known as Sherlock Holmes and the Spider Woman) is one of the best of Universal’s Sherlock Holmes series. It displays all the best features of this, one of their best and most successful B-movie series.

Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce are in fine form as Holmes and Watson in this 1944 release, but most importantly Holmes has a worthy (and refreshingly new) adversary. It has the right mix of humour and suspense, with just the right amount of campiness. And just a touch of horror as well.

The movie also has a solid script script, courtesy of screenwriter Bertram Millhauser. While Holmes and Watson have been trout-fishing in Scotland a mysterious series of apparent suicides, the pyjama suicides, has created a sensation in the London press. The victims were all wealthy men who seemingly awakened during the night and hurled themselves, for no obvious reason, out of windows whilst still clad in their pyjamas. Scotland Yard might be taken in, but right from the start Holmes has no doubt that these acts of self-destruction are in fact fiendishly planned and executed murders. And he also has no doubt that the diabolical criminal mastermind behind them is a woman. To Holmes the murders clearly have a feminine touch to them!

After first faking his own death Holmes disguises himself as a reasonably rich although minor Indian potentate, a distinguished army officer with a weakness for gambling. All the pyjama suicides shared an addiction to the gaming tables. He soon attracts the attention of his prey. Adrea Spedding (Gale Sondergaard) encourages him to bet, and to lose, heavily, all part of her cunning plot.

The plot also involves some imaginative murders, deadly venomous spiders, eccentric entomologists, and a wonderful evil child. In fact one of the screen’s great evil children, a kind of trainee Renfield with a penchant for capturing flies in mid-air. There are also deadly games in a fairground, and rooftop shoot-outs.

Roy William Neill directs with the vigour and economy that made him such a fine maker of B-pictures. The pacing never lets up, and there are some nice visual set-pieces.

Gale Sondergaard indulges in some epic scenery-chewing, throwing down an acting challenge to Basil Rathbone which he gleefully accepts, and to which he proves himself equal. The film positively zings when these two are on on screen together.

It’s unfortunate that Universal (and indeed most of the major studios) cared so little about B-pictures that they were often content to see them as mere cash cows, and to churn out uninspired and inferior genre movies whilst lavishing much cash and attention on worthy but dull A-pictures. It’s unfortunate because the B-movie arguably represents 1940s Hollywood at its best, combining craftsmanship and great entertainment.

This is pure fun, never taking itself seriously but a well-made little movie that succeeds perfectly in what it what it sets out to do.