Wordiezett So much average

ChanBot i must have seen a different film!!

Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

BeSummers Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

Paul Evans This is such an unusual outing for Holmes and Watson, made when World War II was happening, it sees Holmes battle the Nazis. I can imagine at the time this was in the Cinemas this would have had a massive effect on the British audiences, it has hugely patriotic themes throughout, The BBC, spitfires and British commandos etc, I can almost imagine the creators of the story writing it in a way to offer hope to the British audiences watching, fearing the Nazis were infinite.It's not my favourite of Rathbone's outings, Holmes and Watson seem to fit awkwardly into this story, but it's very worth of a watch, it is beautifully filmed, it looks incredible, amazing to consider it's over seventy years old. Rathbone and Bruce work tremendously well as always, sadly it lacks any of the humour that later productions would have.Worth a look, a bit different. 6/10

SnakesOnAnAfricanPlain 20th Century Fox dropped Holmes after just two films. They were soon picked up by Universal. They decided to keep Rathbone and Bruce, a winning combination, but decided to make a huge change. They changed the setting from the original Victorian London, and placed it firmly in present day war torn London. This is a huge change done for the sole reason of using a familiar character to dish out some propaganda. It's a bit of a shame really, as the scenes involving patriotism are so heavy handed they stop the movie dead. One scene has a lengthy speech about being British and how not helping Holmes is the same as helping the Nazis. Holmes is called in to find the Voice of Terror, a member of the Third Reich, making radio announcements about Nazi attacks on British soil. Rathbone keeps his character intact using the usual skills to bring evil to justice. Universal have lost all of the ominous atmosphere of the previous films. It often feels very clinical in its construction. Bruce is barely noticeable and his sole purpose seems to be asking Holmes how he possibly could have known such a thing, allowing Holmes to explain to the audience. The supporting cast are of a high calibre, but their actions do seem more geared towards stopping Holmes out of pride, than about protecting their country. It certainly is short, and there is enough to keep you entertained. However, when the final shot is encouraging you to buy War Bonds, you kind of wish they had left Holmes out of this and just used an original character.

laddie5 This entertaining little melodrama does a decent job of moving Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson from the Victorian comforts of Baker Street into the WWII London of blitzes and blackouts. I have been watching this movie off and on for over 30 years, and it has never looked as crystal clear as it does in UCLA's stunning print on the recent DVD. Sound is sharp and clear, too, with some lines of dialogue understandable to my ears for the very first time. Speaking of dialogue, it's quite an indictment of today's Idiots-R-Us culture that a cheap B-movie from 60 years ago sounds like Shakespeare now. For example, when Basil Rathbone's Holmes reminds Thomas Gomez that the English believe every life has value, the sweaty little Nazi sneers "A quaint notion of an even quainter nation." Not bad. The plot purports to be based on Sir Arthur's wonderful endpaper Holmes story "His Last Bow," but it uses nothing beyond the villain's last name and the great closing lines. In its day, the British were outraged at this movie, with its suggestion of treachery and treason at the highest levels of government, and the country owing its salvation to the noble bravery of a prostitute. Doesn't sound so shocking now, does it?

ackstasis Detective Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle's immortal literary creation, is reportedly the most filmed fictional character in cinema history, having been portrayed in hundreds of movies by literally hundreds of actors. Of those fortunate enough to have played the great detective, one actor – Basil Rathbone – remains the most fondly-remembered, having appeared in fourteen Sherlock Holmes films during a seven year period between 1939 and 1946. The first two pictures in the "series," 'The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)' and 'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939),' were big-budget entries produced by Twentieth Century Fox. With the onset of World War Two, plans for further films were promptly shelved, apparently seen as less topical and, hence, a poor investment decision. In 1942, Universal Studios recognised a window of opportunity, and hired both Rathbone and Nigel Bruce {as Holmes' humble sidekick, Dr. John Watson} to reprise their respective roles in 'Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942).'A low-budget but technically-accomplished affair, the film is war-time propaganda in the greatest sense of the word, but, if you can stomach the unashamed patriotism, then an excellent mystery reveals itself. Though purportedly based on Conan Doyle's 1917 short story, "His Last Bow," the film bears only a passing resemblance to its source material. In order to compete with most of Hollywood's early 1940s output, Holmes and Watson – being "ageless, invincible and unchanging" – are relocated to the modern era, where the great detective "remains – as ever – the supreme master of deductive reasoning," and so can put forth his talents towards defeating Nazi Germany. This is not altogether different from the premise of "His Last Bow," in which an aging Holmes aids England's WWI efforts by bringing the sinister German agent Von Bork to justice. This was one of the few Sherlock Holmes stories narrated in the third-person, and, chronologically, the detective's final mystery.In war-torn London, a menacing German voice taunts England over the airwaves. This "Voice of Terror," obviously based on the real-life Lord Haw-Haw, regularly appears on the radio to denigrate the Allied war effort, and to reveal the latest devastating Nazi victory. The British Defence Committee has exhausted every possible option, and so place their faith in the remarkable investigative powers of Sherlock Holmes. The mystery itself is adequately intriguing, and, though some of the supporting work is a bit wooden, both Rathbone and Bruce display impeccable chemistry in the leading roles, and Thomas Gomez is suitably slimy as the enigmatic German agent, R.F. Meade. Elwood Bredell's black-and-white cinematography is exquisite, particularly given the relatively low-budget, and, in one scene, he does an exceptional job of capturing the warmth and sheer intellect behind Rathbone's piercing gaze, a single brief instant that perfectly captures the essence of Sherlock Holmes.The film ends with Holmes' wonderful meditation on the approaching conflict: "There's an east wind coming, Watson... Such a wind as never blew on England yet. It will be cold and bitter, Watson, and a good many of us may wither before its blast. But it's God's own wind none the less. And a greener, better, stronger land will be in the sunshine when the wind is cleared." I was all set to praise the film's screenwriters (Robert Hardy Andrews, Lynn Riggs and John Bright) for their incredible writing talents, before a re-read of the original story reminded me that I'd heard that speech somewhere before! Nevertheless, full credit should be offered for their foresight in recognising the enormous power of Holmes' final words. There's even a few flourishes of humour in the screenplay, particularly in Holmes' mocking deprecation of Watson's powers of deduction, but also in the self-referential moment when Holmes reaches for his iconic deer-stalker hat, before reluctantly settling for a fedora after Watson remonstrates.