Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Wordiezett So much average

Console best movie i've ever seen.

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Leofwine_draca Following on from the success of his cruise-liner thriller PURSUIT TO ALGIERS, genre director Roy William Neill relocates elements of a Conan Doyle story to a train and the result is another solid and dependable adventure yarn for Rathbone and Bruce. Reaching the end of their long tenure as the super-sleuth and his unlikely assistant, Rathbone and Bruce still manage to put in endearing performances despite the familiarity of the situations and the clichés by now appearing in the tale.This conventional film takes the form of a murder mystery and presents the audience with a number of likely suspects, half of whom turn out to be red herrings whilst the other half are a sinister and murderous bunch. The film is pretty entertaining as it makes out everyone on board the train has a sinister side. Even Watson himself comes under suspicion at one point. Detective fans will not be stretched by the material as the culprit is easy to guess from the beginning – this coming from somebody who usually misses all the clues as it is.Although the film is low on action and spectacle it still manages to grip the audience thanks to a fast pacing and lots of intrigue set on board the train. There are some exciting moments to break up the dialogue, including Holmes hanging on the outside of a train for dear life and the climatic free-for-all which is rather amusing. There are the usual genre trappings which are great, including an air gun that shoots poisoned darts, an occupied coffin with a secret compartment in it, evil policemen, a replica jewel and plenty more. Skelton Knaggs is the epitome of twisted evil as the sadistic killer. There are even a couple of mild surprises and twists along the way.The characters and their interaction is what makes this film work. This is a dialogue heavy movie with plenty of comedy so that it never becomes boring. Rathbone is excellent as Holmes but his character is rather subdued and introspective here. To be honest he doesn't get much to do, as there are many other characters taking centre stage at numerous intervals. Bruce is once more the dumb, alcoholic comic relief. We have Dennis Hoey shining in his largest performance as Inspector Lestrade. Hoey is actually the leading investigator for a lot of this film which makes up for all his supporting roles in the previous entries in the series. Hoey is on top form and a delight to watch as he reads his lines uniquely. The rest of the cast is more than adequate and the actors frequently shine. This is an atmospheric and highly interesting, not to mention worthy, addition to the Holmes canon.

binapiraeus This last-but-one of the Rathbone&Bruce 'Sherlock Holmes' adaptation, IMO, is neither a typical one nor one of the best entries in the series - in a whole train full of suspects, the huge diamond 'Star of Rhodesia', is being stolen, recovered and stolen again, and no less than three people are murdered for it; and, since Professor Moriarty by now seems to be 'finally' dead, there has to be a substitution for him for a battle of wits with Sherlock Holmes: the infamous jewel thief Sebastian Moran...Now, this is admittedly a REAL whodunit, because we have to guess until the last moment who is this Sebastian Moran - but how can we, with not only so many red herrings sticking out of every compartment door, but also without a really consistent story? A coffin with a secret chamber for someone to hide in, a hotel teapot 'thief', a dubious mathematician, a strange train guard... What are we to make of all that? Holmes, however, solves the case triumphantly and cunningly, as ever (and once again foreseeing ALL the traps the 'Moriarty successor' may have laid for him); but even at the end, it doesn't look really convincing to a classic whodunit fan...Anyway, there's no denying that this film, too, has got its special features that makes it worth watching, no matter how much it confuses us: there's the claustrophobic atmosphere of the train (some Agatha Christie feeling here...), there are some genuinely creepy and suspenseful moments - and there's more humor than we usually find in a 'Sherlock Holmes' movie (once again, chiefly thanks to our good friend Dr. Watson)! But then, it wasn't actually meant as a comedy...

AaronCapenBanner Roy William Neil once again directs Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce as Sherlock Holmes & Doctor Watson in this film using elements from previous stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes & Watson are hired to prevent the theft of the valuable Star Of Rhodesia, held by Lady Margaret Carstairs and her son Roland. Holmes switches the diamond for a fake, which is stolen, but Roland is murdered in the process. Chief suspect is a former associate of the late Professor Moriarty, using an alias, but is better known as Col. Sebastian Moran... Marginal entry is set mostly on a train, a nice change, but ultimately comes up short, with a rather anti-climatic ending.

TheLittleSongbird Terror by Night is an entry in the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes series that is neither among the best or worst of the series. It's not Hound of the Baskervilles, Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Scarlet Claw but it's superior to Voice of Terror and Pursuit to Algiers. It is too short and can feel rushed, but aside from the length the only other things that let it down were the pretty awful performance of Rene Godfrey(as gorgeous as she is) and the identity of the killer being revealed too early, I personally would have done it five-ten minutes later. While not as beautifully made as the likes of Hound of the Baskervilles and Scarlet Claw, Terror by Night is certainly better made than the hurried-looking production values of Pursuit to Algiers. It does evoke a very claustrophobic atmosphere, for a murder mystery set on a train that was actually appropriate and well done. The train is a great setting for a murder mystery as well. The music has haunting and jaunty touches that are used fittingly, while the dialogue is intelligent, with a good mix of comedy and suspense. The mystery elements to the story are clever and suspenseful with lots of nice twists and turns, the final solution itself is pretty ingenious and the climatic fight is exciting, and the comedy is funny and doesn't feel out of place. The film is solidly directed and very well played on the whole with a suave and authoritative Basil Rathbone and an amusing Nigel Bruce leading. Dennis Hoey has always been a mixed bag in effectiveness as Lestrade, not his fault usually it's his placement and how's he written, the good news is that it is one of his better performances of the series and Lestrade is not quite as idiotic as he was before(at his most idiotic he veers on annoying). The supporting acting is not as strong but still good, Alan Mowbrey being the standout, though Skelton Knaggs is relatively creepy too. To conclude, a solid Sherlock Holmes mystery. 7/10 Bethany Cox