Firstly, a warning - this is a very long review, among the longest I've ever done.  (It didn't start out intending to be that way, but that's how it ended up.)  It's a collection of 14 movies and I did a small review of each one as I watched them on my movies blog - along with some supplementary information, those short reviews make up this one, long review.  So you have been warned - if you're not interested enough in Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection to read a lengthy diatribe, you might as well stop right now - there are just over three and a half thousand words here!  

Still here?  Good, then I'll continue.  I've left the reviews unchanged so that you will see my overall impression of the collection and how it changes after each film.  While of course many actors have portrayed Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Baker Street detective and his sidekick on-screen over the years, many retain a special fondness for Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr Watson, whose 14 films, completely remastered, appear in Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection.  The films in this collection are (in order):

1. Sherlock Holmes And The Hound Of The Baskervilles
2. The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes
3. Sherlock Holmes And The Voice Of Terror
4. Sherlock Holmes And The Secret Weapon
5. Sherlock Holmes In Washington
6. Sherlock Holmes Faces Death
7. Sherlock Holmes And The Spider Woman
8. Sherlock Holmes And The Pearl Of Death
9. Sherlock Holmes And The Scarlet Claw
10. Sherlock Holmes And The House Of Fear
11. Sherlock Holmes And The Pursuit To Algiers
12. Sherlock Holmes And The Woman In Green
13. Sherlock Holmes In The Terror By Night
14. Sherlock Holmes In Dressed To Kill

The Special Features are:

- Featurette with Robert Gitt, Head Preservation Officer at the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Discusses the multi-million dollar film restoration project for the series. (5 minutes)
- Audio Commentaries with Sherlock Holmes Expert David Stuart Davies (author, publisher of numerous books on Holmes and Rathbone) on the following films: -The Scarlet Claw -The Woman In Green -Sherlock Holmes Faces Death -The Hound of the Baskervilles

- Audio Commentary with Sherlock Holmes Expert Richard Valley (Acclaimed author and publisher of Scarlet Street Mystery Magazine, currently penning a book on Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes). -The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes

- Extensive Production Notes by Holmes Expert Richard Valley for all 14 films.

- Photo Gallery/Original Movie Posters

These features are nice enough if you like that sort of thing.  Personally I've only ever tried to listen to the audio commentary of a movie a couple of times, enduring only a few minutes before finding it too annoying, so don't expect me to comment on the audio commentary here!  You'll know if you like that sort of thing.

Anyway, this collection is all about the movies, which have been remastered very well.  All 14 mini-reviews follow (I watched the films in the order they appear in the collection):


Sherlock Holmes And The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)
The first of the Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone, this is very different to the 2009 Sherlock Holmes movie, but definitely a good film in its own right. A tale of an ancient beast and a cursed hereditary in deepest Dartmoor, it has plenty of atmosphere and an ending that you almost definitely won't guess (well, not completely).

There are some nice humorous touches in the film, though I'm never very happy when Watson (played here by Nigel Bruce) is portrayed as a bumbling idiot. He does have one or two moments of elucidation here, but basically he blunders along from one mistake to the next. The dashing young Lord whose life is endangered is here played by Richard Greene, and among the other cast members are Wendy Barrie, Lionel Atwill and Morton Lowry.

A good production, directed by Sidney Lanfield, and an encouraging first film in the series.


The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)
The second chronologically but for some reason third in viewing order of Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a very enjoyable romp with Sherlock going head to head with arch-rival Professor Moriarty (played by George Zucco). The movie starts with Moriarty being acquitted of a crime, despite the misgivings of the judge, jury and indeed everyone else; Sherlock Holmes runs into court with new evidence that would destroy Moriarty's alibi, but the judgement has already been given and Moriarty cannot be tried on the same charges again.

Frustrated, Holmes shares a cab with Moriarty back to Baker Street, in which the two compare opinions on each other, in which Rathbone utters these classic lines:

"You've a magnificent brain, Moriarty. I admire it. I'd like to present it pickled in alcohol to the London Medical Society."

In reply, Zucco's Moriarty sets the scene for this film:

"Holmes, you only now barely missed sending me to the gallows. You're the only man in England clever enough to defeat me. I'm going to break you. I'm going to bring off right under your nose the most incredible crime of the century, and you'll never suspect it until it's too late. It'll be the end of you Sherlock Holmes. Then I can retire in peace. I'd like to retire; crime no longer amuses me. I'd like to devote my remaining years to abstract science. "

Moriarty sets out to concoct this fabulous crime under Holmes' nose, and to do so he constructs a sequence of events which utilises the most dangerous knowledge he possesses - an understanding of how Sherlock Holmes' brain works.

Once again I found the doddering nature of Watson to be rather annoying, but that aside it's a cracking addition to the archives of Sherlock Holmes movies; fun, engaging, and keeps you guessing until the end. I'll forgive the slightly melodramatic exit of Moriarty for the final scene, in which Holmes is continuing his experiment of trying to get flies to react to his strumming on the violin. Watson swats the fly with his newspaper and says:

"Elementary, My Dear Holmes, Elementary"

(This classic moment is parodied in the 2009 version of Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law as Dr Watson)


Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942)
On the first disk of Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection (not sure why it's second though as it was the third to be made) along with The Hound of the Baskervilles, this is set during the war, with the "Voice of Terror" coming on British wirelesses telling the British public about great triumphs of the Nazis as they were happening, or just about to. At their wits end, the the Defence Council call in Baker Street's most famous detective to help.

Basil Rathbone is fine throughout, already familiar with his portrayal of a supremely confident, slightly diffident and conceited Holmes; Nigel Bruce continues to play Watson as a rather bumbling fool with moments of enlightenment (I'm sure it was the scriptwriters' idea not his!). It's an okay plot, never really builds into much and some of the twists were a bit too easy to see coming. The final patriotic speech and indeed the whole patriotic tone of the movie rather spoilt it, though considering the time it was released I guess that was inevitable. The Voice of Terror was not a great day our for Holmes and Watson, I'm afraid - but the next one in the Definitive Collection is significantly better.


Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1943)
Another wartime Sherlock Holmes movie but a good deal better than the previous year's The Voice of Terror, this movie starts out with the esteemed detective extracting a Swiss scientist from under the noses of the Nazis. This scientist, Dr Franz Tobel (William Post Jr.) has invented a new, ultra-accurate bomb sight that will revolutionise the bombing missions of the Brits - or the Germans if they get their hands on it first.

The story is twofold - Holmes' battle of wits with Professor Moriarty (here played by Lionel Atwill) who's working for the Germans, and Dr Tobel's efforts to keep things very much under his own control. Apart from another painfully patriotic closing speech by Holmes and an even more bungling than usual Watson, this is a good installment (fifth in viewing order on Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection). Without Moriarty it would have been a bit flat, but his inclusion and the competition between him and Holmes which is more professional rivalry than anything else, along with the introduction of Dr Tobel who is intellectually on their level, makes for an interesting plot. The final sequence is an entertaining mixture of cat and mouse, deception and double bluffs.

I have to admit though, I'm hoping that this is the last of the wartime movies - somehow they just don't seem in quite the right spirit for films featuring the master of criminal detection.


Best line from Moriarty: "Brilliant man, Sherlock Holmes, too bad he was honest."


Painfully patriotic closing lines -

Watson: "Things are looking up, Holmes. This little Island's still on the map."
Holmes: "Yes. 'This fortress - built by nature for herself; This blessed plot, this Earth, this realm, this England.'"

Oh well... at least it's Shakespeare...


Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943)
Ah well... not entirely sure if this one's set in wartime or not, but the plot is about a secret document stolen by "the other side" and there are hundreds of military personnel in the movie. It's not exactly a strong Sherlock Holmes movie, but it is kind of fun.

The reason for that is, with an admittedly weak plot and a directorial style that sometimes seems to border on travelogue when Holmes and Watson first arrive in Washington (after a fairly long opening sequence that doesn't involve the dynamic duo at all), there is quite a lot of humour here - from Watson's obsession with sport and American culture to some dialogue that stands out as quite inspired compared to some often quite banal scripting here. The Americans rarely have accents that sound even remotely American here, but somehow that just adds to the awful (but compelling) cheesiness of the whole thing.

George Zucco returns as a villain (he played Professor Moriarty in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes), but his villainous character here is rather bland and uninteresting. Roy William Neill directs this but doesn't do as well as with Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (released in the same year) - and the closing speech by Holmes is even more dreadful here.

Combining Sherlock Holmes with the war effort was always going to be dubious in terms of the quality of film it produced, and this isn't a particularly good one - however because of the wry humour in evidence at times it's pleasantly amusing on the whole, if rather absurd.

Holmes: What form was this document in?
Mr. Ahrens: It was typed - on two sheets of legal paper.
Watson: Two sheets! That's too bulky to swallow!
Holmes: And dry, Watson, fearfully dry - especially legal papers!


Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943)
Another Sherlock Holmes film from set directed by Ron William Neill, this one certainly has its weaknesses (Dennis Hoey's Lestrade is particularly awful), but the plot is genuinely intriguing. Even with a few rather obvious red herrings, it will keep you guessing until the end.

The plot involves an ancient family ritual at Musgrave Manor, where Watson has been acting as Chief Medical Officer when the home is used as a centre for convalescence. When a near-murder happens, followed by an actual murder, Watson calls on his old friend Sherlock Holmes. Watson's reasoning is that all the chaps there are good fellows and couldn't possibly be guilty of anything, but they are a bit... strange, due to their wartime experiences. Lestrade of course jumps right in with accusations and upsets everyone, which is what Scotland Yard do.

There's are a host of interesting and surreal characters, and a few funny moments, but it's the weird and wonderful plot that keeps the viewer's interest. Despite some obvious flaws, this is one of the most enjoyable films so far in The Sherlock Holmes Definitive Collection.


Sherlock Holmes and the Spider Woman (1944)
Roy William Niell directs again in this enjoyable though flawed movie. In this one Adrea Spedding (Gale Sondergard) is Holmes' foe, and a formidable one at that. After facing death in the previous film, Holmes apparently dies right at the start of this one. Of course we all know it must be a ruse, and to throw the mastermind behind a series of apparent suicides off their tracks. Though a master of disguise, Sherlock Holmes proves himself to be a definite rookie when it comes to accents as he impersonates a celebrated Indian soldier, but that disguise is quickly thrust off.

The strength of the main mystery is what keeps this film going, along with a few moments of light relief thanks to the ever-bumbling Watson and Lestrade (Mrs Hudson the housekeeper is quite fun in this one too), so the weaknesses of the film including an end-scene escape from Holmes that really pushes believability don't ruin it. This particular director seems intent on giving Basil Rathbone the most preposterous speeches at the end of his films - perhaps a test of Rathbone's acting ability?! - but all in all this one's very watchable.


Sherlock Holmes and the Pearl of Death (1944)
Sherlock Holmes is on the case again; having recovered an extremely valuable pearl from a criminal mastermind, when he demonstrates the failings of the security system at the museum where it is to be housed, he unwittingly makes it possible for the same mastermind to steal it again. Professional pride and reputation at stake, Holmes set forth to recover the pearl once more.

The pearl in question has a bit of a reputation for people seeking it turning up dead; with a worthy adversary in the form of Giles Conover (Miles Mander) and his beautiful and dangerous accomplice Naomi Drake (Evelyn Ankers), along with a back-breaking henchman known only as "The Creeper" (Rondo Hatton), the cat and mouse detective work is interesting and rarely predictable. Watson has a good performance here, if only because his bumbling and mumbling are funnier than usual, and being a Ron William Neill movie, there's a rather baffling and awful speech at the end - how Basil Rathbone must have hated those! Not to worry though, after the next film which has an even worse concluding speech, they seem to have been ditched in favour of less nauseous endings. Probably has something to do with the end of the war, I guess - "uplifting" speeches were the order of the day when WWII was still going on.


Sherlock Holmes and the Scarlet Claw (1944)
Off to Canda we go, French Canada I think though the accents are English or Scottish, with one character who sometimes sounds almost like she's vaguely trying to put on a French accent. Yes, in terms of accents appropriate to location, it really is that bad. Unfortunately, it's pretty awful in most other ways as well.

The town of La Mort Rouge (unless my language skills have really deserted me, I would understand that as meaning "The Red Death") has a history of suspicious deaths with purportedly supernatural causes. Holmes, of course, doesn't believe in such things, but can he prove the real cause of a recent death, the wife of the main proponent of the local occult society?

Well, of course he can. It's not really all that interesting how he does it, much of the acting is rather bad, the dialogue is often atrocious, and there's really very little to commend The Scarlet Claw, apart from perhaps a somewhat novel use for the common garden trowel.

Of the films in the Sherlock Holmes Definitive Collection that I've seen so far, this is undoubtedly one of the worst. Only The Voice of Terror might possibly have been worse.


Sherlock Holmes and the House of Fear (1945)
Sherlock Holmes and the House of Fear is another of the good Holmes movies from the forties; it has a strong plot with plenty of twists and turns, with the final solution being both ingenious and most unexpected. The story revolves around a castle where a club - made up entirely of wealthy, unattached gentleman - meet regularly. The Baker Street detective is brought in when two of the members die under mysterious circumstances - not the least of which being their receipt of a letter containing orange pips the night before they die.

Watson and Lestrade are at it again, constantly jumping to conclusions, insulting each other and in Watson's case falling asleep at the most inappropriate times. Suspicion jumps from one person to another rapidly and the ending is quite brilliant - doubly so as the ridiculous speeches have been dispensed with. All in all, a jolly good showing from Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.


Sherlock Holmes in Pursuit to Algiers (1945)
After an entertainingly bizarre and intriguing opening sequence in which we learn that Watson finds the thought of eating fish and chips most distasteful, Holmes is recruited to make sure that a young heir to a throne is returned safely to his country - which may be no easy feat considering there is a powerful group extremely opposed to this very thing. Mostly set on board a sea liner, Sherlock Holmes in Pursuit to Algiers has a plethora of interesting and suspicious characters, and some menacing (and sometimes intelligent) foes, and some funny scenes thanks to Nigel Bruce's Dr Watson. The ending is very well done too.

All in all this is a strong episode from the Sherlock Holmes Definitive Collection - it perhaps relies overmuch on humour but since the sleuthing and double-bluffing are cleverly played, this actually works really well.


Sherlock Holmes and the Woman in Green (1945)
A series of brutal murders of young women - seemingly completely unconnected apart from each one having a finger surgically removed after death - can mean only one thing - Professor Moriarty. Yes, he's back from the dead and this time played by Henry Daniell. Moriarty is aided by the lovely Lydia, who has even more to her wiles than meets the eye...

This is another good installment, partly aided by the fact that instead of a foolish Lestade we have Inspector Gregson (Matthew Boulton), who though he doesn't seem to have much detecting ability at least seems to be relatively sensible. The same can't be said of Dr Watson, but that's okay because he's funnier than ever in this movie. The main plot is intriguing and, on the whole, fairly unpredictable. Roy William Neill's direction, which was of rather variable quality over the many Sherlock Holmes films he directed, is nicely balanced here. Sherlock Holmes and the Woman in Green is definitely recommended viewing for all fans of the Baker Street detective.


Sherlock Holmes: Terror by Night (1946)
Set almost entirely on a train, this features a huge diamond entrusted to the famous detective, which is then promptly stolen. Holmes suspects a colleague of the departed (unless he turns out to be not dead yet again?!) Professor Moriarty, but at least two individuals on the train could be this person... A young woman who clearly has a secret, an old accomplice of Dr Watson's suddenly turning up, a mother who's not grieving the death of her son as much as could be expected... Along with all this Watson repeatedly makes a fool of himself and Lestrade is along for the ride and to make even more of a fool of himself...

I wasn't too sure what to make of this movie... there were many good things about it, but also a lot that just didn't quite ring true. Basil Rathbone's ruthlessly logical Holmes and Nigel Bruce's hopelessly bumbling Watson are near the end of their partnership here and it's easy to see why they were so popular; not their worst film together, but not the best.


Sherlock Holmes In Dressed To Kill (1946)
 Three murderous villains, led by an attractive woman (you just know you should never trust attractive women) are desperate to obtain three inexpensive music boxes - it turns out that the contain something extremely valuable.  The people who previously owned the boxes start to turn up dead, so our intrepid duo investigate.  In the finale the woman (played by PatriciaMorison) looks like she might even have outsmarted Holmes and that his death is imminent - but of course he's got a trick up his sleeve.

Not great, not bad, it's a reasonably fun way for Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce to bow out.


Final Verdict

My overall rating is 3 stars, reflecting the fact that this collection contains both very good and very bad movies, and a lot in between.  It's really best for fans of the Basil Rathbone / Nigel Bruce partnership, though also you'll like it more overall if you have a higher tolerance of wartime propaganda in movies than I have.  I deliberated whether to recommend it or not - I've swayed towards saying yes for that because apart from anything else, this box set is a little piece of movie history.

Fittingly, this was an entry to the  It's Elementary My Dear Watson! Mystery Write Off

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD