Film Review
After three epic adventures, in which England's most famous sleuth used
his deductive powers to thwart various dastardly schemes by Nazi
agents, Sherlock Holmes (in the guise of Basil Rathbone) returns to
more familiar territory and tackles a mystery which is much closer in
spirit to the ones conceived by his creator, Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle. Although the film was inspired by an original Conan Doyle
story, it actually has more in common with an Agatha Christie murder
mystery, with Holmes looking remarkably like a stand-in for Hercule
Poirot.
There is a widely held view that the Sherlock Holmes films made by
Universal Pictures were somewhat inferior to the two made by Twentieth
Century-Fox in 1939 -
The Hound of the Baskervilles
and
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
Sherlock
Holmes Faces Death (along with one or two of the subsequent
films in the series) challenges this assertion and, although made on a
lower budget than the Fox films, has production values that are
comparable, if not better. Indeed, the stunning artistic design
and photography are on a par with the better films noirs of the era,
lending a darkly oppressive mood that makes this one of most
atmospheric films in the series.
The screenplay and performances are also pretty good, and Rathbone, as
Holmes, shows no sign of tiring of the part that he made his own in the
1940s. The only let down is some unnecessary silliness from
messieurs Watson and Lestrade, whose only real function now appears to
be to provide comic relief, in the best (or worst) tradition of vauderville.
Poor Holmes. Not only does he have to solve mysteries and defeat
cunning malefactors, but he also has to prevent his two associates from
tripping over their own shoe laces. Miss Marple never had this
problem.
© James Travers 2009
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Roy William Neill film:
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1943)
Film Synopsis
During WWII, Musgrave Manor serves as a convalescent home for officers
wounded in the war. When one of his colleagues is attacked by an
unknown assailant one evening, Dr Watson invites his friend Sherlock
Holmes to the house to investigate. Shortly after his arrival,
Holmes discovers the dead body of the house's owner, Geoffrey
Musgrave. The man suspected of his murder is the fiancé of
Musgrave's sister, Sally, but not long after he is arrested, Sally's
other brother, Phillip is killed. Holmes deduces that the
murders are linked to an ancient ritual, in which a mysterious rhyme is
recited after the death of each member of the household.
Holmes manages to crack the mystery and makes an incredible
discovery. It's a shame that he may not live to tell the tale...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.