SHERLOCK HOLMES FACES DEATH (1943). Director: Roy William Neill. Dr. Watson: "Ghosts don't stab people in the neck, do they?"
Sherlock Holmes: "Not well-bred ghosts."
In this very loose adaptation of Doyle's story "The Musgrave Ritual," Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce) investigate murders at Musgrave Manor, which has been opened for convalescent war patients and staff. There are hidden treasures, secret passages, and a floor that resembles a chessboard. Although this is another of Universal's "modern-dress" Holmes films, it retains the old-style atmosphere that is so crucial to the success of these mysteries. Hillary Brooke plays the sister of the murdered men and she isn't too terrible. Her boyfriend is played by Milburn Stone, who also appeared in The Great Alaskan Mystery, Roadblock, and Captive Wild Woman. Dennis Hoey is great as Inspector Lestrade, a role he repeated in most of these films, and which served chiefly as comedy relief. Halliwell Hobbes and Minna Phillips make an impression as the butler, Brunton, and his wife.
Verdict: Crackling good fun! ***.
This one managed to elude me until I was middle-aged, so when I finally saw it (in the superbly restored SHERLOCK HOLMES COLLECTION dvd set from MPI) it was as if a missing part of my childhood had been restored--fresh and brand spanking new! Rathbone and Bruce are perfect as always and this film leans heavily into the atmospherics, and boy does it go down smoothly. It's instantly near the top of my list of the 'old dark house' Holmes films, and those are my favorites. Bruce gets a bit more time on-screen without Rathbone, and it's interesting (and a little scary!) to be reminded, and actually see, that Watson is a practising Doctor. This one manages to slide the "war" aspect to the background but still uses it cleverly to stuff the mansion with quirky, suspicious and perhaps dangerous characters--which is highly successful IMO and gives the detective proceedings an added edge. I wonder if it isn't a fairly early use of PTSD as a plot contrivance...? Lastrade getting stuck in the walls is truly funny, as the film kinda winks at the audience, knowing they're well-aware that's exactly what will happen. Anyway, it's not faithful to its source material, but most of them aren't... and obviously it's impossible to be objective, but this is a solid five stars from me! "Crackling good fun!" indeed!
ReplyDelete--Mark
Your very interesting comments remind me that I have to revisit this film and all of the other Sherlock Holmes films soon -- over the holidays would be perfect!
ReplyDelete