Dressed to Kill (1946)

Wonderfully offbeat film!

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Overrated

Just perfect...

This 14th and final entry in the Sherlock Holmes film series finds the star, Basil Rathbone, in fine form. The story deals with three seemingly inconsequential music boxes, which were manufactured in prison. These items subsequently get sold at an auction, and the people who were supposed to lay their hands on them resort to murder to get them back.The hook in this case isn't figuring out "whodunit". We're shown our villains early on. The interest lies in watching Holmes as he works the clues, as one of the music box purchasers, Watsons' friend "Stinky" Emery (Edmund Breon), is killed for his new possession. Also, one will be made to wonder what could be so important about these items. Holmes and Watson are up against particularly clever adversaries this time.Produced and directed by Roy William Neill, "Dressed to Kill" lacks an all-important Victorian atmosphere. It's still fun, but not altogether satisfying in the end. However, Rathbone leaves no indication of his desire to move on from the Holmes role at this point: he delivers a typically engaging performance. Holmes remains unflappable in the face of danger, and his ear for music proves to be crucial. Nigel Bruce is perfectly endearing as Watson. Although his function is mostly to ask questions, Watson does prove his worth with a well-timed quote.The strong supporting cast includes Patricia Morison, Frederick Worlock, Carl Harbord, Holmes Herbert, and Ian Wolfe. The lovely Morison, the intense Worlock, and a menacing Harry Cording are fine as those individuals dueling with our intrepid heroes.The film moves along pretty well and does have an appreciable sense of humour. It may be a lesser entry in the series, but it entertains solidly.Seven out of 10.

Well Known for being the Last Time Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce would Suit Up as Holmes and Watson, and for being left to the Public Domain so there are a Myriad of Inferior Releases on VHS and DVD so Buyer Beware. There are good Prints now in Circulation (Blu-Ray).The Film is in the Top Tier although not the Top of the Top. It is, as are all the Teams Fourteen Films, Entertaining. This One is more Self-Referential than Most. The First Shot at Baker Street has Watson Reading the New Issue of the Strand Magazine for Example.There is a Femme Fatale with a Cool Demeanor and by Film's End She has Earned the Respect of the World's Greatest Consulting Detective. The Supporting Cast is Excellent and the Atmosphere is Shady and Elegant. It is a Fine Final Bow for the Two Actors that gave Moviegoers so much Fun. Note: While there hasn't been a Scientific Study, one wonders just how many Youngsters, and Oldsters for that matter, that never read Arthur Conan Doyle and were off to bookstores after being enchanted by one or more of these delightful films.

Dressed to kill is the final and fourteenth film in the Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes film series. The movie is based on the Characters of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and although the plot is an original screenplay the movie features references to Conan Doyle's "A Scandal in Bohemia".The movie plot is quite interesting, as everything is based on a few musical notes that are out of place in a song, the music itself is a message, what the message is or what it is meant for is what our duo has to figure out.The plot is about three cheap musical boxes (each one playing a subtly different version of "The Swagman" and only one keen in hearing and with musical background can pick it up), the musical boxes were manufactured in Dartmoor Prison by one of its inmates and they were sold at a local auction house. The criminal gang meant to get the boxes, got to the auction a little late and all the boxes were sold to different owners, but the gang were however bent to recover the boxes by any means necessary, even if it means committing murder.Sherlock Holmes is called on board when a murder occurs and a musical box seems to be the target, so he has to try and recover the last of the musical box and crack the secret code contained in the tune before the gang can.Food for thought, in the movies Dr. Watson is portrayed to be much older than Holmes, and he does look it, as Nigel looks like he is 10 years Rathbone senior, but in real life Rathbone is 3 years older than Bruce, Bruce just looks older. Much talk had been around about the portrayal of Watson in this series, as he is portrayed as a bumbling fellow, who is just around and really doesn't add to Sherlock's detecting ability. While in the book and in subsequent remakes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's characters, Watson is portrayed as an upright fellow, who is a necessary addition to Holmes detective ability.Dressed to kill is a good movie to see, as it shows our protagonist in a light of being one step ahead of the rest, we see him pick pocket with ease and escape death with the ingenuity of a fox. The movie is a nice ending to a beautiful pair and a wonderful film series.www.lagsreviews.com

*Spoiler/plot- Dressed to Kill, 1946, A Sherlock Holmes story some hidden bank-note printing plates hidden by a master thief and never found. When an old school friend of Dr. Watson is found murdered, Sherlock Holmes immediately suspects that this has something to do with his latest collector's item purchase, namely a wooden musical box. The music box has a music code to solve the mystery of the stolen items.*Special Stars- Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Patricia Morison, Ian Wolfe, Harry Cording *Theme- Once Homes is interested, nothing will stop him from solving the mystery.*Trivia/location/goofs- Watch for Nigel Bruce's voice impression of a duck quacking to entertain a frightened little girl. Watch for great character man with a LONG career, Ian Wolfe in this movie. Copyrights of this film fell into public domain and so DVD copies are inferior due to not having access to studio copies.*Emotion- A slightly slow mystery in the Rathbone Holmes series. Enjoyable and has enough drama and intrigue to satisfy everyone.