Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942)

Very best movie i ever watch

Must See Movie...

Absolutely Fantastic

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

This portrayal of Holmes and Watson by Rathbone and Bruce is one shot by Universal Studios, what some fans consider to be a period of decline for Sherlock Holmes films. This film is the first time that Roy Williams Neill takes the helm as director, he would later direct all the other Universal/Sherlock projects. Based loosely on Conan Doyle's "Dancing Men" Sherlock has to uncover the truth about the 'secret weapon' and make sure England and it's populous are safe. Naughty Holmes nemesis, Professor Moriarty (Lionel Atwill), is working with the Nazi's, by devious means they are about to build a machine which would control the seas of the world. Will they build their machine and take a step towards global domination, can Holmes stop them?This isn't the best Sherlock film I've seen with Rathbone/Bruce/Atwill but it's still entertaining and harmless. Another decent watch for a lazy Sunday afternoon, just don't watch it with a critical mind because there are holes to poke at. You'll still get witty dialogue from the stars with strong individual performances, silly disguises from Holmes, a little tension and some mystery. There is no way I can rate this as high as "Hound of the Baskerville" but still it's not offensive to the senses.

"Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon" is the first truly effective Holmes film from "Universal" studios. Lionel Atwill makes for a brilliant Professor Moriarty and his is the best interpretation by far. The confrontation between Holmes and Moriarty is great. The plot has a fair degree of intrigue and atmosphere, the low lighting accounting for this. I have always been entertained by this 1942 film, its running time of 65 minutes whizzes by. The story of "The Dancing Men" is slightly borrowed for this film but that was the beauty of the Basil Rathbone films. The scriptwriters knew how to create a film around an Arthur Conan Doyle story. Dennis Hoey is on hand as the bumbling Inspector Lestrade. Although there is rivalry between he and Holmes, they do realise that they can depend on each other when there is danger afoot. One of the best of the modern run.

Regarding the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes adaptations, The Secret Weapon is an improvement on The Voice of Terror, but entries like Hound of the Baskervilles are superior. The Secret Weapon is quite good and does have some entertainment value. It's not faultless, to me that is, the story is fun, fast paced and engrossing with some good mystery and suspense but felt rushed towards the end and the secret code stuff was confusing. It also had moments where it did feel over-plotted and didn't have enough time to explain it properly. Nigel Bruce does what he can with Watson and is a good partner with Rathbone, but can come across as too blustery and too much of a idiot, the way Watson is written though has a lot to do with it. Purists will find a lot of good things with The Secret Weapon but adaptation-wise, there are parts from The Dancing Men and The Empty House other than that as said already there's not much Conan Doyle here and the inclusion of Nazis may come across as silly to some. To me, the Nazis weren't so much a problem and they were appropriate within the setting though there is the sense that without the characters' names that this could have been any mystery film set during the war. The Secret Weapon is well made, stylishly and atmospherically shot with fine attention to detail, while the score is appropriately haunting in some others and jaunty in others. The dialogue is intelligent and witty, the banter between Holmes and Watson intrigues and amuses and that with Moriaty even more so. Thankfully also the patriotic stuff is much more toned down than in The Voice of Terror. The direction is solid and skillful, not taking things too seriously nor is anything taken like a farce, suspense and such aren't undermined, even if there are other entries in the series that have a much more suspenseful edge. The acting is strong, the obvious high point is Basil Rathbone who is easily the best of the film incarnations of Holmes and overall either joint first or very close second place to Jeremy Brett. He has a very commanding presence, very intelligent, cunning and not one to miss much, his disguises are very convincing too. Lionel Atwill is a very good nemesis, he gets the malevolence of Moriaty just right if not quite as mysterious as other actors as the character and seems to be enjoying himself thoroughly. Dennis Hoey makes a credible debut as Lestrade, he does come across as an idiot but seeing as Lestrade is an inept character anyway that didn't come across as problematic, though it might do for any first-time viewers who've never read a Sherlock Holmes story before or for who this is their first encounter with this great literary detective. Overall, fun and quite good, but there are better Sherlock Holmes adaptations out there, both with Rathbone and in general as well. 7/10 Bethany Cox

During WWII, Sherlock Holmes manages to smuggle a key scientist out of Switzerland. The scientist promises his revolutionary bomb-sight design to the Allies, but before long he has been kidnapped by the evil Professor Moriarty …This is the first of eleven Sherlock Holmes movies directed by the talented Neill, and is one of the best. It showcases many of the most enjoyable features of the series; Rathbone in a variety of disguises, breathless plotting, great B-movie supporting players (in this case Atwill and Herbert), fiendish villains, dank fog-shrouded sets and bewildering clues. Rathbone's seemingly never-ending energy propel it forward, his hawkish stare and quiet intelligence more than compensating for the sometimes lacklustre production values. This film marks the first of Hoey's sextet of agreeable appearances as the flat-footed Inspector Lestrade. Very loosely based on the Arthur Conan Doyle short story Dancing Men.