Continuing on our list of Rathbone-Bruce Sherlock Holmes movies from best to worst (see Part One and Part Two):

6) The House of Fear (1945)

Each of these films is a little different from each others, and this one is a classic old house mystery. The plot centers around seven retired gentlemen who buy an old house and live together as the Good Comrades. Then members of the group start dying under mysterious circumstances leaving no identifiable bodies.

This one is a puzzler.  The solution to the mystery was incredibly clever and took me totally by surprise. This one doesn’t have as much action or tension as some of the other films, the mystery more than makes up for it.

5) Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1943)

This was the second of three Sherlock Holmes counterespionage movies.  It places Holmes squarely against the Nazis and Professor Moiarty who is serving as a Nazi Agent. The plot centers around a Swiss scientists who comes to the UK to supply the British with a powerful new weapon the Nazis would love to get their hands on.

These films liked to borrow an element from a Doyle story as an homage. Here, the puzzle of the Dancing Men makes for a fascinating puzzle for both Holmes and Moriarty trying to beat each other too the bunch. There’s good battle of wits, that’s worthy of the two geniuses with a prize that’s definitely worthy of their efforts: a weapon that could change the course of the war. This one had a nice mix of comedy in the midst.

Of course, it should be noted that the final few minutes of the movie between Holmes and Moriarty had almost a campy feel, with Holmes playing off of Moriarty’s  intellectual vanity. Still, it was a very fun movie.

4) The Scarlet Claw (1944):

This film probably incorporated a greater horror element as Holmes receives a letter asking for help-written by a woman just before she’d been murdered. When Holmes comes to town, everyone is a suspect including her husband, who Holmes had been having a spirited debate over the existence of the supernatural (no pun intended) when they both learned of her death.

This film is perhaps the most frightening and tense of the series, as many of the locals suspect supernatural involvement. Similar to the Hound of the Baskervilles, the locals believe that a supernatural beast of some sort made the odd marks on the body, while Holmes believes an implement was used.

The denouement of the mystery doesn’t disappoint.  Just like with, House of Fear,  I was surprised by who the murderer was. (Although, the astute viewer may catch a clue when Watson references a Father Brown story in the middle of the film.)

Continuing on our list of Rathbone-Bruce Sherlock Holmes movies from best to worst (see Part One):

10) Pursuit to Algiers (1945):

This post-war picture takes Holmes and Watson on a ship-board adventure as they are tasked with guarding the heir to the throne of a fictional nation. The film featured some nice red herrings as well as Nigel Bruce singing . If the film had any weakness, it was its villains, who were no match for Holmes. I think the 3 stooges would have been a greater challenge.

9) Terror by Night (1946)

Immediately following, “Pursuit to Algiers,” the Producers decided to put Holmes and Watson on a train. Other than the first two scenes, the action is all on the train. It’s a taut thriller without a lot of fluff, but manges to get in a decent mystery, plenty of excitement, and a few nice twists at the end.

8 )The Spiderwoman (1944)

A series of suicides by men in their pajamas. Holmes however suspects that it’s really a fiendish murder plot. This film features one of the best villains of the series in Gale Sondergaard who is the ultimate femme fatale as the mastermind of the plot. This film features deadly peril for both Holmes and Watson, and a suspenseful ending. Also, not to give away too much, you get to see what targets you’d find in a shooting gallery during World War II.

7) The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)

This was the first appearance by Rathbone and Bruce as Holmes and Watson and follows the classic mystery novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in a baffling whodunit as Holmes has to find out who is trying to use the myth of the Hound of the Baskerville to do in the young lord of the manor. Hound of  the Baskervilles is also noted for its haunting scenes of the Scottish Moors. Its very realistic and helps to set the mood of the film. These scenes alone make Hound of the Baskervilles a must-see.