After four weeks, we get to the cream of this crop of this fantastic series. (For previous films, (see Part One and Part Two, and Part Three):

3) Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943):

The third of a mini-series within the films focusing on World War II sees Holmes and Watson off for Washington, seeking to recover microfilm vital to the war effort. The film is more spy thriller than traditional detective story, but Rathbone makes it work.

The film features another solid performance from Rathbone. In  this one, Holmes is matched up against sophisticated and ruthless Nazi spies who will do anything to capture the microfilm. This is one of the best types of Holmes films, with the villains and Holmes racing against time towards a solution.

The tension is really heightened by some nice camera work surrounding the object of the quest, which is a matchbook containing the missing microfilm.  The producers rarely let the matchbook out of their sight. We see it passed from hand to hand, even follow it on a tray at a party. It was a very clever and fun device.

2) Sherlock Holmes: The Voice of Terror (1942)

The Voice of Terror brought Holmes and Watson off the radio and back on to motion picture screens and relaunched the series at Universal, and set the series back into the modern times of World War II Great Britain, placing our heroes in the mix of one of the greatest fights in history. This movie has a ripped from the headlines feel as Holmes seeks out a man whose diabolical broadcast were designed to destroy the morale of the beleaguered British public by disclosing classified war information over the radio.

The cinematography was inexpensive, but well-done. If you get the restored version from UCLA, the barroom scene where Holmes seeks help in weeding out the Voice of Terror is extremely well-shot. The solution to the case is clearly unexpected and the film packs an emotional wallop.  The spirit of World War II stood out. The Voice of Terror is a film about sacrifice, courage, and the indomitable spirit that refused to blink in the face of Nazi Germany.

Of course, there are many people who question the decision to have movies where Sherlock Holmes fights World War II. However, we must remember that at the time the movie was released, survival of Great Britain was an open queston, and the movie has the sense of that. What this means is that the stakes of the film are high and the film had a sense of this larger story going on in the real world.  It would be odd for Holmes not to be involved in these sort of cases.

World War II brought many changes to the lives of fictional detectives. In one way or another, not only Sherlock Holmes, but other detectives such as Nero Wolfe and Charlie Chan lent their skills to the war effort. World War II when people from all walks of life were having their lives shaken up. Holmes was no different than that regard.

And what would Arthur Conan Doyle think of his hero becoming a Nazi buster? The last line of the film provides a clue. Holmes tells Watson, “But there’s an East wind coming all the same. Such a wind as never blew on England yet. It will be cold and bitter, Watson, and a good many of us may wither before its blast. But it’s God’s own wind none the less. And a greener, better, stronger land will be in the sunshine when the wind is clearer.” The quote was said in the Doyle story, “His Last Bow.” In that story, Holmes had involved himself in World War I counterespionage, leaving little doubt that Doyle would have approved of the War movies had he been alive at the time.  

1) The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is not just the very best of the Rathbone-Bruce Sherlock Holmes films, but the best Holmes film I’ve yet seen. The movie begins with Professor Moriarty (played superbly by George Zucco)  being acquitted of a crime and Holmes pledging to bring him to the gallows. Moriarty responds by planning an ostentatious crime and plans to keep Holmes distracted by giving him a puzzle so fascinating that it’ll keep Holmes occupied while Moriarty pulls off the crime of the century.

 While Hound of the Baskervilles introduced us to Rathbone as Holmes, he really begins to own the role in this performance. The dynamic between Holmes and Moriarty has never been better. The crimes are clever and well-executed. The film represents the ulitmate in the Holmes-Moriarty battle of wits and the battle is not limited to wits only. The confrontation between Holmes and Moriarty at the end of the movie is well-shot and well-scored, making for an exciting and well-paced end to the adventure.

The movie also has the some nice little touches including a very fun musical interlude. In addition unlike later Holmes films which were shot on a limited budget due to wartime restrictions, this film is a beautifully shot period piece.

Thus, while many great and good Holmes would follow, if I had to pick only one of the Basil Rathbone movies to take on a desert island, this would be the one.

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.

Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Holmes and Watson. It doesn’t get much better than that. From the late 1930s through the mid-1940s, they were Holmes and Watson.

I’ve seen all 14 films and they’re a remarkable mix of detective stories, crime stories, spy thrillers, suspense, and a few touches of comedy. The films gave us the definitive Holmes for an entire generation of viewers. They were exciting, thrilling, and well-played. I should stay that because a film is listed low on my list (with the exception of the #14 film), it’s not because it was a bad film. The series has so many good films in it, it was actually hard to make up my mind on the films between 2 and 14. 

14)  The Woman in Green (1945)

The weakest of the series. The Woman in Green was a film that struggled with its plot and villains. The character who ought to the primary villain lacked the personality of Holmes’ female antogonists in The Spiderwoman and Dressed to Kill.  So, the writers brought Professor Moriarity back despite having killed him six movies prior.  The problem is that the plot they created was too small for Moriarity. In previous movies, he’d tried to steal the crown jewels and then been working for the Nazis. In this film, Moriarty’s plot  amounts to is a fairly gruesome blackmail scheme. Hardly stuff for the Napoleon of Crime.

13)  The Pearl of Death (1944)

Holmes, while trying to illustrate the ineffectiveness of relying on an electronic burgular alarm to protect a valuable pearl, disconnects the alarm, allowing a thief to steal the pearl. From there, the story follows the premise of the Doyle story, “The Six Napoloeans.” However, it adds in a gruesome monster of a killer and makes for a suspenseful chapter in the series.

12) Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943)

Not as exciting as the title might indicate, with a few rought spots. However, Holmes’ investigation into a series of murders at a convalescent home has a fantastic final confrontation requiring a lot of guts from our hero to pull it off.

11) Dressed to Kill (1946)

This is a film that gets trashed by some fans for everything from the title to similarities in plot to Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon. The plot centers around three music boxes that were made in prison and purchased at an auction house and criminals desperate to receover them.  However, I love the use of music in this plot. Also, while this film features from Watson’s goofiest moments as he’s tricked by the villain into revealing the location of a music box with the help of a puerile ruse, Watson also gives Holmes the final clue that helps him solve the case.