Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon. Roy William Neill (Director) Universal (1943)

An enjoyable adventure that picks up very considerably in the second half. Sherlock Holmes is involved in a plan to smuggle a scientist out of Switzerland and away from the the grasp of the Gestapo. The scientist, Dr. Tobel. has developed a bomb sight that is of great accuracy and therefore value to the Germans and the British. Dr Tobel makes plans to control the manufacture of the bomb sight and then is kidnapped. Sherlock Holmes has to rescue him from the grip of Professor James Moriarty, the action is great fun, the clues are clever and the resolution very satisfying.
The opening sections of the film are weighed down by the propaganda aspects to the story, they are too much to the foreground. After Dt Tobel(William Post Jr.) is kidnapped and Professor James Moriarty(Lionel Atwill) enters the story the film picks up greatly. The personal battle between Sherlock Holmes(Basil Rathbone) and Moriarty is made clear and this give the film a considerable tension and dramatic edge.
The use of the Dancing Men code is a fun aspect to the story and the action sequences are wonderfully melodramatic. Basil Rathbone is a excellent, he has the vigour and barely contained annoyance at the limitations of others captured nicely. Lionell Atwill is superb, his mixture of enjoyment of the challenge represented by Holmes and the desire to be rid of him make their scenes together crackle. The struggle between them is one where victory is proof of intellectual superiority. A very enjoyable film.

Sherlock Holmes Double Bill: Spider Woman (1944) & The Pearl of Death (1943). Universal Pictures.

These are two of the films from the series starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson and both are very enjoyable. In the Spider Woman a series of "Pyjama" suicides occurs in London, Holmes suspects that they are in fact artfully concealed murders. His investigations lead him to Adrea Spedding, a wonderfully competent villain played by Gale Sondergaard. With elements taken from a wide range of stories this is a nicely convoluted story and a great climax at a fun fair. The source for the Pearl of Death is The Six Napoleons and the plot from that story is nicely nestled with another story about a very elusive and murderous master criminal. The plot is straightforward and the momentum is nicely maintained throughout, the final unveiling of the monstrous Hoxton Creeper is very well staged and remains enjoyably horrifying.
Basil Rathbone is superb as Sherlock Holmes, he is arrogant and autocratic in his manner, he has the restless energy required for the part. There is a wonderful verbal duel in the Spider Woman between Sherlock Holmes and Adrea Spedding where the unspoken conversation is as thrilling as the audible one. The fact that the villain in each film is competent and ruthless enough to present a genuine threat to Sherlock Holmes is one of the major pleasures of the films, the end is never in doubt, the journey is great fun.
Nigel Bruce is wonderful as Dr. Watson, he is bluff, hearty and just a bit slow on the uptake,without ever being simply comic relief. With excellent extras this DVD is a treat.