Rent Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943)
3.6 of 5 from 56 ratings
1h 0min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Watson is discovered as the doctor in charge of a retreat Hulstone Towers Northumberland, ancestral home of the Musgraves, haunted by ghosts and the wailing of lost souls are heard on the limewalks. The Musgraves have "opened their home" to these patients, but it is a grim, cheerless place. Sexton (Arthur Margetson) the doctor assisting Watson is stabbed by an unknown person; and the clock in the tower strikes thirteen, an event local legends say precedes the death of a Musgrave. Watson (Nigel Bruce) decides to hurry back to London and consult with Holmes (Basil Rathbone). Holmes returns with Watson to Musgrave Manor, and his immediate impression is one of foreboding: "Houses, like people, have definite personalities and this place is positively ghoulish!"... - Actors:
- Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Dennis Hoey, Arthur Margetson, Hillary Brooke, Halliwell Hobbes, Minna Phillips, Milburn Stone, Gavin Muir, Gerald Hamer, Vernon Downing, Olaf Hytten, Frederick Worlock
- Directors:
- Roy William Neill
- Producers:
- Roy William Neill
- Writers:
- Bertram Millhauser, Arthur Conan Doyle
- Aka:
- Sherlock Holmes: Faces Death
- Studio:
- Orbit Media
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama, Thrillers
- Collections:
- Action & Adventure, Top Film and TV Detectives: Guide to Screen Sleuth
More like Sherlock Holmes Faces Death
Reviews (1) of Sherlock Holmes Faces Death
Mystery Comedy. - Sherlock Holmes Faces Death review by Steve
After three entries in which Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) investigated Nazi plots, Universal studios altered its approach with a series of films which stayed in the present day, but shifted closer to the spirit of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories. And this proved successful. This one takes its outline from The Musgrave Ritual.
Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce) is working in an isolated old dark house which has been taken over by the military to treat officers suffering from PTSD in WWII. Only someone is murdering the aristocratic family which owns the estate. Could it be related to the cryptic rhyme that has been passed down for generations?
And does the code lead to a hidden fortune? Roy William Neill directed the last nine films in the series, and he gives them an atmosphere of Universal Horror, with the thunderstorms, the fog, the ancient crypt and the folklore. The many changes to the original story are not necessarily improvements, but still effective.
Anyone who has seen this will remember the human game of chess, which is unique to the film. There's a lot of comedy; the way Watson and Inspector Lestrade (Dennis Hoey) as a pair of buffoons are instinctively competitive, is always funny. And thankfully, Rathbone is rid of the weird Roman haircut he wore to fight the Nazis.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.