Rent Sherlock Holmes: Spider Woman (1943)
3.7 of 5 from 54 ratings
1h 2min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
London is nervous at a series of 'pyjama suicides' - a rash of self-inflicted deaths of prominent people in the dark hours of the night. Where is Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone)? On a fishing holiday in Scotland with Watson (Nigel Bruce) of course. The lack of suicide notes convinces Holmes that these are murders 'There's something uncanny about this - monstrous and horrible'. Holmes discovers that the victims all liked to gamble and disguises himself as an Indian officer and at a Posh London Casino where he meets the fascinating Adrea Spedding (Gale Sondergaard) whom Holmes is convinced is behind the killings. A series of disguises and deadly game playing ensues as Holmes and Watson enter a battle of wits with 'The Spider Woman'. - Actors:
- Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Gale Sondergaard, Dennis Hoey, Vernon Downing, Alec Craig, Arthur Hohl, Mary Gordon, Sylvia Andrew, Marie De Becker, Jimmy Aubrey, Frank Benson, Lydia Bilbrook, John Burton, Harry Cording, Teddy Infuhr, George Kirby, Stanley Logan, Wilbur Mack, Belle Mitchell
- Directors:
- Roy William Neill
- Producers:
- Roy William Neill
- Writers:
- Bertram Millhauser, Arthur Conan Doyle
- Aka:
- Sherlock Holmes in the Spider Woman
- Studio:
- Orbit Media
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama, Thrillers
- Collections:
- Action & Adventure, Top Film and TV Detectives: Guide to Screen Sleuth
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Reviews (1) of Sherlock Holmes: Spider Woman
Mystery Comedy. - Sherlock Holmes: Spider Woman review by Steve
Superior entry in the Universal series of Sherlock Holmes B-pictures made during WWII. The title sounds like it features one of the studio's legendary monsters, but the spider woman actually just kills her helpless victims with poisonous arachnids. After relieving them of their life insurance, naturally.
So send for Holmes and Dr. Watson. Basil Rathbone hunts down the odious gang of crooks and Nigel Bruce raises some laughs. But they are (arguably) upstaged by Gale Sondergaard who is the best villain of this whole cycle. She even starred in a 'spider woman' sequel, though- disappointingly- in a different role.
The screenplay is crammed with references to multiple Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, which is gratifying for the fans. Most obviously, The Speckled Band, though with spiders rather than snakes. Roy William Neill gets it all done in under an hour. There are no lulls and a sudden plot twist is along every few minutes.
And there's a suspenseful climax at the fairground, with the great detective tied to a target in the shooting gallery. A baby would see through Holmes' disguises, even if they are beyond Watson, who having been fooled once too often tries to yank the beard off an eccentric entomologist. It's the Universal series at about its peak.
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