Sherlock Holmes & Secret Weapon (B&W) [VHS]

Sherlock Holmes & Secret Weapon (B&W) [VHS]
by Roy William Neill

Sherlock Holmes & Secret Weapon (B&W) [VHS]

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Category: VHS Video
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Product details

Actor: Basil Rathbone, Kaaren Verne, Lionel Atwill, Nigel Bruce, William Post Jr.
Director: Roy William Neill
Cinematographer: Lester White
Editor: Otto Ludwig
Producer: Howard Benedict
Writer: Arthur Conan Doyle
Writer: Edmund L. Hartmann
Writer: Edward T. Lowe Jr.
Writer: Scott Darling
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language); French (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, NTSC, Original recording reissued
Running Time: 68 minutes
Release Date: 2002-08-27
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: Alpha Video
Studio: Alpha Video

VHS Movie Reviews of Sherlock Holmes & Secret Weapon (B&W) [VHS]

Movie Review: Holmes Matches Wartime Wits With Moriarty
Summary: 3 Stars

"Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon" (1943) is one of the better World War II entries - pitting Basil Rathbone's immortal detective against Lionel Atwill's sinister Professor Moriarty. In his first Holmes effort, director Roy William Neill makes the most of a "blood-draining" climax. Nigel Bruce's Dr. Watson is far less bumbling than usual, with the comic relief provided by Dennis Hoey's debut as Inspector Lestrade. Fast-moving escapism that gets the job done in 68 minutes. Avoid the inferior public-domain DVDs and purchase this MPI release, which offers an excellent 35mm restoration by the UCLA Film and Television Archive.

Movie Review: Intrigue and Espionage
Summary: 2 Stars

The film begins in Switzerland. Two men enter a caf?, and old man meets them to give them orders. They plan to steal a bombsight from Dr. Franz Tobel. [Did you notice the clue?] Will the spies be fooled by an impersonation? Can they be flown out of the country at night? They arrive safely in London. Mission accomplished? There seems to be some trickery here. [Or a lack of security?] What is Dr. Tobel drawing? Who is after him? Holmes explains his deductions. The bombsight is tested on Salisbury Plain [it looks like the western desert of the USA]. Will it revolutionize aerial bombardment? There are scenes of London. Dr. Tobel wants to work independently without unwanted attention. The bombsight is composed of four parts, each one produced at independent workshops. [Are all telephone calls monitored by a government agency?]

When Dr. Tobel goes missing Sherlock Holmes looks for him while disguised. Holmes finds a person who knows something. Will he walk into a trap? Will Moriarity eliminate Holmes at last? Or will his plot fail? There is a trick to raise the writing from an impression on the paper beneath. Can they decipher the code? What if the men named are dead? "What is the name of the fourth man?" Holmes figured out the trick. Will Moriarity? Who has the better plan? "A keen observation." "You've played into my hands." Will Lestrade and Watson arrive in time? Will Moriarity fall into his own trap for an ironic ending? [What about the sequel?]

Movie Review: Lots Of Flaws, But Entertaining
Summary: 4 Stars

Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) begins this story in disguise, helping to smuggle famous physicist "Dr. Franz Tobel" (William Post) out of Switzeralnad and under the watchful eye of the Nazis, who want his bomb sight plans. The Allies obviously want it, too, and Sherlock is there to help. Dr. Tobel has invented an instrument which greatly aids in the accuracy of aerial bombardment.

Holmes and Dr. Tobel arrive safely back at Baker Street but the scientist would rather be alone, for some mysterious reason, although he had promised the English to help them, not the Germans. He stays true to that promise but there are some desperate moments for Holmes and the English along the way.

It's an entertaining film and one in which our famous detective uses not one but three different disguises. He needs all the help he can get when he goes up against his arch-rival, "Professor Moriarity." One complaint: if Moriarity was that evil, he would have dispensed with Holmes without batting an eyelash, instead of giving him openings to escape. It's pretty sad, too, when the usual dim-witted Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce) has to rescue his boss from certain death a couple of times!

Yes, there are some credibility issues in this story but if you can put your brain on hold a few times, it's a fun film to watch....and it looks beautiful, thanks to the great restoration job done on this DVD. It makes the old print come alive with some wonderful visuals, particularly the night-time shots.

One other note: whoever did the English subtitles in here misspelled or misinterpreted at least a half dozen words. It's very sloppy work, and not the first time I've encountered this watching the entire series on the restored DVD set.

Movie Review: Holmes & the Dancing Men
Summary: 3 Stars

The second in Universal's Holmes series of mysteries with a dash of wartime propaganda is an okay entry. It's more of an adventure than a mystery, notable for Rathbone adopting two varied and effective disguises as well as one of the oddest scenes in any movie. Once captured by Moriarty, Holmes elaborately describes a particularly devious manner to kill someone that Moriarty immediately implements against Holmes. Okayyyyyyy.

Movie Review: Dr. Watson, I Presume
Summary: 5 Stars

In the fourth film in the Rathbone Sherlock Holmes series, the good detective and Dr. Watson are pitted once again against the forces of evil once-again threatening to destroy England. What is the meaning of these dancing men...?

Legend Films has gone a great service to the classic film lexicon by preserving and updating this treasure from World War II Britain. After all, Secret Weapon stands out as being one of the few Holmes tales set in the contemporary era, as opposed to some alien, Victorian past. To what end you might ask? Why, to challenge the greatest villains in history, the Nazis, of course. And now, the great detective does so in full color for the first time.

Yes, the plot leaves a little to be desired (having been scantily influenced by Doyle's original writings) and so do the production values, but fans of Holmes will appreciate the "Easter egg" references and cameos buried within. I challenge you find one in particular, a tiny reference to Holmes' cocaine use.

As is typical with Legend Films releases, the DVD contains both the colorized and the black and white versions of the film, so that you can appease both the kids and the staunch traditionalist in your house.

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