Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror

SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE VOICE OF TERROR is the third of the Basil Rathbone series and the first to be made by Universal rather than 20th Century Fox. The Universal films were lower budgeted and had shorter running times, and they also updated the stories to the then-present day with no explanation. Thus we get Holmes and Watson tackling Nazis rather than the classic Conan Doyle villains. This story is a mixture of bits from the written story HIS LAST BOW along with a fictional version of the infamous 'Lord Haw Haw' Nazi broadcaster. It doesn't take long for Holmes to find himself on the trail of the scheming villain, and there are plenty of atmospheric touches along the way and a few exciting shoot-outs. Henry Daniell and Evelyn Ankers co-star. Given that this was made during the war, expect lots of sentimental chest-thumping and propaganda moments.

This is such an unusual outing for Holmes and Watson, made when World War II was happening, it sees Holmes battle the Nazis. I can imagine at the time this was in the Cinemas this would have had a massive effect on the British audiences, it has hugely patriotic themes throughout, The BBC, spitfires and British commandos etc, I can almost imagine the creators of the story writing it in a way to offer hope to the British audiences watching, fearing the Nazis were infinite. It's not my favourite of Rathbone's outings, Holmes and Watson seem to fit awkwardly into this story, but it's very worth of a watch, it is beautifully filmed, it looks incredible, amazing to consider it's over seventy years old. Rathbone and Bruce work tremendously well as always, sadly it lacks any of the humour that later productions would have. Worth a look, a bit different. 6/10