Hitchcoc The first two episodes of the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes portrayals are among the best. I like this one because it remains in the proper period. That would never have been an issue if they had not moved him into contemporary time in future episodes. He became a Nazi hunter and a poster boy for participation in World War II. That aside, this is a nice portrayal of Holmes as he faces off against arch-villain Moriarity (played by George Zucco, who was often the bad guy in a series of B-horror movies). Moriarity has that great quality of pure evil. He loves his plants for than he loves humanity and probably off his butler for not watering them if he didn't need him to run errands. Ida Lupino is the woman who is caught in the middle of a plot by the evil genius to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. Holmes is willing to make sacrifices and actually is partially responsible for the death of a young man. There is an element of callousness in his demeanor, but he gets results. One thing that continually kept me from enjoying these episodes is the portrayal of Watson as an incompetent boob. He huffs and puffs about everything, he contributes almost nothing to Holmes, and actually tends to get in the way when given responsibility. He is like a big old hulking dog that Holmes pets once in a while. They are so unequal in their importance to the world, it begs the question as to why he is there.

BA_Harrison Every great hero should have an arch-nemesis, an opponent capable of testing them to the limit; for Sherlock Holmes, this worthy antagonist is Professor Moriarty, an evil genius who, every bit as intelligent, obsessive and arrogant as the famous detective, has dedicated his life to becoming the world's most infamous criminal mastermind.In The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, the second film to star Basil Rathbone as Conan Doyle's iconic creation, Moriarty (George Zucco) narrowly escapes the gallows when Holmes arrives at court with damning evidence only minutes after the professor has been acquitted. Determined to break Holmes' seemingly indomitable spirit, Moriarty devises an audacious robbery that will not only go down in history as the crime of the century, but which will also ruin his rival's reputation in the process.While subsequent Rathbone Holmes movies would settle for a 'contemporary' 1940s setting, the next few films being used as wartime propaganda, this tale takes place exactly where it should, Victorian London bound by fog, with high production values allowing for bags of cool period set design and plenty of Gothic atmosphere. The screenplay isn't flawless, one or two plot contrivances taking quite some swallowing (a potential victim's decision to walk home through the fog being particularly daft), but it is a lot of fun, providing Holmes with lots of crafty clues to cogitate over as well as an extraordinary chance to show his lighter side (in disguise as a music-hall performer) and a rare opportunity to use brawn over brain in an exciting final showdown against his Machiavellian foil.Also serving to make this one of my favourite of all Holmes's adventures: a creepy, club-footed, flute-playing, bolas-flinging Chilean assassin (you just don't see enough of them in the movies), and the lovely Ida Lupino as fetching damsel in distress Miss Brandon.

MarieGabrielle Reliable Holmes story with Basil Rathbone and Dr. Watson as usual his social, albeit bumbling self.Ida Lupino is the femme fatal, her brother is murdered and she must seek help from Holmes to find out why.George Zucco as Moriarty is menacing and fun, as when his faithful servant gives him a shave with a straight-edge, and Moriarty sneers that he should want to cut his throat. Moriarty states he has nothing but contempt for most humankind.The sets are appropriately foggy and dense, London Victorian streets, oil lamps, a murder occurs in Bayswater Park; an odd Chilean flute chant, some sort of death song. There are also references to the albatross.When you see films like this today you appreciate the quality of a true suspense story, it doesn't always have wild action, but it has real suspense and theme, which is rare these days. 9/10.

kenjha The second pairing of Rathbone and Bruce as Holmes and Watson, released a few months after the success of "The Hound of the Baskervilles," is a good-looking film that has the venerable detective matching wits with Professor Moriarity, as the latter schemes a jewel heist. Lupino, although British born, usually played Americans. Hence, it's a little odd seeing her sporting an English accent here. The foggy London atmosphere is a big plus, but the plot is less than compelling. This is based on a play by William Gillette, a Holmes aficionado, rather than a story by Conan Doyle. Unlike the best of Conan Doyle, the plot lacks a mystery to really draw the viewer in.