Sherlock Holmes World War II Movies

Starring Basil Rathbone As Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson

Oct 30, 2009 John K. Davis

The first three movies in Universal Studios' popular Sherlock Holmes series of the 1940s had the detective battling Nazi agents rather than Victorian villains.

In 1942 Universal Studios bought the rights to the Sherlock Holmes stories with original plans make 21 movies, two-thirds of which were to be based on the Conan Doyle stories. In the end, 12 films were made, with the first three, The Voice of Terror, The Secret Weapon, and Sherlock Holmes in Washington, supporting Allied war efforts.

Universal’s Choice of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce

In 1939 Rathbone and Bruce had appeared in the 20th Century Fox Holmes movies, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. A popular radio series featuring the two men as the detective and his loyal companion soon followed. So, when Universal elected to produce more Holmes movies, it was only natural to ask Rathbone and Bruce to reprise their roles.

Universal Updates the Stories

For the new series, Universal updated its tales from the Victorian London of the Fox films and radio series to the mid-20th Century. Holmes surrendered his cape and deerstalker for tweed suit and a soft brimmed slouch hat, and, for the first three movies, even wore a rather odd, windswept hairdo.

The first three movies took on themes important to that time period. In the midst of the most horrific war known to man, keeping up the morale of the British, Canadian, and American home fronts was essential. One way was with patriotic movies that pitted good (the Allies) against evil (Germany and its agents).

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942)

Loosely based on "His Last Bow." Holmes is asked by the British government to track down and unmask a Lord Hee Haw type figure who instills fear in the British citizenry by radio announcements of Nazi sabotage minutes before they occur. When a Holmes underworld informant is murdered by the traitor, the detective asks the man’s mistress for help.

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942)

Adapted from "The Dancing Men." A noted scientist, Dr. Tobel, has invented a highly efficient bombsight and is smuggled out of Switzerland by Holmes. The scientist after arriving in England divides the bombsight’s plans and gives a section to each of four fellow scientists. Before being kidnapped by Professor Moriarty, who is working for the Nazis, Tobel leaves a coded message identifying the four scientists. Holmes and Moriarty race to solve the cipher.

Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943)

When a British courier, on his way to Washington with a top secret document, is kidnapped by a Nazi agent and his gang, Holmes is asked to go to America to find the messenger and recover the paper. When the courier is found murdered, the detective deduces that the document was microfilmed and hidden in a matchbook cover that was given to a young woman.

Analysis of the Sherlock Holmes World War II Movies

Of the three movies, Sherlock Holmes in Washington is the weakest because of its highly implausible storyline. Also, like the later Pursuit to Algiers, the film just does not fully work with Holmes and Watson mainly taken out of an English setting. (The Scarlet Claw, arguably the best of the entire series, takes place in Canada, but still has an English “feel” to it.)

Voice of Terror and Secret Weapon, also, have plot flaws, but, unlike S. H. in Washington, they bear some resemblance to actual Conan Doyle stories and are stronger movies.

The strength of all three films are their fast pace and fine acting. Rathbone was a natural for the part of Holmes, resembling the literary character both physically and emotionally. He is generally considered, along with Jeremy Brett, as being two of the best actors to have ever played the role.

Some Holmes purists have criticized Nigel Bruce as Watson, feeling that he appeared too old for the part and for often portraying the doctor as a buffoon. These are legitimate complaints, but Bruce also brought a humanness and warmth to the role that offset Holmes’s sometimes “machine-like” personality.

For the series, Universal used a group of fine character actors. Henry Danielle gives nice performances as a “red herring” in Voice of Terror and as a villain in S. H. in Washington. In a later film, he would play Moriarty. The talented duo of Evelyn Ankers, the heroine of Voice of Terror, and Hillary Brooke, who had a small role in the same film, appear in several later Holmes films - Brooke most memorably in The Woman in Green.

Lionel Atwill, who plays Moriarty in Secret Weapon, and George Zucco, the Nazi leader in S. H. in Washington, built careers around menacing characters. Dennis Hoey, a British actor of note, first appears as Inspector Lestrade in Secret Weapon. His hubris-driven, but slow-witted character, makes a nice foil for Holmes’s sarcastic humor in this and later movies in the series.

Sherlock Holmes DVD

The entire set of Rathbone/Holmes movies, including the two Fox movies, is now available on DVD.

The copyright of the article Sherlock Holmes World War II Movies in Classic Films is owned by John K. Davis. Permission to republish Sherlock Holmes World War II Movies in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.