HERE IS THE CRAWLING DEATH SENT TO SHERLOCK HOLMES BY THE MOST FIENDISH KILLER OF ALL…
After faking his death in order to investigate a string of suspicious ”suicides” in London, Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) reaches the conclusion that there’s a ”female Moriarty” at work. The seventh film in the series is a well-made thriller that just like its immediate predecessor Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943) might as well have been set in Conan Doyle’s time. The film borrows elements from several of his stories and quite effectively casts Gale Sondergaard as the villain. Best part of the movie though is Roy William Neill’s swift direction. Memorable finale at a fairground, but the story isn’t the film’s strongest suit.
1944-U.S. 62 min. B/W. Directed by Roy William Neill. Cast: Basil Rathbone (Sherlock Holmes), Nigel Bruce (John Watson), Gale Sondergaard (Adrea Spedding), Dennis Hoey, Mary Gordon, Arthur Hohl.
Trivia: Followed by The Scarlet Claw (1944) and a spin-off movie, The Spider Woman Strikes Back (1946).
