SHERLOCK H-SECRET WEAPON (DVD) DVD

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon
The second of Universal's "modernized" Sherlock Holmes films pits the Great Detective (Basil Rathbone, of course) against that "Napoleon of Crime," Professor Moriarty (Lionel Atwill). Surpassing his previous skullduggery, Moriarty has now aligned himself with the Nazis and has dedicated himself to stealing a top-secret bomb sight developed by expatriate European scientist Dr. Franz Tobel (William Post Jr.). Before being kidnapped by Moriarty's minions, Tobel was enterprising enough to disassemble his invention and distribute its components among several other patriotic scientists. Racing against the clock, Holmes and Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce) try to stem the murders of Tobel's colleagues and prevent Moriarty from getting his mitts on the precious secret weapon. The now-famous climax finds Holmes playing for time by allowing Moriarty to drain all the blood from his body, drop by drop ("The needle to the last, eh Holmes?" gloats the villain). Dennis Hoey makes his first appearance as the dull-witted, conclusion-jumping Inspector Lestrade. Constructed more like a serial than a feature film, Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (based loosely on Conan Doyle's The Dancing Men) is one of the fastest-moving entries in the series; it is also one of the most readily accessible, having lapsed into public domain in 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes Nigel Bruce as Dr. John H. Watson Kaaren Verne as Charlotte Eberli Lionel Atwill as Prof. Moriarty William Post Jr. as Dr. Franz Tobel Dennis Hoey as Inspector Lestrade Holmes Herbert as Sir Reginald Dailey Mary Gordon as Mrs. Hudson

Crew Martin Obzina - Art Director Jack Otterson - Art Director Howard Benedict - Associate Producer Vera West - Costume Designer Roy William Neill - Director Otto Ludwig - Editor Frank Skinner - Composer (Music Score) Hans Salter - Composer (Music Score) Charles Previn - Musical Direction/Supervision Lester White - Cinematographer Russell A. Gausman - Set Designer Edward Ray Robinson - Set Designer Bernard B. Brown - Sound/Sound Designer Paul Neal - Sound/Sound Designer Edward T. Lowe - Screenwriter Edmund L. Hartmann - Screenwriter W. Scott Darling - Screenwriter

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon is an enjoyable entry in the Holmes series, although it suffers more than most of the Universal pictures from being moved to modern times. Some of the other modern Holmes movies merely seem to have placed Holmes and Watson into then-contemporary clothing and given them a few 20th century props, but Secret Weapon is drenched in the 1940s, with Nazis, secret weapons, and bombed out buildings seemingly at every turn. All this is distracting, but it doesn't do fatal damage to the film, which is quite a lot of fun. True, it plays up the action and adventure aspect at the expense of good old-fashioned sleuthing and deducing, but this proves quite diverting. The screenplay is a bit slapdash, and viewers may be unconvinced that Moriarty would fall for Holmes' ploy for disposing of him, but it's such a nifty method that most viewers will overlook this. Indeed, Secret Weapon has some sort of secret charm of its own that makes it easy to overlook its flaws and just sit back and enjoy this rousing little adventure. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
 

(no awards)

General Specifications: Language Options: English Subtitle Options: English Sound Processing: Additional Features: Audio commentary Photo gallery Posters Interactive menus Scene access DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1: Pre-1954 Standard MPAA Rating: NR DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 68 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 1. Opening [1:22] 2. Intrigue in Switzerland [7:30] 3. Watson the Watchdog [6:35] 4. The Blond Bombshell [6:13] 5. Tobel Drops a Bomb [5:15] 6. "We Meet Again, Mr. Holmes" [7:05] 7. Tracking Moriarty [10:43] 8. The Dancing Men [6:20] 9. Cracking the Code [4:54] 10. "The Needle to the Last..." [7:28] 11. The Coup de Grace [4:30] 12. End Credits [:37]