Review of Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942) by Brian R — 12 Apr 2011

"This fortress - built by nature for herself; This blessed plot, this Earth, this realm, this England.".

Holmes locks horns with the fiendish Moriarty once more, determined that a revolutionary new bomb-sight shouldn't fall into the hands of the Nazis. A splendid film where everybody involved seems to be having a rollicking good time. There are japes aplenty. After Moriarty learns of Holmes's idea of killing him by draining him of his blood (exquisitely slowly, natch) Moriarty jests "The needle to the last, eh Holmes?" Holmes, possibly because he is still sporting the extraordinary hairstyle first seen in The Voice of Terror goes in disguise not once, not twice, but thrice. Dennis Hoey makes his first appearance as the lumbering but well-meaning Inspector Lestrade. Kaaren Verne (one of Peter Lorre's missuses) plays the pleasingly full-lipped Swiss Miss Eberli. And it all ends with Holmes's quote from King Richard II (see above). Stirring stuff!