Dalbert Pringle (*Famous Sherlock Holmes quote*) - "It's all elementary, my dear Watson."Released in 1946 - This b&w production of Arthur Conan Doyle's "Dressed To Kill" stars Basil Rathbone as super-sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, and Nigel Bruce as his ever-reliable sidekick, Dr. John Watson.As the story goes - Holmes & Watson suddenly find themselves hot on the trail of an unsavoury collection of ruthless criminals. It seems that all of these good-for-nothings are frantically searching for 3 music boxes that are each holding valuable engraving plates that have recently been stolen from the Bank of England.For nostalgic fans of vintage crime films (set in the Victorian era) - This 72-year-old relic is certainly an enjoyable "quick view" at a brief 70-minute running time.

Tweekums As this Sherlock Holmes mystery opens we see a prisoner in Dartmoor prison who is making music boxes; we then see the boxes being sold at a London auction house. Shortly after the sale a man turns up saying he intended to buy the boxes for 'sentimental reasons' and a five pound bride gets him the addresses of two of the buyers. The identity of the third isn't known but she is a regular buyer so the man says he will return at the next sale to see her. Shortly afterwards a friend of Doctor Watson mentions a strange robbery; a thief ambushed him and stole a plain music box from his collection of more valuable ones. The stolen box resembles the one he'd just bought at the auction. Holmes hears the tune once and memorises it. Not long afterwards he is murdered and the box stolen. Holmes visits the auction house and learns about the maker of the boxes… a man who stole printing plates for Bank of England five pound notes. The boxes must have something to do with the plates but what is a mystery. The race is on to get the three boxes and crack the code.This was a rather fun Sherlock Holmes mystery, the last to star Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Holmes and Watson. The is no real question as to who the villains are but what is so special about the music boxes isn't immediately obvious as is just how the information is hidden in each of them. Patricia Morison steals the show somewhat as femme fatale Mrs. Hilda Courtney; an intelligent antagonist who manages to get the better of Holmes. Rathbone is solid as Holmes and Bruce is entertaining as Watson, even if his character is a bit dim for a qualified doctor. There are plenty of good aspects to the mystery but also an ending that involves quite a coincidence. Overall an enjoyable story that was well worth watching if you are a Holmes fan or just like a decent mystery.

lagudafuad Dressed to kill is the final and fourteenth film in the Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes film series. The movie is based on the Characters of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and although the plot is an original screenplay the movie features references to Conan Doyle's "A Scandal in Bohemia".The movie plot is quite interesting, as everything is based on a few musical notes that are out of place in a song, the music itself is a message, what the message is or what it is meant for is what our duo has to figure out.The plot is about three cheap musical boxes (each one playing a subtly different version of "The Swagman" and only one keen in hearing and with musical background can pick it up), the musical boxes were manufactured in Dartmoor Prison by one of its inmates and they were sold at a local auction house. The criminal gang meant to get the boxes, got to the auction a little late and all the boxes were sold to different owners, but the gang were however bent to recover the boxes by any means necessary, even if it means committing murder.Sherlock Holmes is called on board when a murder occurs and a musical box seems to be the target, so he has to try and recover the last of the musical box and crack the secret code contained in the tune before the gang can.Food for thought, in the movies Dr. Watson is portrayed to be much older than Holmes, and he does look it, as Nigel looks like he is 10 years Rathbone senior, but in real life Rathbone is 3 years older than Bruce, Bruce just looks older. Much talk had been around about the portrayal of Watson in this series, as he is portrayed as a bumbling fellow, who is just around and really doesn't add to Sherlock's detecting ability. While in the book and in subsequent remakes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's characters, Watson is portrayed as an upright fellow, who is a necessary addition to Holmes detective ability.Dressed to kill is a good movie to see, as it shows our protagonist in a light of being one step ahead of the rest, we see him pick pocket with ease and escape death with the ingenuity of a fox. The movie is a nice ending to a beautiful pair and a wonderful film series.www.lagsreviews.com

comicman117 Dressed to Kill (1946), the last Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes happens to be the first one I see. Now isn't that ironic. A great mystery story, with the plot involves Holmes and Watson investigating stolen music box, because a criminal gang could very likely try to get their hands on it.Rathbone and Nigel Bruce are game as ever, proving how memorable they were as Holmes and Watson. Plus Patricia Morrison makes for a very memorable Female-Fatale. Not much to say here, other than the fact that it's very good as a mystery story with good twists and turns (although it may be obvious). The occasional eerie music helps a lot in certain scenes, adding a great twist and helps to make certain scenes more obvious. Plus being in black and white is an added bonus, as it often lifts a mystery story quite a lot.Despite being the last film in the series, this was not the last time that Rathbone would play Holmes. He would rephrase his role for an episode of Suspense, this time with Martyn Green as Dr. Watson.