alexanderdavies-99382
If memory serves me correctly, I remember seeing "Sherlock Holmes Faces Death" late one night whilst at home alone. I had found a rather old video recording of the film (it was that long ago) and I saw it from beginning to end. It is still one of the best of the modern Holmes films. The plot has more mystery to it than others and the setting is ideal. Basil Rathbone gives another great performance as the Baker Street sleuth and this was before the actor began to grow tired of the character. There are a few murders naturally but there isn't any physically repellent detail. Dennis Hoey is a welcome addition to the cast as Inspector Lestrade. The film has a strong atmosphere as various incidents occur at Musgrave Manor. Although, it is meant to be linked to the short story "The Musgrave Ritual," "Sherlock Holmes Faces Death" isn't an adaptation as such but the film does include a few elements of the story. Watch this one and enjoy.
Hitchcoc
For those that know "The Musgrave Ritual," one of the better stories of the Holmes canon, this doesn't do too badly. It takes place in a convalescent home where Watson is helping veterans who suffer from a type of PTSD. The patients, sadly, provide some comic relief, and Watson's role is once again foolish and clutzy. However, once the bodies start showing up all over the place, under piles of leaves, in the rumble seats of cars, etc., Holmes must come to the rescue. There is a lot of lightning and thunder and dark and stormy night stuff going on. There is funeral service where the heroine is asked to recite the Musgrave ritual, an ancient set of cryptic statements that eventually become significant to the solving of the case. Holmes pull a few tricks from his bag of deceptions. Like the original, everyone ends up in a hidden cellar which holds a secret. It is a reasonably resonant offering in the Rathbone series and worth a watch. The atmosphere is worth the price of admission.
AaronCapenBanner
Roy William Neil directed this entry, loosely based on 'The Musgrave Ritual', and sees Sherlock Holmes(played by Basil Rathbone) & Doctor Watson(played by Nigel Bruce) investigating a convalescent home for soldiers during WWII. It seems someone is trying to find the fabled buried treasure of the Musgrave family located somewhere on the estate, and is not above murder to do it. The culprit is someone among the staff or clients, but who? A return to form in the series, with a nice atmospheric feel and the downplaying of the war itself, making appropriate use of Holmes' deductive ability. Only negatives are a bit of padding and a weak villain, but otherwise a fun installment.
JoeB131
A typical outing of Holmes and Watson anachronistically working during World War II, this one involves an inheritance and secret passages and all the other neat things you'd expect in a movie like this.There's a scene where the damsel in distress is nearly hit by a bolt of lightening. There seems to be no reason for it and it has nothing to do with the ultimate resolution of the plot. I'm not sure why it was in there at all.Rathebone is good as Holmes, but the guy who plays Watson is kind of a bumbling idiot. I think where they most bastardized Conan-Doyle's work is by ruining this great character.I think what interested me was the ending, where Holmes spouts a bunch of pseudo-socialist gibberish about the happy day when the poor will not go hungry and the rich will not lord over us... and how it was coming soon after this war.
AD
