Tweekums A brutal killer is attacking women in London and bizarrely after each murder he takes a finger. The police have no idea who could be behind these heinous crimes so Inspector Gregson seeks the help of Sherlock Holmes. The police had assumed the killer was a maniac but Holmes believes otherwise; he sees a calculating mind behind the crimes… in fact he is convinced that the dastardly Professor Moriarty is behind it all, even though he apparently died in Montevideo. As Holmes and Gregson discuss the case in a bar they see a well-known man with his 'lady friend'; we then see this couple leave and go to her house; the man wakes up somewhere else entirely; he is in a rundown boarding house near the site of a further killing… and he has a severed finger in his pocket! He has no memory how it got there so is an easy target when a blackmailer approaches. His daughter believes he is innocent so goes to see Holmes. He soon figures out why the killings are being done and suspects the man must have been hypnotised… something Holmes doesn't believe possible. If he is to prove his theory he will have to put himself in real danger.This was an enjoyable film with a good central mystery, a degree of threat and a fair number of laughs. The case is interesting although I'm sure plenty of viewers will have guessed the hypnotism is involved after the scene in the woman's flat featuring the blackmail victim… it is not too obvious though. The cast does a solid job with Basil Rathbone impressing as Holmes and Nigel Bruce being a good Watson; he provides most of the films laughs without being reduced to a mere comedy sidekick. While nobody will really think Holmes is in any real danger there are some good tense moments towards the end… acrophobics will certainly feel tense in the final scene! Overall a decent film which provides an enjoyable mystery without any offensive material.

dglink After ten films together, the chemistry between Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce translates into a convincing on-screen friendship as the iconic Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson; the genuine affection between the two partners in crime-solving is palpably evident in their eleventh outing, "The Woman in Green." Watson is evidently touched when Holmes openly admits he let a villain escape in order to save his dear friend's life. Despite his blustering, Watson provides valuable advice and support to Holmes in this film, and, despite his grumbling at being used, the good doctor is more than comic relief. In Betram Millhauser's original screenplay, a string of young women are murdered throughout London, and each victim has had a finger surgically removed. Holmes and Watson are brought in by Inspector Gregson of Scotland Yard to aid the investigation.Producer-director Roy William Neill and his irreplaceable leading men have returned, and Neill has also brought back several other welcome figures from previous Holmes films in the Universal series. Veteran supporting players from other Holmes mysteries include Hilary Brooke, Henry Daniell, Paul Cavanaugh, Sally Shepherd, and Mary Gordon as the good, the bad, and the suspicious, in no particular order. Cinematographer Virgil Green, who lensed two prior Holmes films, provides crisp black and white images that especially flatter both Brooke and Rathbone, while his murky shadows that shroud London's back streets and the Victorian halls of 221B Baker Street add an aura of atmospheric mystery.Unfortunately, despite the excellent cinematography, fine assured direction, and seasoned members of the Sherlock Holmes stock company, "The Woman in Green" is a notch down from the prior three efforts in the Universal films. The script utilizes a tired plot device that not only creaks, but also fails to convince. Although fans of the series will relish the interplay between Watson and Holmes and the old friends among the cast, viewers will likely groan at some overly familiar scenes and easily guess both Holmes's and the villain's transparent ploys. Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce are always welcome and a delight to watch, but some adventures do not match their talents, and this entry is among them.

lugonian THE WOMAN IN GREEN (Universal, 1945), produced and directed by Roy William Neil, the ninth installment of the modernized "Sherlock Holmes" mysteries for Universal (1942-1946), and eleventh featuring Basil Rathbone (Sherlock Holmes) and Nigel Bruce (Doctor Watson) in their legendary roles, is, regardless of contradictions from previous theatrical episodes, another interesting entry in the series. Along with some repeat performers in support, Hillary Brooke and Henry Daniell, who've assumed other character parts from earlier products in the franchise, would become central figures this time around, matching wits with the famed detective in another baffling mystery.The opening passage starts with an off-screen narrator, Inspector Gregson, filling in to what's to be presented as the police force come to the Scotland Yard building entrance: "I won't forget that morning, not if I ever live to be 100. I counted the men as they marched out of the yard. They hardly slept for weeks. We of the C.I.D. slept even less, but the nightmare that kept us awake was all the same nightmare. That's why we weren't surprised when the commissioner asked us up for the conference room for a bit of a talk. He talked to us plenty. We knew that! They didn't help any to know what was asked of them." The commissioner holds a staff meeting involving the most ghastly murders to take place on the streets of London since Jack the Ripper where the female victims are found with their forefingers amputated following their deaths. Having no clues nor motives has everyone stumped. A fourth murder soon takes place in Lambert Way, having Inspector Gregson (Matthew Boulton) notifying Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) for expert assistance. Observing the bodies in the mortuary, Holmes comes to the conclusion the murders are done by a skilled surgeon. However, Sir George Fenwick (Paul Cavanaugh), a lonely middle-aged widower who's been dining with "a handsome woman," Lydia Marlowe (Hillary Brooke), leaves the Penbroke House Club to her apartment for a nightcap where her maid, Crandon (Sally Shepherd) acts mysteriously during his visit. The next morning, Fenwick awakens in a boarding house on Edgeware Road, confused, unaware of how he got there, not accounting for the lost ten hours in amnesiac state. With another murder having taken place nearby, Fenwick believes he's responsible for the crimes when he finds an amputated forefinger in one of his pockets. Later, Fenwick is found murdered, much to the shock of his daughter, Maude (Eve Amber), who had witnessed her father the other night burying evidence of the forefinger in his garden. Discovering Fenwick was being blackmailed for crimes for which he is innocent, Holmes points his finger on Professor Moriarty (Henry Daniell) responsible for the crimes, which seems impossible since his nemesis is dead. Or is he? Throughout it all, THE WOMAN IN GREEN has the distinction of having two different stories for the price of one. It starts off splendidly in typical murder mystery fashion, but once Moriarty (spelled Moriarity in the cast credits) makes his appearance, the story shifts to another direction involving hypnotism. George Zucco and Lionel Atwill, who appeared earlier as Moriarty under Rathbone, each coming to plunging to their deaths conclusion, is now resurrected in the physical being and slightly younger Henry Daniell. Contradiction sets in when Holmes' amiable assistant, Watson, mentions Moriarty was "hanged in Montevideo over a year ago." If so, how about the fatal ends of Zucco and Atwill's Moriarty? Now Morarity has somehow survived his execution in the gallows and is alive and well once more. The idea of Holmes and Moriarty coming face to face again benefits the story greatly. Bertram Millhauser, credited for original screenplay, obviously didn't bother about the earlier films to keep the stories intact. Maybe having Daniell as Moriarty's brother or nephew might have sufficed. Overlooking these factual errors, THE WOMAN IN GREEN is well scripted as is. While there's an interesting segment where Watson gets hypnotized at the Mesmer Club by Doctor Onslow (Frederick Worlock), the true highlight belongs to Holmes when going into a trance by one of Moriarty's assistants, the titled character, who's never referred to in the story as "The Woman in Green." While Mary Gordon returns as Mrs. Hudson, series regular Dennis Hoey is absent this time around as Inspector Lestrade.Distributed to home video in the 1980s, and eventually DVD, THE WOMAN IN GREEN, which has fallen into public domain, has appeared on numerous television and cable television channels over the years, one of them being Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: March 8, 2004). Next installment: THE HOUSE OF FEAR. (**1/2)

oscar-35 *Spoiler/plot- The Woman In Green, 1945, Sherlock Holmes is called to solve the "finger murders," a series of brutal and seemingly unconnected killings of women in London, and finds a beautiful hypnotist and his old enemy, Professor Moriarty, lurking in the shadows.*Special Stars- Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Henry Daniell and Hillary Brooke star.*Theme- Holmes solves every crime, eventually.*Trivia/location/goofs- Hillary Brooke is delightful. Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock's brother is mentioned, but not seen in this movie. Dr. Watson was supposed to remove his trousers under hypnosis, but he only lifts his trouser leg in the final film. Dr. Moriarity falls to his death, or did he? *Emotion-An enjoyable mystery in the Rathbone Holmes series. Several plot devices from many Holmes stories are incorporated into this film and this film has enough drama and intrigue to satisfy everyone.