SHERLOCK HOLMES
AND THE SPIDER WOMAN
(1944)With Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Gale Sondergaard, Vernon Downing, Dennis Hoey, Alec Craig
Directed by Roy William Neill
Black and White
Reviewed by JB
Not much of a mystery - with Gale Sondergaard in the cast, it's clear
who the Spider Woman is going to be - but SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE
SPIDERWOMAN is still a superior chapter in the Universal
Sherlock Holmes series. Rathbone and Sondergaard are
delightful
and hammy in their scenes together, as Holmes and the deadly Spider
Woman trade snappy and snippy dialogue, each
one believing
they are always one step ahead of the other. Nigel Bruce is
quite
good
too, playing a Dr. Watson who is finally shown to be more than just a
marginally competent curiosity. The few comedy scenes he has
spring not from the usual misguided assumption
that Bruce
should be the comedy relief but rather from the story itself.
The clever screenplay by Bertram Milhauser references many classic Doyle tales, including The Final Problem, The Empty House and The Speckled Band. It also features sharper dialogue than usual, and a whole host of memorable characters, situations and settings, and a suspenseful finale in which Dr. Watson unwittingly becomes Holmes' near-assassin.
Look quick for the letter
"V", fashioned from bullet holes, in one wall at
Holmes's flat in Baker Street - Doyle
fans will know what that means. And, of course, beware of
that
rare breed of spider known as the mendax flagrante! 
- JB
http://thestuffyougottawatch.com
Copyright © 2010 John V. Brennan, John Larrabee