The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

"The struggle of super-minds in the crime of the century!"

1939 1h 25m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

🍅

80%

FRESH

⭐

7.2

IMDB

★6.9TMDB · 180🍅80%Rotten Tomatoes★7.2IMDB · 8,308

CrimeMysteryThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Having once again avoided criminal conviction, Professor Moriarity develops a murderous plan to “finish off” his last major nemesis, Sherlock Holmes, by making him fail to prevent the perfect crime. Does it involve a family curse, the crown jewels of England, or something else…

“The struggle of super-minds in the crime of the century!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Basil Rathbone
Sherlock Holmes
Nigel Bruce
Dr. Watson
Ida Lupino
Ann Brandon
Alan Marshal
Jerrold Hunter
Terry Kilburn
Billy
George Zucco
Professor Moriarty
Henry Stephenson
Sir Ronald Ramsgate
E. E. Clive
Inspector Bristol

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Alfred L. Werker
Writers: Edwin Blum, William Absalom Drake
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

85 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

87 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Alfred L. Werker, shot by Leon Shamroy. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Robert Bischoff shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce and Ida Lupino carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The struggle of super-minds in the crime of the century!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0031022 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Alfred L. Werker directs. Leon Shamroy behind the camera. Robert Bischoff cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

185 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
287 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Part of the "Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Alfred L. Werker, shot by Leon Shamroy. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Robert Bischoff shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce and Ida Lupino carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "The struggle of super-minds in the crime of the century!".
8IMDB entry: tt0031022 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 12 themes, including "detective", "murder", "black and white", "head bashed in".

The technical file

Cinematography: Leon Shamroy
Editing: Robert Bischoff
Costume design: Gwen Wakeling
Runtime: 85 min · 1h 25m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)
Rotten Tomatoes: 80% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 7.2/10 · 8,308 votes
MPAA: Approved

Part of

Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) Collection

A series of fourteen films based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories was released between 1939 and 1946; the British actors Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce played Holmes and Dr. John Watson, respectively. The first two films in the series were produced by 20th Century Fox and released in 1939. The studio stopped making the films after these, but Universal Pictures acquired the rights from the Doyle estate and produced a further twelve films. Although the films from 20th Century Fox had large budgets, high production values, and were set in the Victorian era, Universal updated the films to the contemporary era of the Second World War, and produced them as B pictures with lower budgets. Both Rathbone and Bruce continued their roles when the series changed studios, as did Mary Gordon, who played the recurring character, Mrs. Hudson.

Also by

Alfred L. Werker

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-22
★ 8/10
My personal favourite of these Rathbone/Bruce combinations. This time, the fiendishly clever Professor Moriarty (George Zucco) intends the crime of the century and so has Holmes and Watson distracted by an ominous series of murders whilst he sets about perpetrating his true desire. Henry Stephenson also chips into this accomplished murder-mystery that keeps you guessing for quite a while. The atmosphere of a foggy London all adds to the dramatic effect of this film and Rathbone and Bruce are clearly now on their way to establishing their own, definitive, characterisations of their fictional alter-egos.

Production companies