The Spider Woman

"Grim mystery to hold you breathless!"

1943 1h 3m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

⭐

IMDB

★7.0TMDB · 108★7IMDB · 5,282

MysteryCrimeThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Sherlock Holmes investigates a series of so-called "pajama suicides". He knows the female villain behind them is as cunning as Moriarty and as venomous as a spider.

“Grim mystery to hold you breathless!”

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Cast

Basil Rathbone
Sherlock Holmes
Nigel Bruce
Dr. John H. Watson
Gale Sondergaard
Adrea Spedding
Dennis Hoey
Insp. Lestrade
Vernon Downing
Norman Locke
Alec Craig
Radlik
Arthur Hohl
Adam Gilflower
Mary Gordon
Mrs. Hudson

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Roy William Neill
Writers: Bertram Millhauser, Arthur Conan Doyle
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

Tight 63-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

83 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 Roy William Neill, shot by Charles Van Enger. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor William Austin 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 Gale Sondergaard carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Grim mystery to hold you breathless!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0037303 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Roy William Neill directs. Charles Van Enger behind the camera. William Austin cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 63-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
283 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 Roy William Neill, shot by Charles Van Enger. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor William Austin 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 Gale Sondergaard carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Grim mystery to hold you breathless!".
8IMDB entry: tt0037303 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 13 themes, including "suicide", "casino", "spider", "roulette".

The technical file

Cinematography: Charles Van Enger
Editing: William Austin
Costume design: Vera West
Runtime: 63 min · 1h 3m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Spider Woman (1943)
IMDB rating: 7/10 · 5,282 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

Roy William Neill

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-26
★ 7/10
This time, our dynamic duo face one of their most versatile and cunning antagonists, who is cleverly behind the inexplicable “pyjama suicides”. Wealthy and seemingly upstanding members of the community are taking their own lives, usually from behind the safety of their own locked doors, by why? Well, “Holmes” (Basil Rathbone) dons the guise of a poverty-stricken veteran of the Indian army to try and ensnare the shrewd “Adrea Spedding” (Gale Sondergaard) but just who is going to be doing the ensnaring? With “Watson” (Nigel Bruce) close by his side, they must try to get to the bottom of a mystery where, quite literally, nothing fits! Traps are being set, lures being placed and this foe is worthy of their best efforts - especially as “Watson” turns out to be very proficient with his rifle - unsure quite what he is unwittingly shooting at! We know all along who is doing what, and how, but it’s still quite enjoyable to watch the mystery unfold with noxious smoke bombs, toxic (or poisonous) arachnids and a few of the human regulars to support this pretty packed short feature.

Production companies