Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror

"THE MASTER MINDS OF MYSTERY!"

1942 1h 5m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 116

CrimeMysteryThriller

Synopsis

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England, at the start of World War Two. Mysterious wireless broadcasts, apparently from Nazi Germany are heard over the BBC. They warn of acts of terror in England, just before they take place. Baffled, the Defense Committee call in Sherlock Holmes.

“THE MASTER MINDS OF MYSTERY!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Basil Rathbone
Sherlock Holmes
Nigel Bruce
Doctor Watson
Evelyn Ankers
Kitty
Reginald Denny
Sir Evan Barham
Thomas Gomez
R.F. Meade
Henry Daniell
Sir Anthony Lloyd
Montagu Love
General Jerome Lawford
Olaf Hytten
Admiral Sir John Fabian Prentiss

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Rawlins
Writers: Arthur Conan Doyle, John Bright, Lynn Riggs
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 65-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

84 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 John Rawlins, shot by Elwood Bredell. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Frank Skinner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce and Evelyn Ankers carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "THE MASTER MINDS OF MYSTERY!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Rawlins directs. Elwood Bredell behind the camera. Frank Skinner scores. Russell F. Schoengarth cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 65-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
284 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 John Rawlins, shot by Elwood Bredell. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Frank Skinner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Russell F. Schoengarth shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce and Evelyn Ankers carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "THE MASTER MINDS OF MYSTERY!".
9IMDB entry: tt0035318 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 8 themes, including "nazi", "germany", "world war ii", "black and white".

The technical file

Cinematography: Elwood Bredell
Original score: Frank Skinner
Editing: Russell F. Schoengarth
Costume design: Vera West
Runtime: 65 min · 1h 5m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942)

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

John Rawlins

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-26
★ 7/10
This time, our detective duo are brought in to help the solve an intriguing wartime mystery. A voice on the radio is announcing details of an impending disaster, and the "Inner Council" led by Reginald Denny's "Sir Evan" is desperate to thwart these ruthless and effective acts of sabotage. To that end, they enlist the help of the courageous "Kitty" (Evelyn Anders) and the street rats of London to track down these fifth columnists and stop an attempted sneak Nazi invasion of Britain. The story is solid, as are the performances and though the ending is just a little bit far-fetched, there is still plenty of intrigue to pass an hour well. Bruce has more to do here, and as always that makes the film more entertaining.

Production companies