Roy William Neill (1887–1946)

This Universal crime noir benefits greatly from a beautiful score by Frank Skinner and some glossy production values from Roy William Neill, who added some nice directorial touches as well. An excellent cast of noir regulars and lovely June Vincent keep us interested. While the tension of a wronged wife remaining true to a cheating husband while attempting to save him from being executed for the murder of his lover,doesn't have the nail-biting tension it should — or did in Woolrich’s hands — it is still quite engrossing.

Noir staple Dan Duryea is Martin Blair, songwriter husband of beautiful Mavis Marlowe, whose penchant for blackmail gets her strangled to death in 1940s Los Angeles. Discovering her body when he arrives for their rendezvous, Kirk Bennett flees the scene and soon finds himself on death row.

June Vincent is excellent as Kirk’s wife; a woman of quality made for good times and bad. She is at a dead-end trying to clear him when she overhears Martin’s name in connection with Mavis. He has been on a drinking binge since her death but sobers up long enough to convince her he wasn’t the killer either, giving the sweet Cathy just one more false lead.

Blair feels sorry for her — and knows her husband isn’t guilty — and the two hook up to find a brooch that will prove it was someone else who kept Mavis from singing. Peter Lorre is fun as the nightspot owner, Marko. Blair and Cathy team up and bide their time to get the evidence they need. But Broderick Crawford as detective Flood isn’t quite the shoddy investigator they’d thought. A sudden twist derails them and the viewer, leaving both to wonder who killed Mavis?

As the day for execution grows nearer, both must know the truth. Complicating matters are the feelings of Blair, who has found in Cathy someone who is everything Mavis was not.

The viewer is sucked into Cornell Woolrich’s story right from the start. Roy Chanslor’s screenplay is played out by a fine cast. Duryea, who so-often portrayed the heavy during this period gets a shot at the romantic lead for a change, and makes it believable. June Vincent looks lovely and wholesome even when the studio’s costume designer Vera West glams her up during the club scenes. Vincent makes Catherine’s devotion believable as well.

Fans of the noir genre will find all the trappings here for a good time at the movies, but do well to remember who penned the source material.… (mehr)

This spiffy little entry in the Sherlock Holmes franchise starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, who will forever be Holmes and Watson to moviegoers the world over, has a good cast and story, and loads of atmosphere that make it one of the best in the series and a personal favorite for a Sunday afternoon.

London is being terrorized by a Jack the Ripper type killer preying upon young women; murdering then mutilating them by severing the right forefinger from each victim. Scotland Yard is at a loss to find the killer or prevent the murders from continuing. It is time to call in the one man who may be able to put an end to the terror — Sherlock Holmes.

A chance encounter at Pembroke House where Holmes sees an attractive woman named Lydia (Hillary Brooke) will be the key to what’s really behind the slayings, which as Holmes explains to his old pal Watson, may involve something far more sinister than ‘plain’ old murder. Every Holmes devotee knows only one mind could devise something more sinister than murder, but wasn't Moriarity hanged in Montevideo?

Henry Daniel and Hillary Brooke add just the right flavor, Paul Cavanagh is good as Sir George Fenwick, who awakes one morning after a date with Lydia with no memory of where he’s been. His only clue is a bloody finger in his pocket and the newsboy’s chant outside his window, about the latest victim. Eve Amber also has a small but nice role as Sir George’s daughter Maude.

This fast paced and exciting entry is a lot of fun for Rathbone and Bruce fans as the two have some fine moments together. The story is full of dark alleys and London fog. The morgue, hypnotism, and a deadly confrontation between Holmes and a long-time “acquaintance” on a dangerously narrow ledge overlooking London make this one a fine entry in the franchise.… (mehr)

“By now Mr. Holmes has exchanged his violin for a harp!” — Mr. Courtney

“You're assuming heaven is his destination?” — Hilda Courtney

To most of us on the planet, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce are the only Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson we can accept in the role. This entry in the “B” series from Universal is a bit unusual, sort of a hybrid between the two “A” pictures made at Fox and the fun “B” franchise which came afterward. It retains some of the humor and fun of the latter, but also has a more straightforward story in the Holmes vein. This is mostly due to it being based on one of Conan Doyle's stories, albeit updated to modern London. Viewers will find it amusing when Holmes teases Watson about his latest story, A Scandal in Bohemia, appearing in The Strand magazine!

This one starts off with the production of music boxes in prison which find their way to auction. Though plain and ordinary looking, the tune is quite unusual, and apparently of great value. When Watson’s old pal Stinky is murdered over the one he purchased, Holmes manages to outwit a formidable foe in the lovely but black hearted Mrs. Courtney (Patricia Morison) and obtains one of the three sold at auction. He discovers a code within the Australian tune and the game is afoot to prevent another murder and financial disaster for England.

Morison was quite lovely and proves a worthy opponent for our favorite Londoner, actually besting him at one point and nearly disposing of him! Directed by Roy William Neill as usual, fans of the “B” films may find this a bit less energetic than some of the others, having more in common in tone with the two made at Fox. It is quite enjoyable, however, and has a terrific line from Watson at its conclusion fans will relish. A fine entry in the Universal franchise, and one fans must have.… (mehr)