Sherlock Holmes et la voix de la terreur

When the sinister Voice of Terror taunts England over the radio with news of acts of sabotage against the Allies, the Inner Council of British Intelligence has no choice but to turn to England's greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone). Holmes, with help from his criminal underworld connections, investigates and uncovers the true identity of the Voice of Terror.

After two fine films at Fox and a three-year gap, the Sherlock Holmes series movies to Universal. The change of studios also brings with it the updating of Holmes to the 1940s, where he understandably spends the early entries in the series battling Nazis. This change upsets many purists, who already have problems with the Rathbone series for its portrayal of Watson as comic relief and its deviations from the books. If you're one of those, I doubt anything I can say will alter your opinion. I don't happen to be bothered by the changes. I actually enjoy the movies more because of them.

As in his two films at Fox, Rathbone here is the perfect Holmes. One of my favorite scenes from any of his Holmes films occurs in this one when Holmes and Watson go to a seedy pub frequented by criminals. One of the criminals, a particularly frightening thug Sherlock put away years before, approaches the duo and we're led to believe any second now he will try to exact some violent revenge on Holmes. I won't spoil how the scene ends but pay attention to the way Rathbone plays this entire scene. It's wonderful stuff. I would be remiss in doing any kind of review for Voice of Terror without mentioning Rathbone's hairstyle. For some reason they decided to give him a rather silly-looking haircut where the hair on the sides is combed forward. It's hard not to chuckle when you first see it. Thankfully he wears a hat for a lot of the picture.

For his part, Nigel Bruce is a great sidekick. He has less to do here than some of the other movies but, as always, he's pleasant and fun to watch. The supporting cast is great, with the likes of Henry Daniell, Reginald Denny, and Thomas Gomez giving solid turns. Special mention goes to Evelyn Ankers, who gives one of her most different performances here. She plays the wife of a criminal killed for helping Holmes who then agrees to help the detective herself. Not for the sake of law & order but for the love of country. Her best scene is when she gives a rousing speech to her fellow criminals and lowlifes, enlisting them to help Holmes and England.

This is a solid start to the Universal Holmes series. Not the best but very entertaining nonetheless. Reading some of the older reviews here is a bit stomach-churning. Jeez, you'd think these people WANTED the Nazis to win! They seem so bitter and angry over the film being pro-England during World War II. What's this world coming to when people hate patriotism and nationalism so much they gripe about it more than the Nazis? The fact that most of these reviewers identify themselves as being from England or America makes the whole thing doubly sad.

Any criticism today of the plot's credibility has to be put in the context of the reason the film was made in the first place. Simply it was a jingoistic, morale boosting piece of theatre for the film going public, by 1942 ravaged by the blitz in London, rationing and the fear of Lord Haw Haw broadcasts.

Sure the plot is thin, Evelyn Ankers plays an East End waif with more than a touch of Southern American drawl and the red herrings are obvious.

That said Rathbone remains the pinnacle Sherlock Holmes and Bruce the lovable bumbling side kick. Great entertainment.

This is such an unusual outing for Holmes and Watson, made when World War II was happening, it sees Holmes battle the Nazis. I can imagine at the time this was in the Cinemas this would have had a massive effect on the British audiences, it has hugely patriotic themes throughout, The BBC, spitfires and British commandos etc, I can almost imagine the creators of the story writing it in a way to offer hope to the British audiences watching, fearing the Nazis were infinite.

It's not my favourite of Rathbone's outings, Holmes and Watson seem to fit awkwardly into this story, but it's very worth of a watch, it is beautifully filmed, it looks incredible, amazing to consider it's over seventy years old.

It features a good cast, Rathbone and Bruce work tremendously well together as always, sadly it just lacks any of the humour that later productions would have.

Worth a look, a bit different.

6/10.

In wartime Britain, morale is falling among the troops as a covert radio broadcast calling itself `the voice of terror' directs Nazi agents to carry out attacks and espionage. The Government calls in Sherlock Holmes to track down and stop the broadcast and, as a result, the attacks and espionage.

I have seen several of the modern set Holmes films, most recently `Sherlock Holmes in Washington'. Despite not really liking that one, I decided to give this one a stab anyway. The modern setting seems as much a way of using the films as wartime propaganda rather than as a way of improving the film or anything like that. For that reason this film struggles simply because all the changes have been made for that reason and hence, if they do act as an improvement, then it is only by chance.

The plot is reasonable but not great. It is more about getting the Nazis rather than Holmes' taking on any one foe or trying to solve a specific crime. Rathbone is still good but he looks like a modern fop in his dapper clothes and silly hairdo! Bruce is good but not used as much as he has been in other films. The Nazi's have no character and the support cast is not that strong. Of the film only the conclusion is exciting but even that basically is hinted at heavily all the way through.

Overall, this has all the stuff that I like about Holmes but the modern setting really hurts it. Instead of a good plot, an existing story is twisted to be set in WW2 and deducting is replaced by propaganda and triumphalism over a foe that is never anything more than a caricature.

This Sherlock Holmes feature, the first of Universal's series that took the two stars (though little else) from the two earlier 20th Century Fox Holmes movies, got the new series off to a good start with an involved, entertaining story and a very good supporting cast. It has its flaws, but they by no means keep it from being an enjoyable movie with good characters and plenty of action. Though the credits cite the Arthur Conan Doyle story "His Last Bow" as the source, it is actually an entirely new story with only a handful of minor elements remaining from the original.

The choice to move the stories from the original Victorian setting to the (then) present meant that the new series would never have quite the same feel as the Doyle originals, but as some compensation it allowed for Holmes to be portrayed battling enemies that were then foremost in viewers' minds. This story of "The Voice of Terror" makes full use of anxieties and unpleasant possibilities that must have been only too frequently in the minds of its original viewers. It still succeeds in building tension and interest with its tale of Nazi-created disasters and mocking threats.

The story is very interesting, although it has a few overly convenient turns and plot holes. It gave Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce a chance to perform the kinds of material that they had already gotten used to doing together. They are helped considerably here by the supporting cast, which includes Reginald Denny and Henry Daniell as the most prominent members of the government council that is employing Holmes's services. But it is Thomas Gomez and Evelyn Ankers who really make a difference. Gomez has one of his best character roles as a crafty enemy agent, and Ankers does a fine job as a woman of low standing who gets a chance to serve her country.

The series would get even better as it went along, as Rathbone and Bruce continued to develop their camaraderie and as the production team eased into a familiar formula that could be varied as needed. But this one already got the series off to a solid start with a good movie that is still worth seeing.