Le train de la mort

This Basil Rathbone-Sherlock Holmes adventure involves a bunch of suspects on a train, each looking guilty making the viewer undecided who really is the culprit who trying to steal a precious diamond, "The Star Of Rhodesia."

With all these suspects (who are fun to watch), there a number of twists every five minutes to keep us all guessing. There isn't a lot of action, but just enough to keep things lively. Once again Nigel Bruce as "Dr. Watson," provides the humor with his mumbling and bumbling aboard the train. It's always fun to see the equally-bumbling Inspector Lestrade, (Dennis Hoey) too.

What I really appreciated was the fine transfer the UCLA 35mm "restored" process team did on this disc. It looks great. Speaking of looks, there is a very attractive woman aboard, Rene Godfrey, but she must have gotten the part because of those looks because she's not much of an actress. It didn't matter; she didn't have a lot of lines. The wrap-up at the end went a little quickly but overall I have no complaints about this Holmes entry. I would watch it multiple times and always enjoy it.

This Conan Doyle story has a big plus for a movie adaptation: the story takes place on a train.

Holmes has been asked to protect a famous jewel, the Star of Rhodesia, while the owner, Lady Margaret Carstairs, takes the train from London to Edinburgh. Of course Holmes cannot prevent the theft, nor is the thief (and murderer) able to get off the train. This is why train stories are among the best settings for a whodunnit: all the suspects are in their own compartments, noone can get off the train and, unlike a whodunnit in a closed room, the detective has more freedom to interrogate the suspects one by one. Of course, the whodunnits on train trips bring their own set of cliches: you can bet that someone will try and kill the detective by pushing him or her out of the train. Sadly Terror By Night isn't without those clichés and, what's worse, gives Nigel Bruce (as Holmes's sidekick Watson) too many chances to spoil the movie by cracking unfunny jokes.

Terror By Night only lasts 60 minutes, so the pace is fast enough to keep the viewer interested and the movie entertaining. The movie is in the skilled directing hands of Roy William Neill, who shot this film shortly before he died of a heart attack. Neill directed more than 100 films between 1917 and 1946, of which ten Sherlock Holmes films and movies with intriguing titles as Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man (1943) and The Good Bad Girl. Apart from helming two Holmes films (this one and Dressed To Kill) he also directed the much praised film noir Black Angel (starring Peter Lorre) in the last year he lived. At least Roy William Neill left the planet in glory, a worthy end of a man who was born on a ship off the coasts of Ireland.

Good film of the splendid Sherlock Holmes-Basil Rathbone and his loyal companion Watson-Nigel Bruce series, including a first-range villain , a Doctor Moriarty's disciple , named Sebastian Moran . When the fabulous Star of Rhodesia diamond is robbed on a train bound from London to Scotland and the son of its owner is killed , Holmes and Watson help Inspector Lestrade - a likable Dennis Hoey , as botcher as Nigel Bruce - which of his suspect fellow passengers is culprit. The main suspicious turn out to be Sebastian Moran . The viewer must discover which of the passengers he impersonates . Who's the killer and the thief?. One Way Ticket to death.! Murder... at 90 Miles an Hour!

Penultime outing in the Rathbone/Bruce Sherlock Holmes series with the master sleuth up a fabled jewel robbing and against a series of murder on a London to Edinburgh train . Holmes must discover the thief murderous and the responsible ultimately results to be the Colonel Sebastian Moran , an arch-villain and Dr Moriarty's hoodlum.

This whodunit film has a fine atmosphere , it's in black and white with lights and shades that originate a suspenseful setting aboard the train . Set design is first-rate and adequate , the movie is very atmospheric . Basil Rathbone's interpretation is magnificent , he's the best Sherlock Holmes at the cinema , likeness to Peter Cushing and Jeremy Brett in television . Basil Rathbone as Holmes plays in a clever , broody and impetuous manner . Nigel Bruce plays as Dr. Watson with humor, goofy and joyful , he's the perfect counterpoint to Holmes . The motion picture was professionally directed by Roy William Neill who mostly filmed all the fabulous entries of the magnificent series . After that , Basil Rathbone starred ¨Dressed yo kill¨ his last Sherlock . Once terminated the movie , Basil Rathbone dreary in Holmes character decided killing him , similar to Arthur Conan Doyle made dropping Holmes into Falls of Reichenbach . This decision along with his breaking the radio-broadcasting contract proceeded long time ago , caused the followers were deeply annoyed and Nigel Bruce get angered , but he early died . After that , Rathbone only played Holmes as a parody in ¨Milton Berle show¨ and on Broadway stage about a play written by his wife Ouida and with Thomas Gomez as Moriarty . In spite of various historical and important roles performed by Rathbone , such as ¨Disraeli¨ and ¨Svengali¨, none of them surpassed his immortal character , the ideal role for Rathbone and that gave him fame and fortune . Rating : Better than average , 7/10 . Well worth watching .

You gotta love the classic Sherlock Holmes films - and I certainly do! To be honest, I wasn't expecting all that much out of Terror by Night - it's not often mentioned alongside the best of the series, and I'm not really sure what the reason for that is. Set aboard a speeding train, Terror by Night breathes a claustrophobic atmosphere throughout and does everything that you could possibly want one of these classic pictures to do. The last film in the Sherlock Holmes series, Dressed to Kill, was sub-par (but certainly not bad!) so it's good to see that the entries in the series leading up to that lapse didn't go the same way. The cast outdo themselves as usual, with Basil Rathbone providing the central role as only he can. Nigel Bruce joins him in support as the inept but lovable Dr Watson, and their chemistry is superb as usual. Perhaps not quite as great as some of the earlier films; but then again, they had done this twelve times already by this point. Finally, Dennis Hoey in the role of Scotland Yard inspector Lestrade makes up the cast. His presence really is underrated in the series, and he helps to give the film all-important extra comic dimension.

A few of the Holmes films made during World War Two annoyed me because of the rampant and often ham-fisted propaganda themes, so maybe one of the reason why this film appealed to me so much is that it stays away from any such themes. What we have instead is a streamlined and simple plot, which allows for more of what we tuned in for; namely, Holmes solving a mystery. The great detective has been hired to guard a lady carrying a rare diamond, The Star of Rhodesia, aboard a train bound for Edinburgh. I won't give anything else away, but I will say that while a few of the plot twists become apparent before they happen; most of them don't, and Terror by Night represents a solid hour of mystery. The classic style that makes the other films such a joy is here too; and because of the fact that this film (or any others in the series) never makes a direct bid for greatness, it is easy to enjoy and ignore any flaws that may ensue. This film isn't often mentioned when talking about the best Sherlock Holmes films - and it is topped by certain entries in the series. However, Terror by Night is a more than solid entry and you'll do well not to skip it!

This is not the best of the Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce pairings but nonetheless this is one of the most fun mystery movies to watch. Terror by Night is one of those I put on late at night to watch curled up on the sofa with a cat by my side. The rhythm of the train and the steadfast bond between Holmes, Watson and Lestrade creates one of the most relaxing murder mysteries ever put on film. The deliberate pace may not please all, but to those with a taste for it this is the mystery equivalent of a good house wine.