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Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror

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Director
  
John Rawlins

Duration
  

Language
  
English

6.8/10
IMDb

Genre
  
Crime, Thriller, Mystery

Country
  
United States

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror movie poster

Release date
  
September 18, 1942 (1942-09-18)

Based on
  
His Last Bow by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Writer
  
Lynn Riggs (screenplay), John Bright (screenplay), Arthur Conan Doyle (story), Robert Hardy Andrews (adaptation)

Prequel
  
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Sequel
  
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon

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)

Similar movies
  
Mr. Holmes
,
Sherlock Holmes
,
The Reader
,
Look Who's Back
,
Frank
,
The Great Dictator

Tagline
  
THE MASTER MINDS OF MYSTERY!

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror is the third film in the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce series of Sherlock Holmes movies and the first to be produced by Universal Pictures. Made in 1942, the film combines elements of the Arthur Conan Doyle story "His Last Bow", to which it is credited as an adaptation, and loosely parallels the real-life activities of Lord Haw-haw. Horror film "scream queen" Evelyn Ankers appears as leading lady.

Contents

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror movie scenes

Plot

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror wwwgstaticcomtvthumbdvdboxart36852p36852d

The film begins with a title card describing Holmes and Watson as "ageless", as an explanation as to why the film is set in the 1940s rather than Holmes' era of 1881–1914, as the preceding 20th Century Fox films were. There is a nod to the classic Holmes, in a scene where Holmes and Watson are leaving 221b Baker Street, and Holmes picks up his deerstalker. Watson protests, and Holmes reluctantly puts on a fedora instead.

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror Sherlock Holmes The Voice of Terror Movie Posters From Movie Poster

Holmes is called into the "Inner Council" of British Intelligence by Sir Evan Barham (Reginald Denny), to assist in stopping Nazi saboteurs operating in Britain, whose activities are announced in advance in radio broadcasts by "The Voice of Terror".

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror 1942 Daily Scribbling

Gavin (Robert Barron), one of Holmes's operatives, is killed with a German dagger in his back. Before he dies, Gavin utters the word "Christopher." Later, Holmes and Watson go to the Limehouse district of London, where they meet with Gavin's wife Kitty (Evelyn Ankers).

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE VOICE OF TERROR 1942 Comic Book and

Holmes tells the council that, through the use of an oscilloscope to carefully analyze and compare sound wave patterns from radio broadcasts of live vs. pre-recorded voices, he has determined that "The Voice of Terror" is actually recorded on phonograph records in England, but broadcast from Germany. Using a tip from Kitty, Holmes and Watson go to the old Christopher Docks, where they are followed by Sir Anthony Lloyd (Henry Daniell) of the council. The three men are captured by a group of Nazi spies led by a man named Meade (Thomas Gómez), although Meade manages to escape through a trap door to a waiting speedboat.

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror Basil Rathbone Master of Stage and Screen Sherlock Holmes and the

Kitty pretends to be a thief on the run and joins Meade. She finds out that Meade plans to go to Sir Evan's country estate that night. There Holmes and Sir Evan watch a German plane attempt to land, but gunshots fired by Sir Evan disrupt the Nazi rendezvous; all the while Meade hides in the dark.

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror CLASSIC MOVIES SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE VOICE OF TERROR 1942

After one of Holmes informants traces Meade and Kitty to the south coast of England, Holmes forces the council to go there with him. With the support of British troopers, Holmes captures Meade and a group of German soldiers stationed in an abandoned church.

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror 1942 Daily Scribbling

There he reveals the true identity of "The Voice of Terror" as Sir Evan Barham, who happens to be an impostor. Holmes then reveals that in World War I, the real Barham was a prisoner in a German war camp and had an uncanny resemblance to a Heinrich Von Bock, a member of the German Secret Service; one day the real Barham was taken out and executed; the gentleman who called Holmes into the case was Von Bock himself who had been posing as Barham for 24 years; Holmes then adds that Barham had no immediate family, so his private life was well studied by Von Bock, who also studied at Oxford and had knowledge of the English language and manners. So, with a little help of plastic surgery, not to mention the resemblance to Barham in the first place, the deception was carried out thoroughly. Holmes also concludes that the real Sir Evan Barham carried a scar from childhood, the one Von Bock carried from plastic surgery was approximately 20 years old - the clue that gave away the fact that he was an impostor.

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror Sherlock Holmes and the

Holmes then informs the spies that the German invasion force has been destroyed. The angry Meade shoots and fatally wounds Kitty, but is killed himself as he attempts to escape. The Council stand around the murdered Kitty and swear that her heroic death will not be in vain.

The film ends with a direct quote from "His Last Bow":

Watson: It's a lovely morning, Holmes. Holmes: There's an east wind coming, Watson. Watson: I don't think so. Looks like another warm day. Holmes: Good old Watson. The one fixed point in a changing age. There's an east wind coming all the same. Such a wind as never blew on England yet. It will be cold and bitter, Watson, and a good many of us may wither before its blast. But it's God's own wind none the less. And a greener, better, stronger land will lie in the sunshine when the storm is cleared.

Cast

  • Basil Rathbone – Sherlock Holmes
  • Nigel Bruce – Doctor John H. Watson
  • Evelyn Ankers – Kitty
  • Reginald Denny – Sir Evan Barham/Heinrich von Bock/Voice of Terror
  • Thomas Gómez – R.F. Meade
  • Henry Daniell – Sir Anthony Lloyd
  • Montagu Love – General Jerome Lawford
  • Olaf Hytten – Admiral Sir John Fabian Prentiss
  • Leyland Hodgson – Captain Roland Shore
  • Uncredited

  • Arthur Blake – Crosbie
  • Leslie Denison – Air Raid Warden Dobson
  • Gavin Muir – BBC Radio Announcer (voice)
  • George Sherwood – London Cab Driver
  • Arthur Stenning – British Officer
  • Harry Stubbs – Taxi Driver 3016
  • Ted Billings – Basement Dive Bartender
  • Harry Cording – Camberwell, Basement Dive Patron
  • Alec Harford – Grimes, Basement Dive Patron
  • Charles Jordan – Duggan, Basement Dive Patron
  • Michael "Mike" Morelli – Bar Patron
  • John Rogers – Basement Dive Patron
  • Donald Stuart – Grady, Basement Dive Doorkeeper (unconfirmed)
  • Herbert Evans – Smithson, Barham's Butler
  • Fred Graham – Meade's Henchman
  • Rudolph Anders – Schieler, Nazi at Church
  • John Wilde – Heinrich, Nazi at Church
  • Mary Gordon – Mrs. Hudson
  • Robert Barron – Gavin
  • Hillary Brooke – Jill Grandis
  • Edgar Barrier – Voice of Terror
  • References

    Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror Wikipedia
    Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror IMDbSherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror themoviedb.org