Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942)

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942)

Directed by: John Rawlins

Starring: Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Evelyn Ankers

This is kind of a weird movie. It takes the characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, and puts them in the “modern day”, which means during WWII… and fighting Nazis. Like I said, kinda weird.

A mysterious Nazi broadcast has been playing after key Allied defeats, and nobody can figure out who it is or how they get their information so fast. Obviously the only person who can figure out what’s going on is Sherlock Holmes, who is also for some reason not dead or 80 years old. As it turns out, it was an inside job (you actually don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to figure that out), and Holmes catches him outright.

Using a beloved public domain character as propaganda may have a precedent to it, but it’s still kinda fucked up. Also, again, it’s just damn weird to see Sherlock Holmes fighting Nazis. I think probably the biggest problem I have with this movie is that Holmes is most interesting when he’s got a worthy adversary. The very nature of a movie about him fighting Nazis made in 1942 means that the enemy can barely be competent, let alone as clever as Holmes is. It just doesn’t work.