Cheap Sherlock Holmes: Woman in Green (Video) (Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce) (Roy William Neill) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Sherlock Holmes: Woman in Green

Nothing less than 4 stars
As a great fan of original Sherlock Holmes episodes I think pretty much all of Sherlock Holmes are 4 out of 5 stars. But I think this one might be 41/2 stars. With a origial plot that any criminal would like to do (if you hypnotism really worked on someone who didn't want to be hypnotized.) Ever since I was seven-years-old I liked this movie more than some color movies and loved the radio episodes starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. You should a least see this movie some how.

From The Back of The MY Box. I changed some word around
"The original Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are back once again doing battle against a contemporary day Jack the Ripper! The clues left next to the scene of the crime point a finger at a major member of Parliament, but Holmes believes there's something a bit odd going on possibly his arch nemesis, Professor Moriarty might somehow involved! The trail leads the world's record detective to a group of blackmailers using the shadowy art of hypnotism, and as previously deuced, led by the evil professor! Woman In Green is a great detective story, full of trilling mystery and wonderful story telling."

Cast list

WOMAN IN GREEN Staring BASIL RATHBONE? NIGEL BRUCE With HILLARY BROOKE? PAUL CAVANAGH HENDRY DANIELL? EVE AMBER SALLY SHEPHERD ? MATTEW BOULTON Based on the Characters Created by SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE Produced and Directed by ROY WILLIAM NEIL

---

Nearing the End
Rathbone and Bruce made 14 Holmes and Watson films; it's a real shame that four of the weakest are in the public domain and keep turning up while the rest are out of print. This one, from late in the series, at least has the virtue of a script by Bertram Millhauser, who wrote the best of them and was most responsible for the distinctive tone of the series: sly humor mixed with slightly horrific mystery. Two of his most memorable creations, the Spider Woman and the Creeper, went on to lives of their own in other Universal horror movies. As for The Woman in Green, it's a blend of Jack the Ripper and Conan Doyle's "The Empty House," with a nice film noir ambience and some clever twists. Unfortunately, the ending is lame and one senses the fact that, after seven years, 10 films, and hundreds of radio broadcasts, Rathbone has begun to weary of playing Holmes. Film trivia note: someone colorized this a few years ago, and didn't even bother to put Hillary Brooke in a green dress. Go figure.

---

Henry Daniell as Professor Moriarty
The title of this Sherlock Holmes adventure, "Woman in Green," refers to the character played by Hillary Brooke (who previously had a minor supporting role in "Voice of Terror"), but the star villain is actually Holmes' arch-nemesis, the diabolical Professor Moriarty. The last time he clashed with the great detective in "Secret Weapon," the greatest criminal mastermind in all of fiction plunged to his death in an elevator shaft. And yet his resurrection here, never explained, doesn't really feel like a cheat, certainly not with the great Henry Daniell in the role. Few actors could convey evil as effectively, and he makes you believe Moriarty could survive anything. In his autobiography, Basil Rathbone praised Daniell's Moriarty as the best, high praise indeed when one considers his competition includes both George Zucco and Lionel Atwill.

Daniell's presence is the one element that elevates this otherwise standard Holmes thriller to a position near the top of the heap. Still, the standard was pretty high with this series thanks to the superb direction of Roy William Neill and the always electrifying performance of Basil Rathbone. Less appealing this time around is Nigel Bruce's Dr. Watson who bumbles more than ever and, in an amusing yet somehow cruel scene, is publicly humiliated when he's hypnotized for laughs after protesting that anyone with even an "ounce of character" could never be put under a spell. By this time in the series, one wishes the good doctor was shown a bit more respect.