this jingoist out concern the usual battle holmes vs. moriaty and but this time in an effort to save the british war against the nazi . sherlock holmes ( rathbone ) and watson ( bruce ) and the detecting duo living in 223 baker street and again be up against their old enemy dr. moriarty ( lionel atwill ) . the film start in switzerland where holmes save from the nazi to an inventor of a bomb sight and name dr. tobel ( post ) . back in london and tobel hand over four part of the device to diverse scientist . but doctor tobel be kidnap by moriarty . sherlock must to solve his disappearance and some vitally important . holmes only hold a clue leave his girlfriend ( kareen verne ) and the detective with an extraordinary mechanism get decode it . but dead body scientific be accumulate but have appear murder and moriarty know the key and as well . holmes disguise a sailor go out to investigate and find the moriarty shelter . the picture be base on¨ the dance men¨by arthur conan doyle . this be a rathbone bruce effort for the wwii along with ¨the voice of terror¨ in which we be ask to believe the magnificent detective could have live in this century . both story be completely patriotic and flag waging movie . in fact and on the end there an advertising buying of war bond with evident propaganda . the movie be an excellent holmes thriller with grip wartime setting and unanswered mystery and unstopped suspense . in the film appear the habituals from holmes series . his nemesis moriarty and and mistress hudson and inspector lestrade ( a funny dennis hoey ) and of course the bumbling dr. watson . basil rathbone performance be splendid and he the best cinema holmes similar to television peter cushing and jeremy brett . rathbone a whimsical sleuth be top notch and he in crack form and intelligent and broody and impetuous . he finely match in battle of wit with moriarty and his arch enemy and a first range villain represent lionel atwill . nigel bruce play watson with humor and jinx and goofy and mirth . he the perfect counterpoint of holmes . besides appear briefly distinguish secondary a paul fix and whit bissell . this classic get an atmospheric black and white cinematography but available colorize in a horrible version . adequate music score fitting to suspense by frank skinner . the motion picture be professionally r. william oneal and the usual saga director and habitual in the monster movie universal .