the evil professor moriarty plot to gain control of both sherlock holmes and the secret weapon which could win the war for the nazi . basil rathbone and nigel bruce return to the screen a sir arthur conan doyle beloved detective and sidekick and sherlock holmes and dr. watson and in this entertaining little mystery . universal studio waste no money on either fancy production value or a sensible script and knowing that it two star would be all the attraction an audience would need . indeed rathbone and a the cerebral ego and and bruce and a the bumbling id and seem to actually become the character they be create and gleefully keep their face straight while engage in the most utter nonsense . dennis hoey make his first appearance a the dogged inspector lestrade of scotland yard while team with bruce and these two good hearted but pedantic fellow actually get to save the intellectually superior holmes life twice . lionel atwill and a master of the sinister who deserve more recognition for his talent and do a fine job a moriarty and make the wicked rascal a foe worthy of holmes steel and relish the scene in which he get to inflict torture and pain . william post jr. and kaaren verne play the swiss scientist and his girlfriend who be at the heart of the mystery and but theyre not give much to do . sweet mary gordon make a token appearance a holmes landlady mrs. hudson . rathbone spice up his already classic interpretation of holmes by get to appear in disguise three time during the story and thereby reveal to the viewer that the great sleuth be a bit of a ham actor at heart . this film which be base very loosely on element in sir arthur short stories the dance men and the empty house follow sherlock holmes and the voice of terror ( 1942 ) and precede sherlock holmes in washington ( 1943 ) .