in the universal series of modern sherlock holmes story with basil rathbone and nigel bruce and sherlock holmes and the secret weopon be not one of the top film although it be entertain . i think the problem with it be that much of the film duel between holmes and his nemesis moriarty ( here play by lionel atwill ) seem to delay the actual point of the professor work . moriarty appear in three of the holmes film with rathbone . in the adventure of sherlock holmes he be play by george zucco and who give real relish to the love of villainy for it own sake to the role . for my money zucco performance a the professor be the best of the three ( there be even a brief moment of comedy in his performance and when he disguise a the sergeant of police towards the end like he prepare to sing a policeman lot from gilbert and sullivan ) . next come mr. atwill performance here more of that later . finally there be henry daniell intellectual moriarty in sherlock holmes and the lady in green . it a typically cool and classy performance by mr. daniell and but his confrontation with holmes seem to be a tedious bore to him . they keep him from complete the main plan . in the story that the professor pop up in and he really sense holmes be a nemesis who will remain a danger as long a he be alive . yet and because of the intellectual tennis match between him and rathbone and rathbone ( in his autobiography ) actually felt daniell be the best of the film moriartys . if zucco capture the love of evil in the professor and and daniell seem to demonstrate the tired oxford don ( in the story the professor be a well regarded mathematician and whose volume on the binomial theorem have a european vogue and and who write an intriguing book and the dynamic of the asteroid ) and atwill demonstrate the professor a pragmatic businessman . first of all and he sell his service ( apparently ) to nazi germany . this be never go into and but one presumes ( a this be before the nazi begin to really collapse ) he figure they will win the war . secondly and he be not a fool . when dr. tobel ( william post jr. ) have show he be a state of near physical collapse due to the torturing of moriarty gang and the professor decide to kidnap one of the other scientist who be assist tobel and because he as good a scientist a tobel and would be able to put together the bomb site . i somehow can not quite see zucco make such a sensible decision on the spot and and if daniell have to make it and he would seem annoyed that there be yet another delay to his plan . by the way and one trick use in all the holmes series regard the professor be how to rid the film of him . if you read the holmes story and moriarty appear a the villain three time represent in the memoir of sherlock holmes last story ( the adventure of the final problem ) and in the return of sherlock holmes first story ( the adventure of the empty house ) and the last of the four novel or novella ( the valley of fear ) . it amaze how much mileage the professor get out of so few appearance ( he be mention in two or three other story a well in pass ) . but because of his fate at the reichenbach fall in the final problem and the empty house and we always see him fall to his death . zucco fall off the white tower on tower hill . daniell ( with more imagination ) try to flee gregson and the police and but be shot a he jump and and wound fails to hold on to the wall of an adjacent building . atwill ( here it be not see and but heard ) seem to fall down a trap door he plant in an escape tunnel ) . it be really tedious after awhile to see the professor always fall in these film . one turn to the gene wilder comedy ( admittedly a comedy ) sherlock holmes smarter brother and wherein leo mckern be a wonderfully wacky and villainous moriarty ( complete and finally and with an irish accent ) and who be not kill at the end and but just leave mull in a rowboat over how his careful scheme do not work out . i rather like that good . the use of the dance men code here and like the use of the devil foot root in dress to kill and snag a part of a mystery from a short story . the adventure of the dance men appear in the return of sherlock holmes and and deal with a client of holmes whose wife have be get weird and blood curdling message in this code . charles higham and in his biography the adventure of conan doyle suggest sir arthur may have pick up the code from a magazine game in the 1870s and but we really do not know . the code be basically one of letter substitution for the figure of the dance men . the story in the short story be dramatic and but deal with a triangle . the only innovation in the film be that tobel make a slight change that confuse both holmes and moriarty . the film will entertain and but i still think the house of fear and the scarlet claw and and sherlock holmes face death be well film .