Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942)

59% of users liked it
(2,312 ratings)

The second of Universal's "modernized" Sherlock Holmes films pits the Great Detective (Basil Rathbone, of course) against that "Napoleon of Crime," Professor Moriarty (Lionel Atwill). Surpassing his previous skullduggery, Moriarty has now aligned himself with the Nazis and has dedicated himself to… More The second of Universal's "modernized" Sherlock Holmes films pits the Great Detective (Basil Rathbone, of course) against that "Napoleon of Crime," Professor Moriarty (Lionel Atwill). Surpassing his previous skullduggery, Moriarty has now aligned himself with the Nazis and has dedicated himself to stealing a top-secret bomb sight developed by expatriate European scientist Dr. Franz Tobel (William Post Jr.). Before being kidnapped by Moriarty's minions, Tobel was enterprising enough to disassemble his invention and distribute its components among several other patriotic scientists. Racing against the clock, Holmes and Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce) try to stem the murders of Tobel's colleagues and prevent Moriarty from getting his mitts on the precious secret weapon. The now-famous climax finds Holmes playing for time by allowing Moriarty to drain all the blood from his body, drop by drop ("The needle to the last, eh Holmes?" gloats the villain). Dennis Hoey makes his first appearance as the dull-witted, conclusion-jumping Inspector Lestrade. Constructed more like a serial than a feature film, Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (based loosely on Conan Doyle's The Dancing Men) is one of the fastest-moving entries in the series; it is also one of the most readily accessible, having lapsed into public domain in 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 8 min.
Directed By: Roy William Neill
Written By: Edward T. Lowe, W. Scott Darling, Edmund Hartman
Genres: Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense, Classics

In Theaters: Feb 12, 1943 Wide
On DVD: Feb 13, 2001
Studio: Universal Pictures

Critic Reviews

Michael W. Phillips, Jr., Goatdog's Movies
The pacing is slack, the big mystery not mysterious enough, and the showdowns between Holmes and Moriarty a bit too silly for my taste.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Not a great Sherlock (too many plot holes), but one that's entertaining, never dull and has a lot of intrigues going for it.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Featured Audience Ratings

Tim S

I had the chance not too long ago to see this with a small crowd in a theatre, and I had a lot of fun in the process. I don't know if The Secret Weapon is one of Holmes' best outtings, but it's certainly enjoyable. The beginning is kind of slow and it takes a bit to get… More
I had the chance not too long ago to see this with a small crowd in a theatre, and I had a lot of fun in the process. I don't know if The Secret Weapon is one of Holmes' best outtings, but it's certainly enjoyable. The beginning is kind of slow and it takes a bit to get the plot underway (more so than usual), but it gets better and better as the film goes along. Again, Moriarty is up to no good, this time trying to steal a nuclear weapon. The pace is a little more lax than other films in the series, but there's enough story instead of constant expository dialogue to make up for it. The ending is also quite biting, and makes the whole film worth watching, in my opinion. I'm looking forward to seeing more of these films in the future.
Sunil J

Starts off slow but it's pretty great. I always love the Professor Moriarty mysteries because you know Holmes is going to have at least 2 great disguises and I wasn't disappointed.
Anastasia B

I found this review from an imdb user "James Oblivion" very close to what I have been thinking about the film: "All in all, this film has its moments, but fails to live up to the legend of the world's greatest detective. Rathbone is a fine Holmes and Bruce (despite… More
I found this review from an imdb user "James Oblivion" very close to what I have been thinking about the film: "All in all, this film has its moments, but fails to live up to the legend of the world's greatest detective. Rathbone is a fine Holmes and Bruce (despite the almost unforgivable dumbing down of the Watson character) does a good job, as well. But much of the supporting cast seem to be phoning in their performances. The production values are rather noticeably low and the script is fairly ludicrous. I still watch this one from time to time, and certainly prefer it over Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (the first "Universal" Holmes entry)...but I can't help but think that Sherlock Holmes deserves better than this."
Marion R

This is so boring, I am usually up for a good mystery, but this is some crappy hybrid. There is no climax and at no point are you fearful for Holmes. A bunch full of shinanegans.
Anthony V

Another solid Sherlock Holmes outing.