Sherlock Holmes (1939)

Sir Charles Baskerville, Bart, is found dead on the grounds of his country house, Baskerville Hall. The cause is ascribed to a heart attack. Fearing for the safety of Sir Charles's nephew and the only known heir, Sir Henry Baskerville, coming from Toronto, Canada to claim his inheritance, Dr James Mortimer travels to London and asks Sherlock Holmes for help. Mortimer explains that the Baskerville family is afflicted by a curse. According to an old account, said to have been written in 1742 and describing events which had occurred a century earlier still, during the English Civil War, Hugo Baskerville was infatuated with a farmer's daughter. He kidnapped her and imprisoned her in his bedroom. She escaped and the furious Baskerville offered his soul to the devil if he could recapture her. Aided by friends, he pursued the girl onto the desolate moor. Baskerville and his victim were found dead. She had died from fright, but a giant spectral hound stood guard over Baskerville's body. The hound tore out Baskerville's throat, then vanished into the night. Sir Charles Baskerville had become fearful of the legendary curse and its hellhound. Mortimer decided that Sir Charles had been waiting for someone when he died. His face was contorted in a ghastly expression, while his footprints suggested that he was running away from something. The elderly man's heart wasn't strong, and he had planned to go to London the very next day. Mortimer says he had seen the footprints of a "gigantic hound" near Sir Charles's body, though nothing was revealed at the inquest.

The film begins with Moriarty and Holmes verbally sparring on the steps outside the Old Bailey where Moriarty has just been acquitted on a charge of murder due to lack of evidence. Holmes remarks, "You've a magnificent brain, Moriarty. I admire it. I admire it so much I'd like to present it, pickled in alcohol, to the London Medical Society". "It would make an impressive exhibit", replies Moriarty. Later Holmes and Watson are visited at 221B Baker Street by Ann Brandon (Ida Lupino). She tells him that her brother Lloyd has received a strange note - a drawing of a man with an albatross hanging around his neck - identical to one received by her father just before his brutal murder ten years before. Holmes deduces that the note is a warning and rushes to find Lloyd Brandon. However he is too late, as Lloyd has been murdered by being strangled and having his skull crushed. Holmes investigates and attends a garden party, disguised as a music-hall entertainer, where he correctly believes an attempt will be made on Ann's life. Hearing her cries from a nearby park he captures her assailant, who turns out to be Gabriel Mateo, out for revenge on the Brandons for the murder of his father by Ann's father in a dispute over ownership of their South American mine. His murder weapon was a bolas. Mateo also reveals that it was Moriarty who urged him to seek revenge. Holmes realises that Moriarty is using the case as a distraction from his real crime, a crime that will stir the British Empire - an attempt to steal the Crown Jewels. Holmes rushes to the Tower of London to prevent the crime, and during a struggle Moriarty falls, presumably to his death. In the end, Ann is married and Holmes tries to shoo a fly by playing his violin, only to have Watson swat it with his newspaper remarking, "Elementary, my dear Holmes, elementary."[1]

Holmes is called into the "Inner Council" of British Intelligence by Sir Evan Barham (Reginald Denny), to assist in stopping Nazi saboteurs operating in Britain, whose activities are announced in advance in radio broadcasts by "The Voice of Terror". Gavin (Robert Barron), one of Holmes's operatives, is killed with a German dagger in his back. Before he dies, Gavin utters the word "Christopher." Later, Holmes and Watson go to the Limehouse district of London, where they meet with Gavin's wife Kitty (Evelyn Ankers). Holmes tells the council that, through the use of an oscilloscope to carefully analyze and compare sound wave patterns from radio broadcasts of live vs. pre-recorded voices, he has determined that "The Voice of Terror" is actually recorded on phonograph records in England, but broadcast from Germany. Using a tip from Kitty, Holmes and Watson go to the old Christopher Docks, where they are followed by Sir Anthony Lloyd (Henry Daniell) of the council. The three men are captured by a group of Nazi spies led by a man named Meade (Thomas Gomez), although Meade manages to escape through a trap door to a waiting speedboat. Kitty pretends to be a thief on the run and joins Meade. She finds out that Meade plans to go to Sir Evan's country estate that night. There Holmes and Sir Evan watch a German plane attempt to land, but gunshots fired by Sir Evan disrupt the Nazi rendezvous, all the while Meade hides in the dark. After one of Holmes informants traces Meade and Kitty to the south coast of England, Holmes forces the council to go there with him. With the support of British troopers, Holmes captures Meade and a group of German soldiers stationed in an abandoned church. There he reveals the true identity of "The Voice of Terror" as Sir Evan Barham, who happens to be an impostor. Holmes then reveals that in World War I, the real Barham was a prisoner in a German war camp and had an uncanny resemblance to a Heinrich Von Bork, a member of the German Secret Service; one day the real Barham was taken out executed; the gentleman who called Holmes into the case was Von Bork himself who had posing as Barham for 24 years; Holmes then adds that Barham had no immediate family, so his private life was well studied by Von Bork, who also studied at Oxford and had knowledge of the English language and manners. So, with a little help of plastic surgery, not to mention the resemblance to Barham in the first place, the deception was carried out thoroughly. Holmes also concludes that the real Sir Evan Barham carried a scar from childhood, the one Von Bork carried from plastic surgery was approximately 20 years old - the clue that gave away the fact that he was an impostor.

A disguised Holmes helps Swiss scientist Dr Tobel to escape from Gestapo kidnappers and flee to England with his revolutionary bombsight. Without telling Holmes or Watson, Tobel splits his bombsight into four parts and leaves a part each with four Swiss scientists also living in London. Shortly afterwards, he is kidnapped by Professor Moriarty, who is working with the Nazis; a coded note giving details of the scientists that was left for Holmes was also taken by Moriarty. Holmes discovers tracings of the note and decodes it, but three of the scientists had already been killed. Holmes takes the place of the fourth scientist and allows himself to be kidnapped by Moriarty's men. Moriarty tries to kill Holmes by exsanguination, but Watson and Inspector Lestrade rescue the detective. As Moriarty tries to escape he falls through a trapdoor, seemingly to his death.

A British courier is carrying top secret papers that he had put onto microfilm and inserted into a matchbook; realising he is being pursued by Nazi agents, he drops the matches into a handbag of the socialite Nancy Partridge, a fellow passenger. He is subsequently kidnapped and killed and Holmes is instructed to find his killers and the missing document. On his arrival in Washington, Holmes soon realises that Partridge has the document. The Nazi agents, led by William Easter, have also come to the same conclusion and kidnapped her. Holmes tracks her down to an antique shop and meets the owner, whom he recognises as a German agent from the First World War. Holmes, Watson and the police subsequently round up Easter and the gang, and obtain the microfilmed documents.

Watson is the doctor in charge of an army hospital at Hulstone Towers in Northumberland; when his assistant, Dr. Bob Sexton, is attacked, Watson asks Holmes for help. On their arrival they find the body of Geoffrey Musgrave, head of the house. The following day Geoffrey's young sister Sally performs the "Musgrave Ritual", which passes the house and estate to her elder brother Phillip. Holmes questions the butler, Alfred Brunton, who is subsequently dismissed for drunkenness. The next day Phillip Musgrave is murdered and Inspector Lestrade suspects the butler for the crime, although the butler is now missing. Holmes realises that the key to the mystery may be in the text of the Musgrave Ritual, which contains oblique references to chess moves. Holmes decodes the ritual, using the staff and patients of the house as chess pieces to play a game on the chequered floor of the main floor. He deduces that the ritual refers to a cellar below the hall: on examining the area he finds the body of the missing butler. Holmes poses as the Butler's corpse, and tricks Sexton into unveiling himself as the murderer. Holmes explains that Sexton had found a land grant and was murdering the family in order to gain the benefits.

A series of similar suicides take place in London while Holmes is on holiday in Scotland; shortly after complaining to Watson about his health, Holmes collapses into a ravine and is missing, presumed dead. In reality Holmes has faked his own death to try and track down the gang behind what he believes are murders, conducted by a "female Moriarty". Seeing that the common connection between the deaths is a life insurance scheme, Holmes disguises himself as Raghni Singh, an Indian officer who has lost heavily on the gambling tables and is in disgrace: he is approached by Adrea Spedding, the leader of the gang, who tells him that he can borrow money using his insurance policy. She sees through Holmes's disguise and attempts to kill him using a poisonous spider whose venom causes such excruciating pain that the victims kill themselves. Holmes and Watson visit the leading arachnologist Matthew Ordway to see who has purchased the spiders recently, but Holmes deduces that the man is an imposter. The imposter escapes and Holmes and Watson find Ordway's body in the house. They trace the villains to a fairground where, despite an attempt on Holmes's life, the gang are arrested.

Following the death of Lady Lillian Penrose in a small Canadian village, Holmes investigates, despite the locals blaming the murder on a glowing, murderous phantom. Holmes establishes that Lady Penrose was Lillian Gentry, a former actress who had left acting after one of her fellow actors committed a murder. Further investigation and deduction from Holmes shows that an ex-judge also lives in the town: he had overseen the case of the murderer. The local hotel owner was a former prison guard who also knew the killer. After the judge and hotel owner's daughter are also killed, Holmes sets a trap for the murderer, who had been living in the village for the previous two years disguised as a postman. The murderer also tries to kill Holmes, but fails, before running off into the fog, where the hotel owner finds and kills him in revenge.

On board a ship to England, a courier for the Royal Regent Museum is robbed of the Borgia Pearl by Naomi Drake. She hides the pearl in a camera and persuades a clergyman to carry the camera through customs. The clergyman is Holmes in disguise and he removes the pearl and takes it to the museum. When the pearl is displayed Holmes tests the security system and manages to disable it: while he does so, the pearl is stolen by Giles Conover, Drake's criminal partner. Conover is chased by museum staff, but manages to hide the pearl before he is captured. He is released shortly afterwards for lack of evidence. A number of related murders then follow, where the victims have their backs broken and their china and crockery smashed. Holmes establishes that the murders were committed by the Hoxton Creeper; Holmes and Watson examine the smashed crockery and discover that each victim owned a bust of Napoleon. Holmes visits the makers of the busts, near the museum, and realizes that Conover hid the pearl in one of the busts before he was arrested. After getting a list of the owners of the busts, Holmes takes the place of the final owner and confronts Conover. Holmes tricks the Hoxton Creeper into killing Conover, before shooting the Creeper in self-defence.

When members of the Good Comrades club start being killed, Holmes is called to their Scottish mansion to investigate. Before a victim is killed, he receives an envelope with orange pips. After each death, the life insurance of the victim is shared between the survivors. In all cases the identification is difficult, with the victims only identified by items of clothing or, in one case, a tattoo. Inspector Lestrade receives a note from a local shopkeeper, who says he has a clue. When Lestrade, Holmes and Watson visit, they find the shopkeeper killed. Holmes exhumes one of the graves and find the coffin empty. They return to the mansion and find a sixth member has been murdered and the sole surviving member, Bruce Alastair, arrested. Watson goes missing shortly afterwards and Holmes and Lestrade locate a hidden tunnel which leads to an old smugglers cave: inside they find the six missing members of the club who had all faked their deaths in order to cash in on the life insurance, using the corpses of recently dead villagers.

Holmes and Watson are consulted by Inspector Gregson of Scotland Yard to assist with the "finger murders", where young women have been murdered and one of their fingers have been removed. Holmes and Gregson see Sir George Fenwick at Pembroke House with an attractive woman, Lydia Marlowe. The couple leave and Fenwick is drugged and later wakes to find another murder has been committed and that the finger is in his pocket. He returns to Marlowe's flat where he meets Professor Moriarty, who blackmails him. The following day Fenwicke is found killed, clutching a matchbook from Pembroke House. After an attempt on Holmes's life by a hypnotised former soldier, Holmes and Watson visit the Mesmer Club, whose members are all interested in hypnotism. Marlowe also visits the club and lures Holmes back to her flat where she hypnotizes him. Morarity instructs the hypnotized Holmes to write a suicide note and leads him to the terrace in order that the detective should commit suicide. Watson and the police raid the flat and Holmes reveals that he was not hypnotised after all. As he is being arrested, Moriarty tries to jump to the building next door, but instead falls, apparently to his death.

The first stage of the journey is supposed to be for Holmes, Watson and the Prince to travel by aeroplane, but when they arrive at the airfield, their plane has been swapped for a smaller version and Watson is unable to travel with them. Holmes instructs him to act as a decoy by travelling by liner. On board Watson hears the news that Holmes's plane has crashed and he believes Holmes dead; shortly afterwards he treats one of the passengers who reveals himself to be Holmes, travelling with the prince. A number of the passengers are suspicious, including a singer, Sheila Woodbury, who Holmes deduces is carrying the recently-stolen Duchess of Brookdale's emeralds. When the liner docks in Lisbon, it is joined by three men, who try to kill Holmes and abduct the Prince, but Holmes foils all their attempts. When the ship docks at Alexandria the men surprise Holmes, tying him up and abducting the prince. When Holmes is discovered by Watson and the Prime Minister of Rovinia, he informs them that the prince had been acting as their steward for the journey, and that the men had abducted an imposter he had put in place: he had also arranged for the local police to arrest the trio when they disembarked.

Holmes and Watson are hired by Ronald Carstairs and his mother Lady Margaret to protect the Star of Rhodesia diamond on a train trip from London to Scotland. Also on the train is Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard, providing official protection for the jewel. Watson arrives late for the train, bringing with him a member of his club, Major Duncan-Bleek. While Holmes, Watson and Duncan-Bleek are dining, Carstairs is murdered and the diamond stolen. Holmes examines a coffin in the baggage carriage; the coffin carries the body of the mother of Vivian Vedder, one of the passengers. Holmes discovers a secret compartment in the coffin, large enough to hold a man. When questioned, Vedder admits that she was paid to transport the coffin. Holmes admits that he had previously swapped the real diamond for a copy: he gives the real diamond to Lestrade for safe keeping. Holmes and Watson return to the baggage carriage and find the conductor murdered by a poison dart. Duncan-Bleek is joined by Sands, the murderer who had previously hidden in the coffin; Duncan-Bleek tells him that Lestrade has the jewel and instructs him to obtain it. Sands knocks Lestrade unconscious and steals the diamond, but he is murdered by Duncan-Bleek in the process. The train picks up a group of policemen. Holmes informs them that Duncan-Bleek is really Moran. Moran is arrested and the diamond discovered. Just as he is about to be taken off the train, Moran steals a policeman's gun; the lights in the carriage go off and there is a scuffle. When the lights come on, Moran is being led from the train with a jacket over his head. Holmes tells Watson that the police were Moran's accomplices. He goes on to say that Moran is handcuffed under the table, and that the false policemen had taken Lestrade, who later arrests the men.

Watson is visited by Julian "Stinky" Emery, an old friend, who tells him and Holmes of a strange robbery in his house—the theft of a cheap music box from his collection. Holmes listens to a similar cheap box which Emery had purchased. That night Emery is murdered and another cheap music box is stolen. Holmes establishes that the music box was one of three identical boxes sold in an auction, all of which had been made in Dartmoor Prison. Holmes visits the second purchaser, only to find the box has just been stolen. He visits the third seller shortly before the murderers also visit: he takes the box with him and deduces that the tunes all differ slightly, and they contain a coded message to the location of stolen property. While an attempt is made on Holmes's life, the final box is stolen from Watson. While Holmes escapes from his trap, he and Watson finally crack the code and go to Samuel Johnson's house, where they capture the criminals and obtain the printing plates for the £5 note.