Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The acting in this movie is really good.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

This fast-paced adventure yarn is pretty cracking entertainment, filled with twists, turns, clues, and action. This was produced as a war-time piece of propaganda; putting Holmes and his associates in a contemporary setting was perhaps a controversial idea for purists on reflection but it makes for some interesting situations. Still, it paves the way for some stirring speeches on the greatness of Britain and the evil of the Nazis. Fans of Conan Doyle's original stories should be grateful that, although moved to war-time Britain, a lot of the themes from THE DANCING MEN are kept in the film. The short running time means that the action and twists are coming constantly, there is no time to pause for thought. Events culminate in a gun battle, the likes of which you wouldn't expect in a Sherlock Holmes film, and they also saw fit to throw in a few perils straight out of the serials which have Holmes being saved from death by the skin of his teeth (the blood-draining climax comes to mind).Basil Rathbone seems to be really enjoying himself as Holmes here, whether it be delivering his witty lines or dressing up in all manner of guises. He's full of vitality, seemingly bounding around the screen at every opportunity, his energy rubbing off on the rest of the film. Nigel Bruce is a good foil for Rathbone as Watson, proving a few chuckles, and Dennis Hoey excels as Inspector Lestrade in a comic relief role. But it's the presence of horror stalwart Lionel Atwill who really shines as the sinister Professor Moriarty, relishing his evil turn at every opportunity - all that he needed was the twirling moustache and his comic-book image would have been complete. This may not be profound or intelligent entertainment, but it's fun and well-made and has survived the test of time well. Definitely worth a watch for mystery fans. Although not the best of the Rathbone/Holmes cannon, this is good stuff.

This one is really fun - very interesting movie. Sherlock as has gotten Dr. Franz Tobel out of Switzerland and must keep him safe - for Tobel has a secret weapon against the Nazis. Moriarty has sided with the Nazis and wants to get his hands on the Tobel's weapon to sell to the Nazis for profit and status. It is up to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to keep Tobel & his secret weapon safe from Moriarty and the Nazis.The mystery takes a few twists and turns that are unexpected. Great fun to watch Basil Rathbone in the many disguises of Sherlock Holmes and to see Lionel Atwill in a wickedly diabolical role once again.This one is definitely worth watching - it's just over an hour long and a fun hour it is.8.5/10

This is the Second and Best of the Three Basil Rathbone Movies with Holmes set During WWII. Although the Conceit of Modernizing Sherlock has Purist Pontificating Endlessly about the Blasphemy, Truth is that the Rathbone-Bruce Series Probably did more to Reinstate Arthur Conan Doyle's Consulting Detective to the Public's Consciousness than Anything Else.The Updated Movies were All Fun and with Rathbone's Energetic Performances and a Striking and Sometimes Dark Style were just Dandy. Here He dons Three Rather Impressive Disguises (a Holmes trademark), is Near Horrific Death on Two Occasions, and must in the End Battle Wits with His Arch Nemesis Professor Moriarty (Lionel Atwill).Some of the Military Stuff is Clunky and the there is a Weak Female Participant, but it is the First in the Series to Include Holmes Link to Scotland Yard, Inspector Lestrade (Dennis Hoey), "Always glad to have you hanging around Mr. Holmes". Listen Up for the Throwaway Lines, one about that Well Known German Author William Shakespeare and the other about the Needle. Yes, Fun Stuff.

SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE SECRET WEAPON (Universal, 1942), directed by Roy William Neil, the second in the newly formatted series by the studio, makes this the fourth in the series to star Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce in their now legendary screen roles. Based on Arthur Conan Doyle's story, "The Dancing Men," the film is far from being one about an all male chorus being murdered one by one in some music hall, but a series of drawn figures on a piece of paper believed to be some sort of clue for Sherlock Holmes to figure out in his latest caper. Aside from Neil's initial assignment as its series director, SECRET WEAPON also introduces Dennis Hoey as Inspector Lestrade and the return of Holmes' arch rival, Professor Moriarty, in the figure of Lionel Atwill (minus his mustache), a role previously enacted to perfection and nearly stolen by George Zucco in the gas lit London 1890s setting edition of THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (20th-Fox, 1939).For Sherlock Holmes latest adventure some fifty years later, SECRET WEAPON opens in Switzerland where Holmes (Basil Rathbone), the master of disguises and deductive reasoning, is seen as an white haired old man entering a pub coming to the table to interest Braum (Robert O. Davis) and Jacob Mueller (Paul Fix), on some old books he wants to sell, while, in actuality, is posing as a Nazi spy pretending to expose information on a Doctor Franz Tobel (William Post Jr.), a scientist who's secretly engineered a new bomb sight. Because his life is in constant danger, Holmes, secretly hired to protect Tobel, arranges for decoys to be followed by members of the Gestapo while he and the doctor drive down the road to an airplane bound for London awaiting them. Now a house guest and under close watch by both Holmes and his associate, Doctor Watson (Nigel Bruce) at his 221-B Baker Street apartment, Tobel manages to sneak away during the midnight hours to visit with his fiancée, Charlotte Eberly (Kaaren Verne), at her residence. Unknownst to him, Tobel's being followed by a mysterious figure. Suspecting something's going happen to him before his demonstration is to be met with Sir Reginald Bailey (Holmes Herbert), Tobel entrusts a sealed enveloped containing an alphabet substitution code of dancing men to Charlotte to give to Holmes, which she does, following his sudden disappearance. After Holmes opens the envelope, he finds Tobel's code gone and replaced with a message reading, "We meet again, Mr. Holmes!" which means only one thing, that Tobel was abducted, or possibly killed, by England's most sinister mastermind, Professor Moriarty (Lionel Atwill). Holmes, Watson and Inspector Lestrade (Dennis Hoey) race against time preventing the "secret weapon" from reaching the Nazis, or worse, Moriarty, as he attempts to figure out Tobel's "dancing men" message code.Others appearing in the cast include Philip Van Zandt (Kurt); Henry Victor (Frederick Hoffner); Michael Marke (George); Harry Cording (Jack Brady, one of Moriarty's men); and of course, Mary Gordon as Mrs. Hudson, Holmes' landlady.An slight improvement over its previous installment, SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE VOICE OF TERROR, with the writers resuming its London blitz World War II setting once again as its basic theme source, once again borrowing portions from Conan Doyle's original story. Unlike THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES where Moriarty was the central secondary character, SECRET WEAPON gives Moriarty a chance to shine (and rise from the dead) 38 minutes into the story, thus, holding his own, and Holmes as well, once together again, face-to-face, eye to eye, for some very tense moments. Under Moriarty's orders to his associates, Holmes falls victim to some death facing death experiences. Two that come to mind: Holmes bound and gagged inside a sea chest to be thrown from a carrier ship to the bottom of the ocean; Holmes strapped helplessly on an operating table to have his blood drained slowly from his body. Rathbone and Atwill, having worked together in earlier film projects as SON OF FRANKENSTEIN (Universal, 1939), and THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (20th-Fox, 1939), that latter that introduced Rathbone to Sherlock Holmes, make a fine pair, but nothing compared to Rathbone's screen partnership with Nigel Bruce. They're definitely one of a kind.Along with other movie detectives from that period, Charlie Chan being amongst them, this latest addition of "Sherlock Holmes" is standardly good 68 minutes material. The Rathbone-Bruce Universal editions would achieve greater popularity in later years when sold to television as part of its "Sherlock Holmes Theater" package. By the 1980s, SECRET WEAPON, along with few others in the series, have fallen to public domain (minus the Universal opening and closing logo), and placed on video cassette in the 1980s through various distributors. SECRET WEAPON was also broadcast on numerous public broadcast stations and cable channels (sometimes in colorized format), and sometime later on Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: March 8, 2004) and RetroPlex. Currently available on DVD in clearer prints, this and other Holmes and Watson mysteries continue to have an impact with each new generation awaiting what's in store from this and their next assignment of SHERLOCK HOLMES IN WASHINGTON (1943) (**1/2)