As this Sherlock Holmes mystery opens we see a prisoner in Dartmoor prison who is making music boxes; we then see the boxes being sold at a London auction house. Shortly after the sale a man turns up saying he intended to buy the boxes for 'sentimental reasons' and a five pound bride gets him the addresses of two of the buyers. The identity of the third isn't known but she is a regular buyer so the man says he will return at the next sale to see her. Shortly afterwards a friend of Doctor Watson mentions a strange robbery; a thief ambushed him and stole a plain music box from his collection of more valuable ones. The stolen box resembles the one he'd just bought at the auction. Holmes hears the tune once and memorises it. Not long afterwards he is murdered and the box stolen. Holmes visits the auction house and learns about the maker of the boxes… a man who stole printing plates for Bank of England five pound notes. The boxes must have something to do with the plates but what is a mystery. The race is on to get the three boxes and crack the code.This was a rather fun Sherlock Holmes mystery, the last to star Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Holmes and Watson. The is no real question as to who the villains are but what is so special about the music boxes isn't immediately obvious as is just how the information is hidden in each of them. Patricia Morison steals the show somewhat as femme fatale Mrs. Hilda Courtney; an intelligent antagonist who manages to get the better of Holmes. Rathbone is solid as Holmes and Bruce is entertaining as Watson, even if his character is a bit dim for a qualified doctor. There are plenty of good aspects to the mystery but also an ending that involves quite a coincidence. Overall an enjoyable story that was well worth watching if you are a Holmes fan or just like a decent mystery.

This adventure marked the swansong for the Rathbone/Holmes series. Thankfully, it's not dire, although you could see where the series was headed if they had kept on doing it. This definitely isn't one of the best of Roy William Neill's films, but it's entertaining enough in its own way and at least is fast-paced enough to be never boring. The story is packed with incident and plenty of action, and the acting is fine - but some things are noticeably missing.The first is the comic relief, which is extremely low on the ground here. Aside for a few stupid antics that Watson offers us, there is very little light relief, and the presence of Inspector Lestrade is sorely missing. Bruce's Watson is even more of an idiot here, proving himself a hindrance to Holmes rather than a help, although he does manage to point Holmes in the right direction without realising it (the ending seems to be a bit contrived to me, especially as Watson as already helped Holmes this way once during the film). There is also an uncalled-for scene of Watson touching up a woman, which seems to indicate that his character is a pervert or a "dirty old man". I prefer to think of Watson as an innocent, naïve character, but this sexist moment shows his character in a bad light and is totally unnecessary.Patricia Morison is actually pretty good as an alluring femme fatale, but nobody else sticks in the mind and there are too many fresh faces in the cast - what happened to all those character actors they used to have in the films? There's a good scene of Holmes narrowly escaping death, and lots of thrills as both sides gain the upper hand from time to time. One of the bad guys just happens to be a knife-thrower, which means we're in for a bit of fun there too. This is based on one of Conan Doyle's tales, unlike the earlier war-inspired movies, which is something to be thankful of, as the mystery is well handled. But nothing here can be called classic, and indeed it's difficult to distinguish this from a handful of other entries into the series, as there's nothing really different in setting or occurrence that makes it memorable. Even the usually reliable Rathbone seems to be just going through the motions. Even so, it still stands head and shoulders above much similar fare of the era.

The Basil Rathbone "Sherlock Holmes" films have finally come to a conclusion. I admit that this wasn't a very epic one, but a good one nonetheless. The best parts of this movie involve the villains. It's simply great to see these colorful characters with so much personality. It's a shame they fade away in the second half, but they luckily show up again. Rathbone is as good as ever as Sherlock. There's no sense of finality with this installment. They may have tried to make further movies. A character as legendary as Sherlock Holmes deserves great actor portrayal like this.This is one of the most interesting plots as it involves three music boxes that will display a secret message all put together. Holmes himself doesn't appear until 8 minutes in the movie, which is fairly long for this series. As a series with such short installments and many entries, they really do all seem like episodes of a TV show. I enjoy reviewing TV show episodes and am glad this structure was used. The series may have ended, but there are so many incantations, he will never be missed. ***.

As much as I enjoyed this final adventure for Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as the world's greatest detective and his sidekick, I have to acknowledge the film's myriad of flaws: a champion of the truth like Holmes would want it that way.After so many fine adventures, it is a shame that the series ends with such a comparatively weak affair, the rather unexceptional story revolving around three musical boxes that hold the secret of the whereabouts of a set of stolen Bank of England printing plates. When these boxes are sold to three different customers at an auction, villainess Hilda Courtney (Patricia Morison) and her cronies turn to murder to get their hands on them. As Holmes and Watson get closer and closer to solving the mystery, the problems, plot holes and contrivances mount up: Watson is depicted as more of a fool than usual, the killers are extremely inept, and Sherlock cracks the case more by chance than by pure detection (irritatingly, his most important breakthroughs are wild assumptions based on casual remarks made by his portly pal).Of course, Rathbone and Bruce are as likable as ever as the iconic crime-fighting duo, and it's down to their marvellous chemistry and charisma that Dressed to Kill still manages to be reasonably diverting despite the movie's many imperfections.5.5 out of 10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.