The invention of the logical detective in Sherlock Holmes was profoundly important, directly leading to the great invention of noir, the descendants of which dominate our viewing vocabulary. The notion that people were deeply logical and that a human mind was capable of mastering this logic was the great promise that swept over the world post Darwin and Freud. You could read the original stories regardless of how you felt about this and indeed the author himself was an anti-science spiritualist. The stories placed themselves at the center of human confidence and angst.Moriarty did not feature in many of the stories, but in film has been elevated to evil incarnate, himself the template of hoards of supervillain geniuses.Some film presentations of Holmes either take his deductive abilities seriously or they cleverly play with logic versus something else, often passion. Oddly, none of these Basil Rathbone films treat Holmes as a brilliant man. Almost never does he reason things out as he does in the stories; instead he simply chases clues with the assumption that the obvious answer is wrong. We see no brilliance, only opportunity.So even though the *idea* of Sherlock (and Mycroft and Moriarty) is essential to a history of film, these particular movies are dispensable, silly wastes.

Sherlock Holmes' arch-nemesis Professor Moriarty (George Zucco) orchestrates a plot to keep Holmes busy while he commits the crime of the century. Second of the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes series and the last at Fox. Considered by many (not me) to be the best of the Rathbone Holmes films. Rathbone is pitch perfect as Holmes. Bruce, in my opinion, is perfect as Watson. I know that ruffles the feathers of purists who don't appreciate Bruce's comic Watson but I find him endearing and an incredible asset to the series. Zucco is a great Moriarty but I kept wishing there was more of him throughout the film. He was the first of several actors to play Moriarty in the series, my favorite being Henry Daniell. Ida Lupino, never the strongest actress, does fine here. The rest of the supporting cast is good, with the always enjoyable E.E. Clive a standout. The series would move to Universal three years after this. While I enjoy both of the Fox films immensely, I prefer the Universal ones. But then, I'm a fan of Universal and their style during the 1940s in particular.

Reliable Holmes story with Basil Rathbone and Dr. Watson as usual his social, albeit bumbling self.Ida Lupino is the femme fatal, her brother is murdered and she must seek help from Holmes to find out why.George Zucco as Moriarty is menacing and fun, as when his faithful servant gives him a shave with a straight-edge, and Moriarty sneers that he should want to cut his throat. Moriarty states he has nothing but contempt for most humankind.The sets are appropriately foggy and dense, London Victorian streets, oil lamps, a murder occurs in Bayswater Park; an odd Chilean flute chant, some sort of death song. There are also references to the albatross.When you see films like this today you appreciate the quality of a true suspense story, it doesn't always have wild action, but it has real suspense and theme, which is rare these days. 9/10.

**SPOILERS** Professor Moriarty, George Zucco, did it again! Just when it looks like curtains for him he managed to beat a murder rap that would have sent his sorry neck straight to the London Gallows. It was only because his arch enemy the great Sherlock Holmes, Basil Rathbone, couldn't get to the courtroom on time with evidence that would have completely contradicted Moriarty's alibi that got him acquitted of murder.Knowing that it's only a matter of time before Holmes gets the goods, as well as the hangman's rope, on him Moriarty concocts a devious plan to the destroy Holmes reputation as a great detective one's in for all. Something that would be worse then death for him! By throwing a fake pass in him having Lloyd Brandon, Peter Willis, murdered by his paid goons Moriarty, being the sneak that he is, is planning to pull off a quarterback sneak, within inches of the goal line, and score the big one in heisting the British Royal Family's Crown Jewels locked securely in the Tower of London. Knowing how Holmes' mind works Moriarty plans to send him on a wild goose chase all throughout London in finding Brandon's killer while he with his famous beard shaved off, and impersonating a London Bobbi or policeman, breaks into the Tower of London and checks out with the Crown Jewels!One of Sherlock Holmes' most baffling and difficult cases to crack in that he's up against a determined Professor Moriarty who uses all his criminal genius to make make a monkey out of Holmes and look foolish in the eyes of the British public that think the world of him.***SPOILERS*** Despite all of Holmes' efforts to save Lloyd's life he ends up getting it, in the neck, in front of dozens of witnesses on a crowded London street! This has Lloyd's kid sister Ann, Ida Lupino, terrified in that she'll be targeted next by her brother's murderer! Since she was sent the same death threat, in a letter, that he got just before he was murdered! In the end it was Sherlock Holmes' brilliant powers of deduction that uncovered Moriarty's evil plan to destroy his reputation as a great, if not the greatest, English detective. As Holmes brilliantly concluded what's the big deal about some garden verity murder, which he committed dozens during his criminal career, to Moriarty when he was planning to pull of the crime of the century! Something that would not only make newspaper headlines but be forever talked about and studied in police and military academy's the world over for years to come. It was by the boastful Moriarty bagging to Holmes what he was going to do in advance that tipped off the great detective to watch out for any false flags, like a simple murder, and not try to be fooled by them. Which in fact Holmes wasn't!P.S In fact the crime of the century was actually pulled off the very day that the film "The Advantures of Sherlock Holmes" was released to the public; September 1, 1939! It was on that very day that Adolph Hitler sent his panzer and infantry divisions into Poland which started the bloodiest war in all of recorder history: World War II!