After ten films together, the chemistry between Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce translates into a convincing on-screen friendship as the iconic Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson; the genuine affection between the two partners in crime-solving is palpably evident in their eleventh outing, "The Woman in Green." Watson is evidently touched when Holmes openly admits he let a villain escape in order to save his dear friend's life. Despite his blustering, Watson provides valuable advice and support to Holmes in this film, and, despite his grumbling at being used, the good doctor is more than comic relief. In Betram Millhauser's original screenplay, a string of young women are murdered throughout London, and each victim has had a finger surgically removed. Holmes and Watson are brought in by Inspector Gregson of Scotland Yard to aid the investigation.Producer-director Roy William Neill and his irreplaceable leading men have returned, and Neill has also brought back several other welcome figures from previous Holmes films in the Universal series. Veteran supporting players from other Holmes mysteries include Hilary Brooke, Henry Daniell, Paul Cavanaugh, Sally Shepherd, and Mary Gordon as the good, the bad, and the suspicious, in no particular order. Cinematographer Virgil Green, who lensed two prior Holmes films, provides crisp black and white images that especially flatter both Brooke and Rathbone, while his murky shadows that shroud London's back streets and the Victorian halls of 221B Baker Street add an aura of atmospheric mystery.Unfortunately, despite the excellent cinematography, fine assured direction, and seasoned members of the Sherlock Holmes stock company, "The Woman in Green" is a notch down from the prior three efforts in the Universal films. The script utilizes a tired plot device that not only creaks, but also fails to convince. Although fans of the series will relish the interplay between Watson and Holmes and the old friends among the cast, viewers will likely groan at some overly familiar scenes and easily guess both Holmes's and the villain's transparent ploys. Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce are always welcome and a delight to watch, but some adventures do not match their talents, and this entry is among them.

Roy William Neil directed Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce as Sherlock Holmes & Doctor Watson. This time, a grisly series of murders of women where they had a finger cut off after death have been occurring, and Holmes is determined to solve them. The trail leads to the title character(though no reference to green is made, and as it's a Black & White film...) Also involved is Professor Moriarty, now played by Henry Daniell, taking over from Lionel Atwill, despite dying in "The Secret Weapon"(Huh?) Good cast of course, but film is dull, and lazily written, with Moriarty's involvement and ultimate fate absurd and uninspired. At least this was his last appearance!

It seems inevitable to expect that any film franchise could never stick to an established high standard of quality without the occasional slip, and such proved the case for the 1940s Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes films. Belying its striking, dramatic title and the credibility suggested by assembling its plot around sequences extracted from two of author Arthur Conan Doyle's most exciting Holmes stories (The Final Problem and The Adventure of the Empty House), the film's drop in quality from previous offerings is unmistakable and jarring, making it one of the weakest and least fun additions to the Rathbone pantheon.A point of interest is the film's topical influence, seemingly taking example from 1940s film noir detective films, both aesthetically, through its moody, tension inducing shadows and through a particularly detached and grim rendition of Holmes, almost as if styled after the prototype noir detective. Nonetheless, while an alternate 'feel' could have breathed intriguing new life into the film franchise, such aforementioned differences are largely where the innovation (and mostly quality) end. The Woman in Green proves unable to escape its frustratingly feeble script, reducing its characters to the worst kind of extremes and almost forgetting to develop its own mystery in the midst of unnecessary expositional sequences. While the narrative attempts to purloin and rekindle successful elements from past Holmes films (particularly The Spider Woman) by way of a seductively murderous femme fatale, the titular character is subsequently given little role or presence within the narrative, suggesting a hasty and under-explored last minute re-write. Similarly, while the incorporated motif of hypnotism boasts intriguing relevance and dramatic potential, it is only superficially developed, leaving the film lack the profundity as well as originality of its predecessors. Nonetheless, the largest fault of the film is its lacking any sort of scope or gravitas to match its implied drama. Despite with an insidious, borderline supernatural murder spree sweeping London, with the exception of a powerful early sequence with an amnesiac aristocrat lumbering through the city, struggling to come to terms with the horrific crime he seems to have committed, the film feels irritatingly contained and sparse, confined to few interior locations and giving little sense of the larger conflict unfolding, thus muting the drama and accessibility of the film. Moreover, the use of infamous antagonist Professor Moriarty feels like a lazy cash-in on an established character, as the timeless villain has little purpose in the narrative apart from skulking around and the occasional pseudo-ominous threat. His death scene, an offhand, uninteresting and borderline comical fall from a rooftop (a risible knockoff of his exhilarating plummet over Reichenbach falls in Conan Doyle's novel) aptly epitomizes the cheapening and neutered menace of the villain through his screen incarnation.While the inherent pleasure of seeing the usual players take centre stage cannot be denied, equally unmissable is their performances here being among their weakest. Basil Rathbone appears vaguely bored in his staple role as Holmes, seemingly attempting to compensate through overstated character quirks and frequently raising his eyebrows to emphasize 'important moments', though his snappy exchanges with Watson are as enjoyably disdainful as ever. Nigel Bruce appears particularly on autopilot as Dr. Watson, reduced to a broad comic foil of a buffoon more than ever (a sequence where he mocks hypnotism and is subsequently humiliated feels particularly unnecessary and embarrassing), and offering little of interest to counteract the poor script. Henry Daniell makes a particularly weedy and drab Moriarty, coasting by on the character's infamy with nonexistent presence and little threat. Hillary Brooke offers a dash of charisma and energy as the insidious titular woman in green, but her fleeting screen time offers his little chance to shine. While still retaining the inherent charm and fun of the Holmes franchise, The Woman in Green marks one of the most boring, under-thought and sloppily constructed offerings within it. While the irresistible Rathbone/Bruce combination offers enough to enjoy to make the film worth watching by more than Holmes purists, those interested would do better to partake in any of the ample selection of superior Holmes dramatizations.-6/10

There is a vile murderer lose in London, not since the terror of Jack The Ripper has London been subjected to such gruesome doings. The killers trademark is that he severs the forefingers of his victims, the police are baffled. Enter Holmes and Watson, called into action once again, but even the intrepid Holmes is baffled. There is more to the case than meets the eye, and could there be on old adversary behind the murders?.The Woman in Green is the eleventh of the fourteen Sherlock Holmes film's starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson, and the eighth of the eleven directed by Roy William Neill. Partly based around Arthur Conan Doyle's-The Adventure of the Empty House, The Woman In Green {ambigious title in context of the films content} continues the dark path trodden in the previous film, House of Fear (1945). As Holmes ruefully observes another female victim on the slab in the mortuary he muses "fiend that did this," and then promises to crack the case. It's Holmes obsession with the case, and the macabre nature of the story that carries the audience thru it's very chatty first half. That the darkness lifts at the midpoint is no bad thing due to the introduction of a rather well known foe from Holmes' past. However one has to wonder, as good as the "twist" is, if the film would have been better off staying in darker territory? You see the second half eases in tone as Watson slips into, what is admittedly always great fun, comedy mode and the babe of the piece {a smashing Hillary Brooke} becomes focal along with he who shall not be named. It works of course, this is Holmes trying to crack a devilish case, one that will encompass a new form of trickery in the pantheon of villainy. And then there is some fabulous shots used by Neill, one particular sequence involving swirling water and a white flower is very memorable. While the ending, in true Holmes, Watson and villain style, does its job all told. It's just one can't help feeling that this should have been far better than it eventually turned out to be. Still a fine series entry mind, and arguably the last time a Rathbone film had that delicious dark undercurrent to it. 7/10