Sherlock Holmes Faces Death

Sherlock Holmes Faces Death is the sixth film in the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce series of Sherlock Holmes films.[1] Made in 1943, it is a loose adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Holmes 1893 story "The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual." Its three immediate predecessors in the film series were World War II spy adventures with Holmes and Dr. Watson as characters, but this one marks a return to the pure mystery film form. Though several characters are military men and there are frequent mentions of the war, it is not the focus of the story.

Sherlock Holmes Faces Death
1943 US Theatrical Poster
Directed byRoy William Neill[1]
Produced byRoy William Neill[1]
Written byBertram Millhauser[1]
Based on"The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual"
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
StarringBasil Rathbone
Nigel Bruce
Music byH. J. Salter
CinematographyCharles Van Enger
Edited byFred R. Feitshans Jr.
Distributed byUniversal Studios[1]
Release date
  • September 17, 1943 (1943-09-17)
Running time
68 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

This is the second of three Holmes films in which Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce and Hillary Brooke appeared together. The first was Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror in 1942 and the third was The Woman in Green in 1945.[2]

Plot

Dr. Watson is serving as resident physician at Musgrave Manor in Northumberland, a stately home which is also used as a hospital for a number of servicemen suffering from shell shock.[3]

When Sally Musgrave displays her feelings for one of the wounded American fighter pilots, Captain Pat Vickery, who is currently recovering at the family estate, her brothers Geoffrey and Phillip are quick to show their dismay.

Then one of the physicians working at the estate, Dr. Sexton, is assaulted by an unknown assailant when out on a walk. Dr. John Watson, who is in charge of the medical facility, goes to fetch his dear friend Sherlock Holmes to bring some clarity to the case of the attack.

Upon his arrival to the estate, Sherlock Holmes discovers the dead body of one of the brothers, Geoffrey. Inspector Lestrade of the Scotland Yard is put on the case to solve the murder, and immediately arrests the captain as a suspect.

Holmes is of another opinion about the flyer's guilt and continues to investigate on his own. Phillip is formally made the new head of the estate the next day with the aid of his sister. But after only one day of ruling the estate, Phillip too is found murdered, lying in the trunk of the car.

Lestrade suspects the family butler, Alfred Brunton, to be the murderer because Phillip had just fired the butler. Trying to arrest the butler, Lestrade gets lost in the manor's secret passageways. Meanwhile Holmes and Watson look into the special "Musgrave Ritual" that the family uses to appoint the new head of the family. They find the words used in the ritual hidden in Sally's room and try to copy the ritual, which involves replaying a giant chess game on the checkered floor of the house main hall. As pieces in the game they use the household staff.

The game gives them clues to the family's secret burial crypt underneath the house, and there they find Brunton murdered, clutching a case containing an old document. Holmes examines the body for clues and sets a trap for the murderer. After the others have retired for the day, Holmes sneaks back into the crypt and waits for the murderer to reappear. Before long, Sexton appears, where Holmes confronts him with the evidence that he has found and observed throughout the investigation. Sexton, however, manages to overpower Holmes and takes his revolver. Then Sexton confesses that he indeed is the one responsible for the murders. When he tries to shoot Holmes he discovers that the bullets are blanks. Lestrade and Watson come to the rescue and arrest Sexton.

Explaining the meaning of the document found in the crypt to Sally, Holmes suggests that Sexton had discovered the old land grant that made the Musgraves worth millions of pounds, and then killed both brothers and implicated Capt. Vickery, hoping to marry Sally who would inherit the estate. Sexton also tried to frame the captain so that he could not marry Sally. Sally destroys the document, not wanting to be rich at the cost of others' lives.[4]

Driving away with Watson, Holmes muses on Sally's selfless act:

There’s a new spirit abroad in the land. The old days of grab and greed are on their way out. We’re beginning to think of what we owe the other fellow, not just what we’re compelled to give him. The time’s coming, Watson, when we shan’t be able to fill our bellies in comfort while other folk go hungry, or sleep in warm beds while others shiver in the cold; when we shan’t be able to kneel and thank God for blessings before our shining altars while men anywhere are kneeling in either physical or spiritual subjection.... And God willing, we’ll live to see that day, Watson.

Cast

References
  1. T.S. (October 8, 1943). "Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943) At the Palace". The New York Times.
  2. Barnes, Alan (2002). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. p. 228. ISBN 1-903111-04-8.
  3. Davies, David Stuart, Holmes of the Movies (New English Library, 1976) ISBN 0-450-03358-9
  4. "Sherlock Holmes Faces Death". Turner Classic Movies.
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