Terror by Night (1946)

Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce are back as the detecting duo Holmes and Watson, in Terror by Night, the 13th of 14 films starring the pairing. Hired by Roland Carstairs to prevent the theft of the Star of Rhodesia on a train between London and Edinburgh Holmes and Watson have their hands full with lots of potential suspects. This is generally a good film and romantically portrays the duo due to it's limited set and enclosed surroundings. Dialogue and acting performances definitely drive this film forward and as ever Rathbone and Watson are brilliant, the supporting cast which includes Dennis Hoey as Inspector Lestrade and Alan Mowbray as Maj. Duncan-Bleek are decent too (if not occasionally bumbling). Even though Renee Godfrey's acting and accents are awful it's still forgivable as she adds some beauty to the picture. Despite being shot by Universal Studios, by Roy William Neill, even the die hard Holmes fans seem to not mind this instalment. While it's not the strongest Holmes film it's still enjoyable for 60 minuets. As with other Rathbone/Bruce Holmes/Watson films this is a none offensive film ready to be enjoyed on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Enjoy.

Suspicious strangers on a train during a great train robbery; and, while it is not a lady who vanishes, there is murder on the Edinburgh express. Sherlock Holmes is hired to accompany Lady Margaret Carstairs and her son, Roland, on a northward journey from London to Edinburgh; her ladyship owns the Star of Rhodesia, an enormous diamond, that is greedily lusted after by countless criminals, and Holmes is responsible for the gem's security. The jewel is well protected, because not only Holmes and his dear friend, Doctor Watson, are aboard, but also the undependable Inspector Lestrade, who has thinly veiled his involvement as a fishing trip to Scotland. Other passengers of interest in the same rail car with the diamond include Alan Mowbray as Major Duncan-Bleek, an old acquaintance of Watson; Renee Godfrey as Vivian Vedder, a cool dark-haired beauty, who is accompanying her mother's body to Scotland for burial; and Frederick Worlock as Professor William Kilbane, the cantankerous object of Watson's attempts at police investigation. However, the myriad suspicious characters extend beyond those few to a married couple who are obviously concealing a secret, a laconic baggage car attendant, the conductor, and the dining car steward; if they are aboard, they are a suspect.The eleventh in Universal Studios's Sherlock Holmes series, "Terror by Night" was directed by dependable Roy William Neill from an original story written by Frank Gruber using snippets from a few Arthur Conan Doyle stories. Similar to an Agatha Christie mystery, the action largely takes place aboard a speeding train, which appears to limit the number of suspects. Holmes has a close brush with death, meets an old nemesis, and plays sleight of hand during the film's tight one-hour running time. Nigel Bruce also has opportunity to shine, and the well meaning, but bumbling doctor, spars during the interrogation of an unwilling suspect and does some independent examination of the clues with his old school chum. Although lensed by Maury Gertsman, a Universal contract cinematographer of B films, the picture utilizes grainy stock footage of locomotives and unconvincing shots of model trains; however, Gertsman's images inside the train are crisp, sometimes atmospheric, black and white."Terror by Night" is a solid entry in the Holmes series, although sharp viewers will decode the mystery early on. Nevertheless, the fun is watching Holmes ponder the clues, Watson bluster through his sleuthing attempts, and Lestrade claim Holmes's hints as his own. Considering how late in the series this installment appeared, "Terror by Night" is an intriguing who-dunnit, who took it, and who's got it.

This last-but-one of the Rathbone&Bruce 'Sherlock Holmes' adaptation, IMO, is neither a typical one nor one of the best entries in the series - in a whole train full of suspects, the huge diamond 'Star of Rhodesia', is being stolen, recovered and stolen again, and no less than three people are murdered for it; and, since Professor Moriarty by now seems to be 'finally' dead, there has to be a substitution for him for a battle of wits with Sherlock Holmes: the infamous jewel thief Sebastian Moran...Now, this is admittedly a REAL whodunit, because we have to guess until the last moment who is this Sebastian Moran - but how can we, with not only so many red herrings sticking out of every compartment door, but also without a really consistent story? A coffin with a secret chamber for someone to hide in, a hotel teapot 'thief', a dubious mathematician, a strange train guard... What are we to make of all that? Holmes, however, solves the case triumphantly and cunningly, as ever (and once again foreseeing ALL the traps the 'Moriarty successor' may have laid for him); but even at the end, it doesn't look really convincing to a classic whodunit fan...Anyway, there's no denying that this film, too, has got its special features that makes it worth watching, no matter how much it confuses us: there's the claustrophobic atmosphere of the train (some Agatha Christie feeling here...), there are some genuinely creepy and suspenseful moments - and there's more humor than we usually find in a 'Sherlock Holmes' movie (once again, chiefly thanks to our good friend Dr. Watson)! But then, it wasn't actually meant as a comedy...

Terror by Night is directed by Roy William Neill and written by Frank Gruber. It's based on characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle, loosely using ideas from the stories The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax, The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, The Adventure of the Empty House and the Sign of Four. It stars Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Alan Mowbray, Dennis Hoey, Renee Godfrey and Vivian Vedder. Music is by Hans Salter and cinematography by Maury Gertsman.Plot finds Sherlock Holmes (Rathbone) hired to protect Lady Margaret Carstairs (Mary Forbes) and her precious diamond, the Star of Rhodesia. Who along with her son Roland (Geoffrey Steele), is aboard the express train from London to Edinburgh. It seems that the presence of the diamond on board this train is known by many characters, both good and bad. Holmes and his trusty companion Dr. Watson (Bruce), will need to keep their wits about them.The thirteenth and penultimate film in the Rathbone/Bruce Sherlock Holmes series, Terror by night is a considerable improvement on the one before it, Pursuit to Algiers. Like that film, this one is also set mostly on a passenger vehicle, but where the boat premise wasn't utilised for great drama and mystery previously, here on board a speeding train it is. Clocking in at under an hour in running time, film does have the feel of a TV episode, but the characters are interesting and the twists and turns in the plot are most welcome. Picture also sees more of Lestrade; true enough he's more inept than ever, as is Watson, but they keep the comedy on the high heat till the story veers into mystery solving time. Here there's also enjoyment to be had in trying to guess who the villain is; OK, so you don't have to be Einstein to figure it out, but the mystery unfolds with some wily Holmes trickery and some Dr. Watson gusto. 7/10