Customer Reviews

Dressed to Kill [VHS]

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The film begins with a view of snowy Dartmoor Prison. Prisoners manufacture music boxes for sale to the public at an auction. Later a man shows up, he wanted to buy all three. Can he find the purchasers? Is there some crime involved? An old friend of Dr. John Watson visits to tell about the theft of a music box. Sherlock Holmes is interested. Why would a thief steal a cheap item and pass up more expensive items? Was this a mistake? Mrs. Hilda Courtney visits Julian Emory. Will Emory pay attention to the warning? Sherlock Holmes questions the seller of those music boxes. Holmes & Watson visit one customer and discover something wrong.

The gift shop is under surveillance, but the pair get away. They learn the name of the convict who made the music boxes. If the printing plates for £5 were stolen the counterfeits could not be distinguished! [Except for the paper.] Can Sherlock Holmes deduce the secret of the three music boxes? Holmes consults an expert about that tune. Is there some code hidden in those tunes? Will that cigarette stub provide a clue? Or is it a lure to catch Sherlock in a trap? [Note the body double for the strenuous efforts.] Will Hilda fool Dr. Watson? [The same trick from "A Scandal in Bohemia".] "Great Scott!" Will Sherlock surmise the rest of the message and catch the criminals? Was there another Sherlock Holmes story used for this film, where Sherlock had to trace buyers of a similar object?

In the real world Nazi Germany actually created plates to counterfeit Bank of England £5 notes. Some of this money was used to pay their spies in neutral countries. ["I Was Cicero."] The Bank of England recalled the old £5 notes to replace them with new money. Inflation has greatly reduced their nominal value. Today they would be worth about $400 each.

If you want a rainy afternoon B flick that doesn't involve your brain too much - this one is for you. The characters are fun but can't be rated based on the Sherlock Holmes stories themselves. They lack the complexity that Holmes fans have come to love in the novels. Dr. Watson is a bit of a ninny, but lovable. At times his comments are less than elementary. Nigel Bruce is a fun character as Watson though and plays well next to Basil Rathbone. Rathbone makes a good Holmes and I had the distinct impression that he could have handled a more complex script. The Holmes he's given to play does not seem as bright as Doyle's Holmes. There is no emphasis on Holmes'amazing power of observation - which I missed. An oddity too is that Holmes actually is cooperating with Scotland Yard and they with him - something unheard of in the stories. But then again, this is a B film and should be enjoyed for the era it was made. The other thing that was slightly odd was the modern 40's setting - this threw me for a bit of a loop.

Bottom line - if you want to enjoy this film - don't go into it expecting an accurate representation of the literary characters. In fact, don't expect any real representation at all except for the identical names. Simply appreciate the fun, film noir setting of the 40's and look forward to a Saturday afternoon flick that will momentarily give your brain a rest from anything complex. Ironically, this film is very elementary. Save your mental workouts for Jeremy Brett.