Customer Reviews

Sherlock Holmes And The Secret Weapon [VHS]

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

First let me say that I'm one of the biggest Sherlock Holmes fans in the world. I have been waiting for years for someone to produce a DVD version of the Basil Rathbone movies. This is my second DVD Sherlock Holmes movie from the Focusfilm Entertainment group and it is no better than the first one. This one is going to be returned just like the first one was. This DVD tranfer is so dark in places you can not see the movie at all. The contrast is terrible and the orginal film had black dots and white streaks all over the place. The sound quality of this tranfer was fair. I have VHS copies of this movie that are twice as good as this DVD version. I hope someone besides Focusfilm will starts making DVD tranfers of this great series. Please save your money for a better product in the future. ---This text refers to the DVD edition

This refers to the DVD version only. This is absolutely the worst quality transfer to DVD that I've ever seen. I don't think that even GoodTimes could have done a worse job.

Most of the reviews shown underneath this colorized-b/w combo disc of "Secret Weapon" seem to be discussing discs issued by other companies. I am (normally) a total believer that discs from "no name" issuers are to be avoided like the plague, as the print quality will almost always be inferior; one of the best lessons I ever learned about buying DVD's was that if it isn't issued by a major studio (Paramont, Fox, Universal, etc.), and that if that info isn't clearly listed on the outer packaging, then it isn't worth buying. Over the years, I've learned that there are a few exceptions; Artisan normally puts out nice prints, and one of the old "villians" of VHS, GoodTimes, seems to have changed it's spots and has issued some very nice prints (some of the "Airport" films); but in general, the "major studio or don't buy it" rule still applies.
This issue was inexpensive, so I decided to take a chance. It's a company called "Key Video" that's shown on the outside of the case, but once it starts to play, the 20th Century Fox modern-day logo before the film even starts makes it very clear that this is at least a co-effort, and why they don't show Fox's name on the cover is beyond me. The picture quality/sound is really very good (as I say, many or all of the reviews shown under this particular issuance were apparently written for other companies' editions of this same title)...so, bottom line is: the colorzied option is fun, not garish or saturated, and the print is very clear. Also offers the film in b/w for you purists, and that's just another reason to get these versions.

HAVING SEEN ALL THE SHERLOCK HOLMES FILMS WITH BASIL RATHBONE 100 TIMES OR MORE , I WAS LET DOWN BY THE QUALITY OF THESE DVD'S. I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU CAN POSSIBLY DEGRADE THE QUALITY FROM VHS TO DVD,BUT, THEY DID. WHAT'S UP WITH THAT???? I LOVE THOSE OLD FILMS AND WAS SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THEM ON DVD. WHAT A LETDOWN.

This movie features Basil Rathbone as Holmes. He is protecting a weapon that the Nazi's want. This is based on "The Adventure of the Dancing Men." The Dancing Men are a code to where the weapon is. Moriarity tries to kill Holmes for the weapon by s l o w l y drawing out Holmes's blood. Now this is unbelivible-Holmes-after having 1\4 of his blood drawn out-still can jump up and fight! I won't tell what happens to Moriarity-but you have to watch VERY closly to see. Enjoy!

Don't be swayed by other reviewers here. This colourised edition is excellent-as is the original black and white edition on the same disc.
These dvds are a must have-prepare to be amazed at what a good, sensitive job has been done in restoration and colourising.

Buy them!

I've always been leery of "colorized" BW films. Seems the color is typically "splotchy," with an unreal quality, but I found this colorized version of The Secret Weapon quite remarkable. As with The Woman in Green, also available, if I hadn't already been aware the movie was originally black and white, I would think it had been filmed initially in color! I found it that good. I think it adds to the viewing experience, making the characters and story more readily immediate rather than more like a story from long ago. Print is crisp, clean. Though I consider myself a Holmes purist/Basil Rathbone enthusiast, I highly recommend this colorized version!

It's one of the paradoxes of Basil Rathbone's wartime anti-Nazi Sherlock Holmes films (Voice of Terror, SH in Washington, and this one) that while the plots and settings are mostly terrible, he is so good in them. Despite a bizarre wind-swept hairstyle meant to make him look younger, he blazes through every scene with so much bite and attack that you hardly register how flimsy the plots are. Here he also has great acting rapport with Lionel Atwill, who makes a wonderfully repulsive Professor Moriarty -- a heavy lidded cockroach with nice hints of sadism and depravity (it may not have been acting, kids). At the climax, changed into a lab coat in order to drain Rathbone's blood "drop by drop," he's as over-the-top sinister as Seinfeld's arch-nemesis Newman. The movie itself is ancient kiddie matinee fare, but it benefits from director Roy William Neill's attention to staging and atmosphere. It also looks fairly sharp in this UCLA restoration -- don't even think of buying any other edition, all of them faded, choppy public-domain prints.

Sherlock Holmes gets transported to WWII in this episode of the classic film series, as Holmes tries to protect a scientist who has devised a new kind of bomb sight that will help the English in their battle against the Germans. However, he is up against his old foe Professor Moriarity who wants to sell the information to the Germans. A lot happens in the space of just over an hour, which is a good thing, as the film is filled with disguises, tricks, a secret code, and Holmes' life hangs in the balance more than once. Of course, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce are good as usual, with Rathbone getting to disguise himself a few times and doing a good job of it. Lionel Atwill is Moriarity in this film, and he's sinister as always. I enjoyed the quick pace of this film, plus all of the twists and turns. I'm hoping to see more films in this series.

The Secret Weapon is one my all time favorite Rathbone and Bruce films. It's wonderful to have it on DVD! The Universal Holmes series continues to be a great source of fun and I've always enjoyed seeing Holmes and Watson transplanted into the 1940's and dealing with W.W.II intrigue and Nazi spies. The Secret Weapon adds the nefarious Moriarty to the mix! I won't argue that the Universal Holmes movies had the most logical elements, but they always highly entertained me. The Secret Weapon is no exception. I found this one to be a blast. Great stuff!