Plot: Sherlock Holmes arrives with new evidence to a London court just in time to see his nemesis, Professor Moriarty, to be acquited. On his way out, Moriarty brags about his wit with Holmes. He claims he can commit a crime big enough to figure in History books under Holmes' nose, and Holmes will be powerless to stop him. Soon later Holmes get a visit from a young woman. His father was killed after receiving a mysterious drawing, and his brother has just received an identical one.
Comments: This is the second of the 14(!) films in which Basil Rathbone played Sherlock Holmes back in the 40s. The first two were made by 20th Century Fox, but later the series was resurrected by Universal, who moved the setting to the 1940s so Holmes could fight the nazis (double !!). I saw many of these films while on my teens, and have fond memories of them.
As I said, this is the second in the series, the first being a competent but rather straightforward adaptation of "Hound of the Baskervilles", and I prefer this one, by far. For starters, it has Moriarty, played by some George Zucco. Zucco plays Moriarty more as a down to earth criminal rather than as an criminal mastermind. His plans may be very grandiose and elaborate, and his intelligence almost on par with Holmes, but he retains this malevolent attitude, no matter what he's doing. He has a couple of very funny scenes with his butler in which he threatens him with violent death over a dead plant. And part of what makes them so funny is that Zucco / Moriarty seems really capable of fulfilling his threats.
And then there's the original plot. I'm a longtime fan of Sherlock Holmes, which means I'm tired of reading (and watching adaptations of) the works by Conan Doyle. So a Holmes film with an original plot always catches my attention. And this film has a very good one. In the books moriarty was often the threat in the shadow. I don't even think Watson even got to see him and to describe him. Here the film pits him inmediately against Holmes, and he has plenty of screentime, which thankfully doesn't diminish his aura of mystery. The film also flows at a nice pace, even for today's standards, and there are some great laughs to be had (mostly at Watson's expense, because Nigel Bruce was always told to play the part for laughs). The jewels of the crown (snicker) are a supporting role by Ida Lupino ("High Sierra") and the big finale, a very suspenseful mano a mano between Holmes and Moriarty in the rooftops of the Tower of London.
Highly recommended. I plan to see more films in the series, if only to see how Holmes fights the nazis!