Stylish but barely mediocre overall

good back-story, and good acting

Fantastic!

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Before I move forward, I have to mention that this story was not a genuine Arthur Canon Doyle story but rather based on Sherlock Holmes, a character created by him so the major gaps and flaws in the story are not to be subtracted from his credit. Story was grossly incoherent, illogical and hastily sewn together emphasizing on minor events rather than the grand theft itself. Lets see how and I warn you, this is going to be real spoiler if you haven't seen the movie. Story is simple. Moriarty wants engage Sherlock Holmes in a false murder threat to divert his attention from his plan to steal crown jewels. Problem starts right away. Sherlock Holmes is a private detective not the secret service or something and apparently there was no threat so why the crown treasurer wishes Holmes to be present in the delivery of an emerald? It doesn't make sense at all so even Moriarty's assumption that Holmes would be there is illogical... Of course Holmes would be there for story's sake otherwise there would be no story but the whole thing was built up on mud! Homes got involved with the murder threat of the lady and murder of his brother. There is minimal problem with that. Moriarty manages to keep Holmes away from the Tower. In the tower, a fake theft attempt was done so Moriarty can stay inside the tower. Watson goes back to Holmes. that takes at least 30 minutes. There they find out that Moriarty was up to something. It takes lets say 15 minutes. They go to Moriarty's house. It takes 30 minutes. They go inside and find out about his plans (15 minutes). They rush to the tower (another 30 minutes). That's roughly 2 hours and yet we see Moriarty was in the tower holding the same crown he had in his hands 2 hours ago!!! Seriously??? If it was for real, Moriarty would have won, gone with the jewels long before Holmes even finds out about his plan for the crown jewels. Not only the whole story was based on arrogant and stupid idea of Holmes being essential for the security of the crown on top of all British security agencies of the period, Holmes in no way could stop Moriarty if it was for real. Holmes was pictured as plain stupid, something like Inspector Gadget who managed to stop Moriarty by the wish of the writer rather than his intelligence. Some may say it is an old movie and stories were simple and somehow stupid in those early years of sound movies. I would say bullshit! We had masterpieces like Dr Mabuse years before these series. That was not what I expected from a highly acclaimed detective series.boring stupid illogical movie. 2/10

The first two episodes of the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes portrayals are among the best. I like this one because it remains in the proper period. That would never have been an issue if they had not moved him into contemporary time in future episodes. He became a Nazi hunter and a poster boy for participation in World War II. That aside, this is a nice portrayal of Holmes as he faces off against arch-villain Moriarity (played by George Zucco, who was often the bad guy in a series of B-horror movies). Moriarity has that great quality of pure evil. He loves his plants for than he loves humanity and probably off his butler for not watering them if he didn't need him to run errands. Ida Lupino is the woman who is caught in the middle of a plot by the evil genius to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. Holmes is willing to make sacrifices and actually is partially responsible for the death of a young man. There is an element of callousness in his demeanor, but he gets results. One thing that continually kept me from enjoying these episodes is the portrayal of Watson as an incompetent boob. He huffs and puffs about everything, he contributes almost nothing to Holmes, and actually tends to get in the way when given responsibility. He is like a big old hulking dog that Holmes pets once in a while. They are so unequal in their importance to the world, it begs the question as to why he is there.

Alfred L. Werker directed this second Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce Sherlock Homes & Dr. Watson film, released the same year(1939) features the first use of arch-enemy Professor Moriarty(played by George Zucco) who here has a plan to steal the crown jewels of England, which Holmes is determined to prevent, though the cunning Moriarty ends up embarrassing him at one point! Ida Lupino costars as a client of Holmes, being threatened by Moriarty. Basil Rathbone is once again the highlight, as the story(an amalgam of different elements taken from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories) is muddled, and like its predecessor, doesn't bear scrutiny, but still remains acceptable viewing.

Directed by Alfred L. Werker, "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" stars Basil Rathbone as detective Sherlock Holmes. Rathbone would star in a series of Holmes films between 1939 and 1946, of which "Adventures" was the second.Unlike Western noirs, which were influenced by burgeoning existential movements and hinged on chaos and conspiracy, the Holmes movies assert order and clarity. "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" was itself one of only two Rathbone flicks to take place in Victorian London, then a hub of both scientific rationalism and occultism. Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle was himself obsessed with the occult, and claimed to be able to talk to the dead. Many biographers view Doyle's Holmes character (and Holmes' sidekick, Doctor Watson, a bumbling man of science) as having been initially created to parody philosophical materialism. Indeed, many Holmes tales find the Great Detective actively debunking the supernatural.With his distinct diction and chiselled skull, Basil Rathbone would become an instant icon and, to many, the definitive Holmes. "Adventures" sees him going up against arch nemesis Professor Moriarty, but Werker's plot lacks the cleverness of later Rathbone instalments and Holmes is largely a passive character, given very little actual sleuthing.7.9/10 - Worth one viewing.