The Spider Woman (1943)

Starring Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Gale Sondergaard, Dennis Hoey, Vernon Downing
Directed by Roy William Neill
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

As a wave of horrific suicides sweeps London, Sherlock Holmes also seems to lose his life after an accidental fall, but returns with a plan to root out the woman behind the suicides.

I'd call this a middling entry in the Universal Holmes series, although Bertram Millhauser's screenplay offers a few inventive ideas.  The best scenes are with Watson and Hoey reacting to Holmes' apparent death, which was likely borne out of Conan Doyle's story, The Adventure Of The Empty House.  Although casting the Oscar-winning Sondergaard is a fine choice, and she excels as usual in a villainous role, the supporting cast is somewhat less inspired with Downing as her henchman a bit of a bore.  I also found the camerawork and sparing use of music a bit disappointing compared to other Holmes efforts.  That being said, there's some fun to be had in spotting some actors in the cast, including Harry Cording, Gene Roth, and Angelo Rossito made up as an imported African pygmy!