Dressed To Kill (1946)

Starring Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Patricia Morison, Edmund Breon, Frederick Worlock
Directed by Roy William Neill
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Sherlock Holmes becomes fascinated by the theft of a musical box from a friend of Watson's, and discovers it ties in with a top secret crime that has stymied Scotland Yard.

The last of the fourteen cinematic pairings of Rathbone and Bruce as Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson certainly offers enough to entertain fans of the actors and their series.  The story, though somewhat derivative of "The Dancing Men" as adapted in Sherlock Holmes And The Secret Weapon, is a compelling tale, and welcomely ties in elements from a Holmes classic, "A Scandal In Bohemia."  Morison is a lovely but skilled femme fatale, and there's plenty of flavorful atmosphere in the settings.  Unfortunately the familiar Universal musical cues are curtailed a bit, but that allows us to focus on the unusual tune of the musical box.  Rathbone is sharp as the great detective, and Bruce plays his typical comic relief, charming the audience, with Breon, Worlock, and Ian Wolfe also delivering distinguished portrayals. The picture's not one of the best of the series, but it is enjoyable, and although there's no closure for Rathbone and Bruce in the context of the script of this swan song, it gives us one last chance to appreciate the pair in their most famous roles.