READ THIS FIRST: This is a 12-inch Diameter Laserdisc, which is NOT the same as DVD and cannot be played on a DVD player!

Laserdisc Title: "SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE SECRET WEAPON (1943)"
Edition: Fullscreen Edition (Single Disc)
Directed By: Roy William NeillStarring: Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Lionel Atwill, Kaaren Verne, William Post, Dennis Hoey
Production / Year: 1942
Running Time: 68 Minutes / Black & White
Audio Format: CX Encoded
Video Format: NTSC, CLV (Extended Play)
Miscellaneous Features: None
Distributed By: 3MCatalog
Spine Number: DFI 13

Cosmetic Condition:
Disc (s): Very Good - Few very light to very minor hairline surface swirls or very light fingerprint marks
Jacket: Very Good - Normal shelf wear, creases, scuffs, worn-out corners or edges and some signs of spines splitting

Synopsis:
As a Holmesian traditionalist truly spoiled by the unsurpassed performances of Jeremy Brett as the great detective, I find it difficult to fully embrace the old 1940s Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone. If for no other reason, it's just odd to see Holmes, Watson, and Lestrade transported to the World War II era. Obviously, this film is not a product of any of the writings of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (although it is extremely loosely based on his story The Dancing Men), a fact made manifest to even the most casual of observers by the overall weaknesses of this plot. While Holmes displays some of the remarkable talents of observation he is famous for, he can't hold a mental candle to Doyle's Holmes, and his archenemy, Professor Moriarty, displays none of the mental acumen that made him Holmes' intellectual equal in the stories of the canon. There is a propaganda element to Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon, as the plot pits Holmes in a race against time to keep a military secret from falling into the hands of the Germans. Holmes' final speech, I might add, surely did an effective job of rallying British audiences amidst the dark days of 1942. A Swiss scientist has invented a new bombsight capable of greatly increasing the accuracy of bombs, and Holmes is sent to Switzerland to safeguard Doctor Franz Tobel and conduct him and his innovative bombsight to London - before he and his discovery fall into the hands of the Gestapo. Once safely ensconced in the British capitol, though, Tobel refuses to part with his secret, insisting that he alone oversee the production of his nifty bombsight. Naturally, he soon disappears - courtesy of Professor Moriarty. The only solid clue Holmes has to work with is a piece of paper bearing the faintest of imprints of a coded message the scientist left behind (here's where your dancing men come in). Normally, a renewal of the struggle between Holmes and Moriarty lifts a Holmesian story to great heights, but neither great man really impressed me - especially Moriarty, who came across as a sad amateur rather than the greatest criminal mastermind in England. Furthermore, no matter what you might think of Professor Moriarty, I for one do not believe he would betray his own country.

THIS IS A 12" LASERDISC AND WILL NOT PLAY IN A DVD PLAYER

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