She 1935 – an excellent adaptation of the novel, the immortal She Who Must Be Obeyed – and she thinks she’s found her reincarnated lover. Whom she murdered centuries ago, for suspicion of being unfaithful. She’s beautiful, cruel, capricious. Can his friends rescue Leo before it’s too late?
Sherlock Holmes – Prelude to Murder (aka Dressed to Kill) (1946) starring Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce
Holmes: Somehow, the tune… is the key to the mystery. It must be the tune. Otherwise, why use three musical boxes to convey the message? Why not collar boxes, or shoe boxes?
Sherlock Holmes: The Woman In Green (1945) starring Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Hillary Brooke, Henry Daniell
The Woman in Green is a very enjoyable Sherlock Holmes murder mystery. There are serial murderrs, with the corpse having been mutiliated. Who’s behind it? Why?
Suspicion (1941), starring Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine, Cedric Hardwicke, Nigel Bruce
Synopsis of Suspicion
Handsome, charming, well-liked Johnnie Aysgarth (Cary Grant) is a worthless cheat. Then he marries Lina McLaidlaw (Joan Fontaine), the naïve daughter of a wealthy retired general (Sir Cedric Hardwicke). And everyone except Lina believes Johnnie is only after her inheritance. But when Lina discovers that Johnnie has stolen money, his business partner dies mysteriously …. And she finds a letter explaining her life insurance policy …. Love changes to Suspicion!
Sherlock Holmes and The Secret Weapon (1942) starring Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Lionel Atwill
In Sherlock Holmes and The Secret Weapon, Sherlock Holmes battles his nemesis Professor Moriarty. This time, to keep him away from a newly developed bomb sight the English hope to use on Hitler.
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) starring Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Richard Greene, Lionel Atwill
Product review of The Hound of the Baskervilles
The most famous of Sir Arthur Conan Doyles canon is The Hound of the Baskervilles. It was originally released by Twentieth Century-Fox in 1939. It’s the first of fourteen Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.
Roxie Hart (1942), starring Ginger Rogers, Adolphe Menjou, George Chandler
Synopsis of Roxie Hart
After her husband shoots a burglar in their apartment, Roxie Hart (Ginger Rogers) is talked into pretending she did it by a newsman and a theatrical agent who promise to sign her for a vaudeville tour. Realizing she’ll become a household name overnight, Roxie agrees and becomes the center of an outrageous trial.
Limelight(1952) starring Charlie Chaplin, Claire Bloom, Sydney Chaplin, Nigel Bruce, Buster Keaton
Limelight is a truly wonderful film; it swiftly became one of my favorites. In a nutshell, it’s the story of a once-great stage comedian (Calvero, a formerly great tramp clown, played by Charlie Chaplin), who’s been failing in his career, and has become an alcoholic, who saves the life of Terry, a despondent ballerina (played by Claire Bloom) from a suicide attempt. The film is a juxtaposition of these two personalities, one who rallies & goes onward, the other who falls further.
The Two Mrs. Carrolls (1947) starring Humphrey Bogart, Barbara Stanwyck
In The Two Mrs. Carrolls, Humphrey Bogart stars as a struggling artist, Geoffrey Carroll. He is (seemingly) happily married — until he meets Sally (Barbara Stanwyck). Apparently mentally ill, he returns home, where he paints a picture of his wife as the angel of death. Then he begins to poison her.
After her death, he romances and marries Sally, and all is well at first. Until he begins to fall out of love with her, and paints a portrait of her, as well … As the angel of death. Sally, however, begins to put pieces of the puzzle together, and realizes what her husband is trying to do. In the meanwhile, Geoffrey is being blackmailed by someone who’s found out about the first murder. And who finds out why it’s a fatal mistake to blackmail a mentally ill homicidal man.