Product Description

The master detective Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and his faithful cohort Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce) are back, preserved and digitally restored in 35mm to original condition by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. This newly restored version of the classic film includes the period war bond tag and studio logo and credits from its original theatrical release. Filled with ominous shadows and interesting camera angles, the visual beauty of the film in 35mm is stunning. London is in a panic over a series of apparent "Pajama Suicides." Sherlock Holmes, however, is more inclined to believe that they are calculated murders. It is up to the great detective to discover the motive and the means of these crimes and to unmask the murderer. Enter Miss Adria Spedding; an intoxicating woman of character whom Holmes is convinced is behind the killings. A series of masquerades and deadly game playing ensues as Holmes and Watson enter a battle of wits with The Spider Woman.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32866 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-11-25
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 63 minutes

Amazon.com
Here is another strong entry (beautifully restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive) from the peak of Basil Rathbone's prolific, seven-year run as a definitive Sherlock Holmes for the big screen. The Spider Woman (1944) employs details of Holmes's apparent death and resurrection between "The Final Problem" and its follow-up, "The Adventure of the Empty House." But the movie takes a different direction when a bizarre series of late-night "pajama suicides" finds Holmes probing the involvement of a femme fatale. Of the quartet of features in this set (all produced and directed by the energetic Roy William Neill) Spider Woman has the most vivacity and familiar textures from Doyle's canon. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Creepy thriller is one of Holmes' best
With this, the fifth film in Universal's Sherlock Holmes series starring Basil Rathbone, the studio dropped the great detective's name from the title, confident that other aspects of the production were powerful enough to attract audiences. "Spider Woman" was a perfect entry in which to deemphasize the appearance of Sherlock Holmes since Gale Sondergaard's performance as Andrea Spedding, aka the Spider Woman, would have been good enough to make this episode memorable even if she had matched wits with a less formidable opponent. Her character was so well received that it inspired an unofficial sequel, "The Spider Woman Strikes Back" (unofficial because she technically played another character and Holmes was not involved) in which another alumnus of the series, "Pearl of Death"'s Rondo Hatton, was also featured.

For fans of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, it's fun to see how screenwriter Bertram Millhauser uses Doyle's "The Dying Detective" as a source for our first glimpse of Holmes here, and, as always, Roy William Neill creates a beautifully eerie atmosphere with scenes draped in shadows the likes of which can only be found in German Expressionism (and don't miss the scene in Ordway's lab, perhaps the most frightening moment in any of the 12 films). Neill deserves more acclaim than he's received, and the fact that he never rose above the assembly line of B movie making is a damning indictment of Hollywood's inability to properly utilize its talent.

Rathbone is superb, as always, and Dennis Hoey as LaStrade also shines especially in the affecting moments early in the film when the Inspector believes his rival has died. And Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson, though bumbling as amusingly as ever, is given the opportunity to demonstrate his intelligence, even showing Holmes up for once.

The only drawback to this creepy thriller is a disappointing climax. Otherwise, "Spider Woman" has bite to spare.

The Most Entertaining In the Series
This might rate as the most entertaining of all the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes films, which I still think are the best renditions on film of the famous detective.

This has a surprising amount of action and is simply a fun story to watch. Packed into just one hour are such scenes as Holmes faking his death, a near-poisoning of he and Dr. Watson by gas, a strange little boy who hops around a room, tarantulas on the loose, on and on.

Nigel Bruce is his normally funny Dr. Watson and Gale Sondergaard makes an excellent villain. Credibility is stretched in the beginning and ending scenes but it's an enjoyable ride all the way through.

This DVD looks super, too. What a great "restoration" job was done on this.

The slickest of the Universal Holmes series
With this film - the fifth entry, and the seventh to feature Rathbone and Bruce as Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson - the Universal Holmes series reached its zenith. Although the time period is still obviously the 1940s - made overt by the finale in the shooting gallery - the film actually uses it to its advantage, presenting an engaging movie experience that goes down very smooth, seeming both cultured and modern (at least, for its time). Unlike so many of the Universal series, there's no attempt to make the proceedings pseudo-Gothic, nor to rely on a WWII setting - the basic plot is one that could work in any time period. That serves the story very well, because for once it feels like Holmes and Watson are up against a genuine, contemporary criminal. Just how ingenious can a villain be in the 1940s if he has to carry out his murders in an ancestral home without electricity or telephone service?

More than any of the other films, "Spider Woman" draws on a number of the original Conan Doyle series for bits and pieces of inspiration, chiefly "The Final Problem," "The Sign of Four," "The Speckled Band," and "The Devil's Foot." Bizarrely enough, it works quite well to take these individual little elements and weave them into an entirely new story. Sure, all that stuff about human-seeking deadly tarantulas is utter garbage, but it's made up for by the many twists and turns of the "howdunnit" (for, indeed, that's exactly what kind of mystery this is). Aside from the plot tricks, however, it's the characters that make the story. Gale Sondergaard is easily the most suave villain of the series, and her scenes with Basil Rathbone are a treat. His blackface Indian disguise may seem a bit offensive today, but at least it lets Holmes retain his dignity, unlike so many of the weird masks and outfits he dons throughout the series. Nigel Bruce also gets some nice moments, chiefly his surprise at seeing his friend Holmes alive. And as for the child - isn't that child eerie? It's his little skip that's so disturbing, I think. Perfectly done.

Ultimately, you have a taut little adventure mystery (unusual enough, in what's really a series of thrillers) with a solid cast and a fast-paced, surprising story that remains true to the Conan Doyle roots of the lead characters. What more can you ask for in 63 minutes? And as with most of the films, the restoration by UCLA yields excellent results - the picture is shockingly sharp and clean. I personally recommend getting this as part of MPI's "Sherlock Holmes Collection: Volume Two," but even if you're only interested in the one film, I don't think you'll be at all disappointed by "The Spider Woman."