The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Professor Moriarty escapes a murder conviction for lack of evidence, and Sherlock Holmes makes no secret of his frustration that his old enemy has slipped free once more. Convinced that Holmes stands between him and a grander scheme, Moriarty sets a diversion in motion: a strange attack on the brother of a young woman, Ann Brandon, that pulls the detective away from what is really being planned. The crime at the centre of it all concerns the crown jewels of England. The film is a crime mystery with thriller elements, and it pits Holmes against Moriarty in a contest that is as much about anticipating the other man's thinking as it is about the crime itself.

Released in 1939, the film was directed by Alfred L. Werker, working from a screenplay by Edwin Blum and William Absalom Drake and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck for 20th Century Fox. Basil Rathbone plays Holmes and Nigel Bruce plays Dr. Watson, the pairing that defined the characters for a generation of cinema audiences. Ida Lupino appears as Ann Brandon, with Alan Marshal as Jerrold Hunter, Terry Kilburn as Billy and George Zucco as Professor Moriarty, among 37 credited cast members. It was the second film in a series following Werker's work here and his later direction of The Reluctant Dragon.

On IMDb the film holds a rating of 7.2 from around 8,100 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.9 from 176 votes, indicating steady regard rather than a broad modern following. A critics' rating of 7.8 from nine reviews places professional assessment somewhat above the audience scores on both platforms. At 85 minutes it is a compact entry in the screen history of Conan Doyle's detective.