Not all elementary, my dear Watson

THE WOMAN IN GREEN (1945)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

I can't imagine a more engaging way to spend 67 minutes than watching Basil Rathbone as the pipe-smoking detective Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as the retired Dr. Watson, the latter who is always mystified at Holmes's powers of deduction. "The Woman in Green" is a pleasurable noir thriller (emphasis on noir with its deep shadows and canted angles) and I am pretty sure it will please anyone who loves anything associated with one of the greatest sleuths of all time.

Several women in London are found dead with their forefingers missing. This is one case that leaves Scotland Yard baffled, not to mention Sherlock himself who cannot fathom the identity of the culprit. The assumption by the police detectives is that it is a psychotic, Jack the Ripper-type killer but Holmes senses something more sinister - hypnotism is a central factor. When a certain wealthy widower Sir George Fenwick (Paul Cavanagh) is found to be a probable culprit by Holmes' archenemy Professor Moriarty (Henry Daniell), Holmes and Watson are called into action especially after Fenwick's daughter finds a forefinger in their yard! Evidence eventually points elsewhere after Fenwick is found murdered...of course, I will not reveal more details than that.

Based on two stories from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ("The Final Problem" and "The Empty House"), "The Woman in Green" is sheer escapist fun. Rathbone, one of the more distinguished actors of his time, relishes the Holmes role as if he was born to play him (initially, he was not pleased with the egotism of the character and became typecast). Every instance that Rathbone appears on screen, you can't wait to see what he says or does next. Bruce's Watson is played as a man vulnerable to being trapped into situations, such as getting a fake call where his duties are needed or falling for a hypnotist's trance. Dr. Watson is not dumb, just easily preyed upon unless Holmes can save him in the nick of time.

Between a Julius Caesar bust, an ex-soldier sniper, a shadowy phallic symbol that got past the censors, Holmes walking along the rooftops in a supposed trance, Hilary Brooke as Lydia Marlowe who knows how to trick men into her bidding with the use of "cannabis," and the references to Montevideo, Uruguay (which is where I was born), "The Woman in Green" packs in plenty of thrills and is always one step ahead of the audience. Like all great Holmes thrillers, this one will keep you on the edge of your seat wondering how it all comes together. It is not all elementary.