★ 7 / 10
A wealthy young aristocrat employs "Holmes" to escort
CinemaSerf
A wealthy young aristocrat employs "Holmes" to escort himself and his mother on a train from London to Edinburgh alongside the legendary Star of Rhodesia - a…
A wealthy young aristocrat employs "Holmes" to escort himself and his mother on a train from London to Edinburgh alongside the legendary Star of Rhodesia - a diamond the size of a duck egg. Together with trusty sidekick "Dr. Watson" and "Insp. Lestrade" who is ostensibly off fishing for salmon (it isn't quite the season) they embark on a singularly dangerous train journey. It's got plenty of dud trails for our duo, even some appropriated tea pots and a coffin - before we finally identify that the arch criminal "Col. Moran" is also on the train and he will stop at nothing to procure the ice. The pace rattles along as quickly as the train, and builds nicely to quite a quirky conclusion with a few near misses along the way. Great way to spend a hour!
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★ 7 / 10
Pardon Me Boys Is That the London to Edinburgh Choo Choo?
BaronBl00d
As fast-paced, tightly-woven Sherlock Holmes mystery as you will find, Terror by Night tells of a famous jewel being transported from London to Edinburgh with…
As fast-paced, tightly-woven Sherlock Holmes mystery as you will find, Terror by Night tells of a famous jewel being transported from London to Edinburgh with the watchful eye of Sherlock Holmes and befuddled, faithful Watson in tow. Along for the ride are Inspector Lestrade, arch-criminal Colonel Sebastion Moran, a cast of eccentric, Victorian-type characters including a wonderful professor of mathematics(not Moriarity), and a train that gives off the right mood for murder and intrigue. I really liked this addition to the series of Holmes' films. It is not the finest of the lot, but it ranks right up there in terms of what it delivers. Good, solid direction from Holmes veteran Roy William Neill, quality, reliable acting from leads Rathbone and Bruce, exceptional character acting from Alan Mowbry and company, and a zippy pace connected to a script that is able to develop the plot and suspense despite the length of the film being just under an hour. All aboard! You won't regret taking this ride if you like good, old-fashioned suspense.
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★ 7 / 10
Holmes, Watson, Lestrade, one speeding train, one coffin and one precious diamond.
hitchcockthelegend
Terror by Night is directed by Roy William Neill and written by Frank Gruber. It's based on characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle, loosely using ideas from…
Terror by Night is directed by Roy William Neill and written by Frank Gruber. It's based on characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle, loosely using ideas from the stories The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax, The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, The Adventure of the Empty House and the Sign of Four. It stars Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Alan Mowbray, Dennis Hoey, Renee Godfrey and Vivian Vedder. Music is by Hans Salter and cinematography by Maury Gertsman.
Plot finds Sherlock Holmes (Rathbone) hired to protect Lady Margaret Carstairs (Mary Forbes) and her precious diamond, the Star of Rhodesia. Who along with her son Roland (Geoffrey Steele), is aboard the express train from London to Edinburgh. It seems that the presence of the diamond on board this train is known by many characters, both good and bad. Holmes and his trusty companion Dr. Watson (Bruce), will need to keep their wits about them.
The thirteenth and penultimate film in the Rathbone/Bruce Sherlock Holmes series, Terror by night is a considerable improvement on the one before it, Pursuit to Algiers. Like that film, this one is also set mostly on a passenger vehicle, but where the boat premise wasn't utilised for great drama and mystery previously, here on board a speeding train it is. Clocking in at under an hour in running time, film does have the feel of a TV episode, but the characters are interesting and the twists and turns in the plot are most welcome. Picture also sees more of Lestrade; true enough he's more inept than ever, as is Watson, but they keep the comedy on the high heat till the story veers into mystery solving time. Here there's also enjoyment to be had in trying to guess who the villain is; OK, so you don't have to be Einstein to figure it out, but the mystery unfolds with some wily Holmes trickery and some Dr. Watson gusto. 7/10
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