| Basil Rathbone | ... | Sherlock Holmes | |
| Nigel Bruce | ... | Dr. Watson | |
| Ida Lupino | ... | Ann Brandon | |
| Alan Marshal | ... | Jerrold Hunter | |
| Terry Kilburn | ... | Billy | |
| George Zucco | ... | Professor Moriarty | |
| Henry Stephenson | ... | Sir Ronald Ramsgate | |
| E.E. Clive | ... | Inspector Bristol | |
| Arthur Hohl | ... | Bassick | |
| May Beatty | ... | Mrs. Jameson | |
| Peter Willes | ... | Lloyd Brandon | |
| Mary Gordon | ... | Mrs. Hudson | |
| Holmes Herbert | ... | Justice | |
| George Regas | ... | Mateo | |
| Mary Forbes | ... | Lady Conyngham | |
| Frank Dawson | ... | Dawes | |
| William Austin | ... | Stranger | |
| Anthony Kemble-Cooper | ... | Tony (as Anthony Kemble Cooper) | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Frank Baker | ... | Unconfirmed Presence [AFI Catalog Name: Tompkins] (unconfirmed) | |
| Gordon Hart | ... | Unspecified Guard (unconfirmed) | |
| Brandon Hurst | ... | Unconfirmed Presence [AFI Catalog name: Footman] (unconfirmed) | |
| Leonard Mudie | ... | Barrows (scenes deleted) | |
| Ivan F. Simpson | ... | Unconfirmed Presence [AFI Catalog Name: Gates] (unconfirmed) | |
| Frank Benson | ... | Unconfirmed Presence [AFI Catalog Name: Cockney] (uncredited) | |
| Harry Cording | ... | Second Phoney Policeman [Extra] (uncredited) | |
| Robert Cory | ... | Tower Sentry (uncredited) | |
| David Dunbar | ... | Unspecified Scotland Yard Man (uncredited) | |
| Herbert Evans | ... | Unspecified Scotland Yard Man (uncredited) | |
| Neil Fitzgerald | ... | Clerk of the Court (uncredited) | |
| Denis Green | ... | Sergeant of the Guard (uncredited) | |
| Ivo Henderson | ... | Unspecified Bobby (uncredited) | |
| Leyland Hodgson | ... | Unspecified Bobby (uncredited) | |
| Boyd Irwin | ... | Bobby (uncredited) | |
| Charles Irwin | ... | Marine Sergeant [Extra] (uncredited) | |
| Robert Nobel | ... | Foreman of the Jury (uncredited) | |
| C. Montague Shaw | ... | Captain Mannering (uncredited) | |
| Robert R. Stephenson | ... | Unspecified Cabby [Extra] (uncredited) | |
| Eric Wilton | ... | Conyngham Butler (uncredited) | |
Directed by | |||
| Alfred L. Werker | (as Alfred Werker) | ||
Writing credits | ||
| Edwin Blum | (screenplay) and | |
| William A. Drake | (screenplay) (as William Drake) | |
| William Gillette | (play "Sherlock Holmes") | |
| Arthur Conan Doyle | characters (uncredited) | |
Produced by | |||
| Gene Markey | .... | associate producer | |
| Darryl F. Zanuck | .... | producer (uncredited) | |
Original Music by | |||
| Robert Russell Bennett | (uncredited) | ||
| David Buttolph | (uncredited) | ||
| Cyril J. Mockridge | (uncredited) | ||
| David Raksin | (uncredited) | ||
| Walter Scharf | (uncredited) | ||
Cinematography by | |||
| Leon Shamroy | |||
Film Editing by | |||
| Robert Bischoff | |||
Art Direction by | |||
| Richard Day | |||
| Hans Peters | |||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Thomas Little | |||
Costume Design by | |||
| Gwen Wakeling | |||
Production Management | |||
| Darryl F. Zanuck | .... | executive in charge of production | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| William Eckhardt | .... | assistant director (uncredited) | |
| Virgil Hart | .... | second assistant director (uncredited) | |
Sound Department | |||
| W.D. Flick | .... | sound | |
| Roger Heman Sr. | .... | sound (as Roger Heman) | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| Sam Benson | .... | wardrobe supervisor (uncredited) | |
Music Department | |||
| Cyril J. Mockridge | .... | musical director | |
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| The Woman in Green | Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon | Terror by Night | Dressed to Kill | The Scarlet Claw |
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| IMDb Crime section | IMDb USA section | Add this title to MyMovies |
Released in the landmark movie year of 1939, this is my favorite Sherlock Holmes film. It is set in the proper period, has a reasonable budget, excellent sets, and fog so thick one would have to cut it with a razor. The story has to do with Professor Moriarity's scheme to steal the crown jewels. More than anything, however, the movie is a vehicle for Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, whose interpretations of Holmes and Watson are so engaging and larger than life that several decades later actors are still compared (usually unfavorably) to these two whenever they attempt to take on these roles. Rathbone makes an impressive Holmes,--cunning, gentlemanly, high-minded, somewhat competitive, intensely focused. One of the many things that makes Rathbone so perfect as Holmes is that while he may fall short of the mark in his portrayal of the character Conan Doyle created in print, he is an ideal movie Holmes. There's an heroic quality to him. Rathbone was more than a bit of a swashbuckler on screen, as is obvious in his many duels with Flynn and Power, and he brought some of this edgy, assertive quality to his interpretation of Holmes, and as is so often the case when an actor varies somewhat from a character created in fiction (Bogart is a far cry from Hammett's "blonde Satan" of a Sam Spade), this can actually work in his favor. Rathbone is Hollywood's Sherlock Holmes, and I can't imagine a better one. Bruce often played Watson as a bumbler later in the series, but in the early entries was more serious and competent. His movie Watson is overall somewhat comical, and creates a charming contrast to the grim, determined Holmes, and works for me because I like a little respite from the seriousness of a mystery, any mystery, since the genre is melodramatic, and hard to take when it gets too heavy. With Bruce on hand it never does.