Terror by Night 1946

      This movie is based on a novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  Sherlock Holmes is hired by Roland Carstairs to prevent the theft of the Star of Rhodesia.  This is a 423 carat diamond owned by Carstairs' mother, Lady Margaret.  Holmes and Dr. John H. Watson suspect that the diamond will be stolen on a train trip from London to Edinburgh Scotland.  Holmes deftly switches diamonds with Lady Margaret while in her compartment admiring the jewel.  Soon after, Roland is murdered and the fake diamond is stolen.  Red herrings abound as Holmes is aided by Dr. Watson and Inspector Lestrade.  They discover the murderer's hiding place. They deduce that long-time nemesis Professor Moriarty's henchman, Colonel Sebastian Moran is somehow involved in the crime.  This is the final Sherlock Holmes film with Dennis Hoey as Inspector Lestrade.

     This film is one of several titles in the Sherlock Holmes series with the original copyrights apparently not renewed.  As a result they have then fallen into public domain.  Seriously inferior copies are presently being offered by a number of DVD dealers who do not have access to the original studio masters.  Early in the movie the original discovery of the Star of Rhodesia is shown.  The diamond picked out of the mud looks perfectly clear with sharp edges.  Raw diamonds have rough round edges and appear quite ordinary with only a hint of the regular crystal form.

     This film has a solid mystery plot and the story was a marked improvement from the last two films in this series.  It’s clear to see that the budget of these films are diminishing but this time it would be for the better.  There’s a more palpable sense of tension as the tight setting lends itself to conspiratorial drama. You’re never too sure of your surroundings and the people that occupy them?  There are many people on the train that could be guilty!!  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

60 min, Crime, directed by Roy William Neill and written by Frank Gruber, Arthur Conan Doyle with Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Alan Mowbray, Dennis Hoey, Renee Godfrey, Frederick Worlock, Mary Forbes, Skelton Knaggs, Bill Bevan.  

Note:  Imdb 6.8* out of 10* with 5,571 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 75 out of 100 with 8 critic reviews 63% with 500+ audience scores, Letterboxd 3.1* out of 5*, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 54 ratings, bloodymurder.wordpress.com 3* out of 5*.

Special Note:  The opening sequence showing the Edinburgh Express preparing for departure uses very short clips from Rome Express (1932).  This is the 13th of 14 films based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional consulting detective Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.

Mistakes:  Lestrade's passenger list gives the name of Lady Carstairs' son as Roland.  Some time later in the guard's van, Holmes refers to him as Ronald.  In the Conan Doyle story "The Empty House", Col. Sebastian Moran kills a young man named Ronald.  In this film, "Terror by Night", the young man's name has been changed to Roland.  In one scene, Basil Rathbone inadvertently refers to Roland as “Ronald".  At the station where the police get on the train, there is a sign in the background with the German word "Bahnsteig" on it and this is "platform" in English.  There are no German stations on the way from London to Edinburgh?