Tuesday 18 October 2022

The Spider Woman (1943 Roy William Neill)

Written by Bertram Millhauser, this seems to take two elements from Conan Doyle - Holmes' 'death' followed by reappearance in disguise, ('The Empty House') - his disguise here a brash mailman! - and the burglaring pygmy idea from.. can't remember.

A sinister plot about 'pyjama suicides' who are actually being terrorized to death after being bitten by a man-eating spider, ending in a fairground. Gail Sondegaard is the evil woman, with Vernon Dowling (from the previous film) her assistant, Dennis Hoey the blundering Lestrade, Alec Craig, Arthur Hohl, Mary Gordon.

If you're a fan of large spiders, there's a handsome chap featured here, though (SPOILER) Holmes does stab it, so you've been warned.

Q noticed Holmes in Indian disguise hadn't bothered to make up his hands; I observed the gun shots Sherlock had fired into his wall in the previous film were still there. Loved the easy way the fake spiderologist (I know) disables Watson, and there's an amusing - and weirdly memorable and odd - scene with an annoying child.

Photographed again by Charles van Enger, with barely a rest after the last one. This one's not even 60 minutes.

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