In a jolt, we're suddenly (a) at Universal and (b) in Nazi-plagued Britain in 1942. What's going on? Wasn't The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes a hit for Fox? Did Rathbone ask for too much money? According to Wikipedia, Fox fell into wrangling with the Conan Doyle foundation, which ended up doing a deal with Universal that at least some of the original plots should be reused. Perhaps to offset the cost of the deal, $300,000, Universal made them as quick and cheerful B movies. I feel there's more to this story than that, somehow... Darryl F. Zanuck let Sherlock Holmes get away?
Anyhoo, the Voice of Terror is Nazi propaganda broadcast on British airways which predicts acts of sabotage and terrorism, and it's actually quite nasty. What our ancestors thought is another matter - they probably dismissed it as a load of bollocks. (Though I'm certain there would have been acts of sabotage, probably hushed up.) Holmes is brought in by some Intelligence committee, and it becomes clear pretty early on there's a leak in their midst, but the baddies reckon without (a) Holmes' extraordinary powers of deduction and (b) a plucky lady from Docklands who enlists the help of the London Underworld (almost shades here of M). All this in 65 minutes.
Only the very ending is lifted from the Conan Doyle late 1917 short story 'His Last Bow' (including that final speech - 'There's a bitter wind blowing from the East...')
With Rathbone & Bruce - Evelyn Ankers, Reginald Denny, Thomas Gomez as the sinister villain, Henry Daniell (The Philadelphia Story, Witness for the Prosecution, The Body Snatchers), Montagu Love, Olaf Hytten, Leyland Hodgson. Mary Gordon (Mrs Hudson).
DP Elwood Bredell, music Frank Skinner.
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