Quite risible (spoilers)

Yes, i just finished watching this and you pointed out all the same questions and conundrums i had about the film. Additionally, when she says to Holmes that her father received a similar note ten years before she goes on to lament that she saw her father's body in the street and that Scotland yard could not make sense of the note. Then after hearing the Inca funeral derge outside her window she tells Holmes that she's heard the music before when she was a little girl in South America the night her father died.

So was she in two places at once for the same event when her father died possibly in two places as well? Was her father murdered in a street in South America and Scotland Yard made the trip all the way down there to investigate? I thought things were wrapped up rather lazily bc i still don't trust Jerrold Hunter and can't figure how he survived the blow to the head. Moriarty seemed particularly slow about removing the jewels from the crown.

However, for the plot holes and shortcomings, I really enjoyed the film. Basil Rathbone has always been a favorite of mine and i thought Nigel Bruce did reasonably well as the bungler sidekick. The scene with him lying in the street and telling off the passerby was absolutely hysterical. There was a nice overall spooky tone to the film that made it thrilling to watch.

I particularly disliked the amount of time and research it took Holmes to realize that the bird in the picture was an albatross. It was tied to the figure's neck for God's sake. I much prefer it when Holmes is ahead of me, and I'm not miles ahead of him.


...Justin Glory be, Delbert, you should eat! You're a count, for God's sake!

I wanna point out, that scenes from the original script were omitted in order to shorten the movie. So some explanations are missing, which lead to some of the plotholes.

Absolutely true to say the plot is ridiculous, but it is very well made and acted and a lot of fun. Few who watch could fail to be entertained. A superior piece of nonsense and one of the better Holmes films.

Another silly thing concerning the damned albatross was that Holmes actually recognized the family this bird belongs to yet failed to figure out it´s the most commonly known representative of the said family.

Also, the way the story was told (Moriarty explainig the set-up upfront) seems pretty much like shooting oneself in the foot - considering the lack-lustre story - and the equally lacklustre way it´s told - keeping the viewer in the dark about the scheme would have been about the only way to inject some suspense into proceedings and possibly make sure the thing´s engaging at least on the first viewing. Now one´s just stuck with this second rate plot with all its borderline absurd contrivances unravelling in an obvious, tedious manner. Inspector Clouseau would have solved this one. All in all, it´s probably the weakest of all six Rathbone´s Holmes movies that I´ve seen.

And Jesus was that houseboy of theirs annoying...



"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan