Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and Watson (Nigel Bruce) are back, and this time out, their story takes its inspiration from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual.’

They left behind some of the World War II storylines, though it still has an influence. Watson is voluneering at a convalescence home housed on the Musgrave estate.

When one of his fellow doctors is attacked, Watson returns to 221B Baker Street to ask Holmes for help in figuring out what is going on. And it’s a good thing he does, because shortly before the pair arrive, someone is murdered! Lestrade (Dennis Hoey) is on site, and seems happy to have Holmes there.

Once again, the story has been changed to incorporate a bit of a romance for a couple of younger characters, and the ritual in the story’s title is changed slightly to include some chess references.

Still, it’s fun!

Watson and Holmes, or rather Bruce and Rathbone seem nicely settled into their roles and having a great time. Sure, I miss the idea of the deerstalker cap, but Holmes strutting around in a battered fedora is pretty cool, and he outwits the baddie brillliantly.

Cast and crew seem to work very well together, and the film pops in a delightful way. Sure, it’s all still shot in California, on sets (some of which also appear in the Universal Monster series), but this time around it works pretty well.

In the end, the story is about murder and a land grab, but it works pretty well, all because the leads know their roles, and bring them to life with a practiced ease.

My big problem with the film, once again, is that these entries are way too short. They don’t take time to develop secondary characters, or the plot points and mystery as much as would be enjoyable.

As such, no matter the plots, all the characters feel like sketches, they aren’t given enough room to breathe, and are little more than tropes to move the story forward.

That doesn’t mean it’s not fun. They’ve all been enjoyable because of Rathbone and Bruce, but if the script, characters and beats had just a little more, they could have been even better. Rathbone truly embodies the character, and feels like Holmes, and his banter and friendship with Bruce’s Watson feels real.

I’m loving this exploration of this version of the Holmes’ character, and let’s see what happens with the seventh film in the series, The Spider Woman!