Dressed to Kill (1946 film)

Dressed to Kill
Directed by Roy William Neill
Produced by Roy William Neill
Written by Frank Gruber
Leonard Lee
Based on The Adventure of the Dancing Men
1903 short stories (56) 
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Starring Basil Rathbone
Nigel Bruce
Patricia Morison
Music by Jack Brooks
Cinematography Maury Gertsman
Edited by Saul A. Goodkind
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release dates
  • June 7, 1946
Running time
 76 min (copyright length)/72 min (restored version)
Country United States
Language English
Dressed to Kill

Dressed to Kill, also known as Prelude to Murder (working title) and Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Code (in the UK), is the last of fourteen films starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson.

Plot

A convicted thief in Dartmoor prison (played by an uncredited Cyril Delevanti) hides the location of stolen Bank of England printing plates inside three music boxes (each of which plays a subtly different version of "The Swagman"). The boxes are sold at a local auction house.

A criminal gang's brains belong to a darkly beautiful, ruthless woman, who is also a "consummate actress," as Sherlock Holmes learns. She disguises herself as a charwoman and speaking Cockney, she talks to both Holmes and Watson, whom she pretends not to recognize, and leaves with a music box right under their noses. Holmes must recover the last music box to crack the secret code contained in the tune before it is too late.

Cast

References

    External links