Sherlock Holmes - The Woman In Green

Publication date 1945

The Woman In Green

🔍 Summary: Sherlock Holmes and the Woman in Green (1945)

In this 11th installment of the beloved Rathbone-Bruce Sherlock Holmes film series, London is gripped by fear as a series of young women are found murdered, each missing a single finger. The mutilations suggest a sinister pattern—and perhaps a madman on the loose.

Enter Holmes and Watson, drawn into the investigation when a prominent man is hypnotized and believes he may have committed one of the crimes. As the duo digs deeper, the trail leads them to a chilling plot involving hypnosis, blackmail, and murder.

The real mastermind? None other than Holmes’s arch-nemesis, Professor Moriarty, who faked his own death (again!) and is pulling the strings from behind the scenes. At his side is the mysterious and seductive Lydia Marlowe—the titular “woman in green”—a femme fatale skilled in hypnotism and deception.

Holmes must outwit Moriarty’s latest scheme before more lives are lost... or he falls victim to the hypnotic powers of the green-clad villainess.

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🧠 Fun Tidbits:

• Basil Rathbone's portrayal of Sherlock Holmes is still considered one of the most iconic. His sharp features and authoritative presence brought Holmes to life in a way few others had before.

• Nigel Bruce’s Watson, although charming and lovable, is often portrayed as bumbling—a stark contrast to the more intelligent Watson of the original Conan Doyle stories. This was a stylistic choice meant to emphasize Holmes’s brilliance.

• The “Woman in Green” isn’t based directly on any one Conan Doyle story, but rather draws loosely from several elements, especially the hypnotism and blackmail themes.

• Henry Daniell, who plays Professor Moriarty in this film, is one of several actors to take on the role during the Rathbone series. His version is more cold and calculating than previous portrayals—no wild-eyed mad scientist here.

• The film is steeped in 1940s noir influences, despite its Victorian setting roots—expect shadows, suspense, and plenty of foggy London atmosphere.

• This was one of the last few films in the Universal Holmes series. Though the early ones were period pieces, most—including this one—are set in the then-modern 1940s.

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IMDB -

Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce played Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson in fourteen films between 1939-1946.