''The Spider Woman'' (alternatively titled ''Sherlock Holmes and the Spider Woman'' and ''Spider Woman'') is a 1943

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means ...

starring

Basil Rathbone Philip St. John Basil Rathbone MC (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967) was a South African-born English actor. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in more than 70 films, primarily costume ...

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

and

Nigel Bruce William Nigel Ernle Bruce (4 February 1895 – 8 October 1953) was a British character actor on stage and screen. He was best known for his portrayal of Dr. Watson in a series of films and in the radio series ''The New Adventures of Sherlock H ...

Dr. Watson John H. Watson, known as Dr. Watson, is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). The last work by Doyle f ...

, the seventh of fourteen such films the pair were involved in. As with all of the

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

films in the series, the film is set in then-present day as opposed to the Victorian setting of the original stories. This film incorporates elements from the 1890 novel ''

The Sign of the Four ''The Sign of the Four'' (1890), also called ''The Sign of Four'', is the second novel featuring Sherlock Holmes by British writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle wrote four novels and 56 short stories featuring the fictional detective. Plot ...

'', as well as the short stories "

The Final Problem "The Final Problem" is a short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring his detective character Sherlock Holmes. It was first published in ''The Strand Magazine'' in the United Kingdom, and ''McClure's'' in the United States, under the title ...

", "

The Adventure of the Empty House "The Adventure of the Empty House", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 13 stories in the cycle collected as '' The Return of Sherlock Holmes''. It was first published in '' Collier's'' in ...

", "

The Adventure of the Speckled Band "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" is one of 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the eighth story of twelve in the collection ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes''. It was originally published in '' Strand Maga ...

" and makes explicit reference to "

The Adventure of the Devil's Foot "The Adventure of the Devil's Foot" from 1910 is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. It is one of eight stories in the cycle collected as ''His Last Bow''. Doyle ranked "The Adventure of the Devil's Fo ...

". Alan Barnes, ''Sherlock Holmes On Screen: The Complete Film and TV History'', Titan Books, Third Edition, January 31, 2012, , page 268

Plot

Consulting detective

fakes his own death in Scotland in order to investigate a number of bizarre apparent suicides that he is convinced are part of an elaborate plot by "a female Moriarty". Returning to his assistant

in secret, Holmes notes that all the victims were wealthy gamblers, so disguised as "Rajni Singh", a distinguished Indian officer, he stalks London's gaming clubs. It is not long before he encounters the archvillain, Adrea Spedding. Holmes discovers that she seeks out men short of money, persuades them to pawn their life insurance policies with her accomplices, then kills them. Holmes sets himself up as her next victim, discovering that she uses the deadly spider, ''

Lycosa ''Lycosa'' is a genus of wolf spiders distributed throughout most of the world. Sometimes called the "true tarantula", though not closely related to the spiders most commonly called tarantulas today, ''Lycosa'' spp. can be distinguished from comm ...

Carnivora'', whose venom causes such excruciating pain that the victims kill themselves. Holmes also finds the footprint of a child nearby. Searching for evidence Holmes and Watson visit eminent arachnologist Matthew Ordway, who may have supplied the deadly creatures. Holmes soon realizes that the man he is speaking to is an impostor, but the man makes his escape. Searching the premises, Holmes finds the corpse of the real Ordway, as well as his journals, which allude to something or someone from Central Africa immune to the spider venom. This baffles Holmes until he finds the model skeleton of a child. However, Dr. Watson points out that the relation of the skull and the circumference of the chest prove it is not a child, and Holmes deduces that the Central African thing described in the journal is a

pygmy In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a pop ...

. Holmes and Watson continue their investigations at a nearby fairground, where Holmes allows himself to fall into the clutches of Spedding and her gang. Bound and gagged, Holmes is tied behind a moving target in a shooting gallery, at which

Inspector Lestrade Detective Inspector G. Lestrade, or Mr. Lestrade ( or ), is a fictional character appearing in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Lestrade's first appearance was in the first Sherlock Holmes story, the novel '' ...

and Watson take pot shots with a

.22 rifle The .22 Long Rifle or simply .22 LR or 22 (metric designation: 5.6×15mmR) is a long-established variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition originating from the United States. It is used in a wide range of rifles, pistols, revolvers, smoo ...

. However Holmes manages to escape, and Lestrade and the police arrest Spedding, her gang, and the pygmy. As an indication of respect for her intellect, Holmes tells Lestrade to spare Spedding the indignity of handcuffs, saying "she'll go quietly" (to which Spedding appreciatively smiles and thanks Holmes for).

Cast

Dr. John Watson John H. Watson, known as Dr. Watson, is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). The last work by Doyle fe ...

Gale Sondergaard Gale Sondergaard (born Edith Holm Sondergaard; February 15, 1899 – August 14, 1985) was an American actress. Sondergaard began her acting career in theater and progressed to films in 1936. She was the first recipient of the Academy Awar ...

as Adrea Spedding *

Vernon Downing Vernon Downing (1913–1973) was a British actor who appeared in many Hollywood films, generally playing English characters. Filmography References External links * 1913 births 1973 deaths English male film actors Male actors from ...

as Norman Locke *

Dennis Hoey Dennis Hoey (born Samuel David Hyams, 30 March 1893 – 25 July 1960) was a British film and stage actor, best known for playing Inspector Lestrade in six films of Universal's Sherlock Holmes series. Early life Hoey was born Samuel David ...

Alec Craig Alexander Younger Craig (30 March 1884 – 25 June 1945) was a Scottish-born American character actor, particularly known for his roles in ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' (1935) and ''National Velvet'' (1944). He was particularly known for portraying ...

as Radlik *

Arthur Hohl Arthur Hohl (May 21, 1889 – March 10, 1964) was an American stage and motion-picture character actor. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and began appearing in films in the early 1920s. He played a great number of villainous or mildly la ...

as Adam Gilflower * Mary Gordon as Mrs. Hudson *

Teddy Infuhr Teddy Infuhr (November 9, 1936 – May 12, 2007), born Theodore Edward Infuhr, was an American child actor. Biography Missouri-born child actor Teddy Infuhr, youngest of four, moved with his family to Los Angeles when he was three and was initial ...

as Larry *

Angelo Rossitto Angelo Salvatore Rossitto (February 18, 1908 – September 21, 1991) was an American actor and voice artist. He had dwarfism and was 2'11" (89 cm) tall, and was often billed as Little Angie or Moe. Angelo first appeared in silent films opp ...

as The Pygmy *

Harry Cording Hector William "Harry" Cording (26 April 1891 – 1 September 1954) was an English-American actor. He is perhaps best remembered for his roles in the films '' The Black Cat'' (1934) and ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938). Life and career ...

as Fred Garvin (uncredited) *

Robert Milasch Robert Milasch (April 18, 1885 – November 14, 1954) was an American character actor in the Silent film, silent and Sound film, sound periods. He was 6 feet, 6 inches tall. Biography Milasch left his Smoke Mountain, Tennessee, home at age 9, ...

as Carnival Barker (uncredited)

Allusions to the Sherlock Holmes canon

* Though ''The Spider Woman'' has an original plot, the film heavily features elements from various stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes faking his death at a waterfall is similar to the climax of "

" and his subsequent reappearance in the presence of a mourning Watson bears resemblance to " The Empty House". The use of a

confederate is taken from the novel ''

The Sign of Four ''The Sign of the Four'' (1890), also called ''The Sign of Four'', is the second novel featuring Sherlock Holmes by British writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle wrote four novels and 56 short stories featuring the fictional detective. Pl ...

'' and the murder by use of a venomous animal inserted through a ventilation system is taken from " The Speckled Band", though the swamp adder of that story is replaced by a spider (just as it was in " The Adventure of the Deptford Horror", a Sherlockian pastiche by

Adrian Conan Doyle Adrian Malcolm Conan Doyle (19 November 19103 June 1970) was the youngest son of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his second wife Jean, Lady Doyle or Lady Conan Doyle. He had two siblings, sister Jean Conan Doyle and brother Denis, as well as two hal ...

). The mute child with a compulsion to catch flies is similar to a character in "

The Copper Beeches "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches", one of the 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is the last of the twelve collected in ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes''. It was first published in ''The Strand Magazine' ...

". The film also featured elements of " The Devil's Foot". Holmes described the antagonist as a "female Moriarty", referencing his nemesis

Professor James Moriarty Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and criminal mastermind created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to be a formidable enemy for the author's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. He was created primarily as a device by which Doyle could ...

. (Although she bears some traits in common with

Irene Adler Irene Adler is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A former opera singer and actress, she was featured in the short story " A Scandal in Bohemia", published in July 1891. Adler is one of the ...

.) Holmes' request that Watson whisper "pygmy" in his ear if he becomes overconfident is from " The Yellow Face", in which the word was "Norbury". * Elements of ''The Spider Woman'' were given homage in the '' Sherlock'' episode "

The Empty Hearse "The Empty Hearse" is the first episode of the third series of the BBC television series '' Sherlock''. It was written by Mark Gatiss and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes, Martin Freeman as Dr John Watson, and Mark Gatiss as Mycro ...

", including Watson mistaking a genuine client for a false-bearded Holmes in disguise. *

starred in a similar role in the misleadingly-titled '' The Spider Woman Strikes Back'' also produced by Universal, with which there is no canonical relation. * Filmed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the moving targets in the shooting gallery are

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

and

Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

cartoons. Previous films ''

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror ''Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror'' is a 1942 American mystery thriller film based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes detective stories. The film combines elements of Doyle's short story " His Last Bow", to which it is credited ...

'' and ''

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon ''Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon'' (1942) is the fourth in the Sherlock Holmes (1939 film series), Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce series of 14 Sherlock Holmes films which updated the characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to the then p ...

'' featured Nazis as antagonists, but all succeeding sequels downplayed their propaganda purposes.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spider Woman, The 1943 films 1943 mystery films American detective films American mystery films 1940s English-language films Films based on mystery novels Films based on short fiction Sherlock Holmes films based on works by Arthur Conan Doyle American black-and-white films Universal Pictures films Films directed by Roy William Neill Films scored by Hans J. Salter 1940s American films