Sherlock Holmes | The Spider Woman (1943) | Starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce | Colourised

Consulting detective Sherlock Holmes 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 Watson 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 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.

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 Lestrade and Watson take pot shots with a .22 rifle. However Holmes manages to escape, and Lestrade and the police arrest Spedding, her gang, and the pygmy.

CAST
Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes
Nigel Bruce as Dr. John Watson
Gale Sondergaard as Adrea Spedding
Vernon Downing as Norman Locke
Dennis Hoey as Inspector Lestrade
Alec Craig as Radlik
Arthur Hohl as Adam Gilflower
Mary Gordon as Mrs. Hudson
Teddy Infuhr as Larry
Angelo Rossitto as The Pygmy
Harry Cording as Fred Garvin (uncredited)
Robert Milasch as Carnival Barker (uncredited)

#SherlockHolmes
#BasilRathbone
#NigelBruce
#TheSpiderWoman
#Colourised

[adam_meek]

acting masters deserve the colourising so we see them in their full brilliance.

[MrVinniboy]

Another great colourized film, Thanks again Maddassir,

[timmellor]

I love this pairing of Holmes and Watson. But one little Cinema Sin: Holmes exposes the alleged spider expert with some knowledge of the arachnids in their glass homes, then almost immediately afterwards warns Watson about "insects" (which are meant to be Black Widow spiders)

[vleldaddio]

Kim Thank's Ever So MUCH !! I enjoy any black and white movie ever so much when it is in Colour !! Wish Perry Mason with Raymond Burr, Sea Hunt with Lloyd Bridges, Highway Patrol with Broderick Crawford were Colourized !! 👍✔️👏

[fredjones]

Funny things happen in these really entertaining shows. My favourite funny moment in this show is when he talks about the black widow and deadliest spider. Many years ago I caught eleven female red back spiders (very closely related) the next day there was only 3 and none escaped and spiders are not gay. In fact Australia's male funnel web (Atrax robustus) has the most toxic spider venom and large fangs. I have read that the daddy long legs spi9der has more toxic venom, but their fangs canno0t penetrate human skin.

[brianbolitsky]

Another excellent job. the only basil rathbone sherlock holmes movie i don't have a colorized version of is--the adventures of sherlock holmes. i know you have said that they make a fuss about doing that one but you have hound of the baskervilles. and a quick search will show that both have been on youtube for many years in B & W. maybe you should try again. if you do let us know. anyway thanks for what you've done.

[white_star]

30:27, LOL, I also think he was Sherlock H.

[senoradelvita]

Why was Watson particularly dull and unintuitive in these series? Thoroughly enjoyed Bathbone's Sherlock though.

[SM]

This is clearly caricature of costume styles of famous Indian revolutionaries Kartar Singh Sarabha (by S.Holmes in this movie) and Madame Bhikaiji Cama. With no due credit given to these great souls, aping their styles is so poor class by the movie makers.