Dressed to Kill (1946 film)
| Dressed to Kill | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Directed by | Roy William Neill |
| Produced by | Roy William Neill |
| Written by |
Frank Gruber Leonard Lee |
| Based on |
The Adventure of the Six Napoleons 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 |
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Production
company |
Universal Pictures
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| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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76 minutes (copyright length) 72 minutes (restored version) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Dressed to Kill, released in 1946, also known as Prelude to Murder (working title) and Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Code in the United Kingdom, is the last of fourteen films starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson.
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 Holmes learns. She disguises herself as a charwoman and speaking Cockney, insults and berates 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.
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Wikipedia