... well, doesn't he always? Ah, but not so confrontationally as in one of the best of the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce movies, in which a clock strikes 13 and murder comes in triplicate. For once Dr Watson is the plot's prime mover, in charge of an army officers' convalescent home at Musgrave Manor where shell-shocked patients are the cover for misdeeds in a hidden cellar. With distinctive echoes from its Conan Doyle source story, The Musgrave Ritual - watch Holmes using suspects as giant chess pieces - it's one of the most old-fashioned of the series, which explains the craftsmanlike grip it exerts. Star spotters should look out for Peter Lawford as a sailor.

During WWII several murders occur at a convalescent home where Dr. Watson has volunteered his services. He summons Holmes for help and the master detective proceeds to solve the crime from a long list of suspects including the owners of the home, the staff and the patients recovering there.