‘SHERLOCK HOLMES IN WASHINGTON’
Please feel free to comment on my review.
Going to Washington with Basil Rathbone’s Sherlock and Nigel Bruce’s Dr. Watson
The fifth film of the Basil Rathbone ‘Sherlock Holmes’ series has our main character and Dr. Watson going to Washington. I suppose that makes sense considering the films are produced by Universal. 🙂
‘Sherlock Holmes in Washington’ was made in 1943. The film’s plot is not based on any of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories about Sherlock Holmes. It’s an original story. It’s brave of Universal to do that!
In the film, a British secret agent carrying a confidential document gets kidnapped en-route to Washington. Holmes and Watson are summoned to investigate and they soon journey to America. 🙂
However, a number of international spies are after the same document. Will Holmes and Watson be able to save people’s lives as well as stop the enemy getting their hands on this certain document? 😐
What’s intriguing and fascinating about this film is that there are two actors playing international spies who have played Professor Moriarty in the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce ‘Sherlock Holmes’ films.
George Zucco who plays Heinrich Hinkel in the film previously played Moriarty in ‘The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’. I’m not sure why George Zucco wasn’t recast as Professor Moriarty for this film. 😐
Henry Daniell who plays William Easter in the film would later play Moriarty in ‘The Woman in Green’. We could’ve had two Moriartys in the film. Three if you added Lionel Atwill to the list here. 🙂
I don’t know why they couldn’t keep the same actor like George Zucco to play Moriarty throughout this ‘Sherlock Holmes’ film series like they kept Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as their characters. 😐
Basil Rathbone is very good playing Sherlock Holmes in this film. I like how he plays Sherlock Holmes coping being in a new country like America compared to being in London. It seems very easy for him.
Nigel Bruce is equally good as Dr. Watson in the film. It’s amusing when Watson tried taking an interest in American culture and in his bumbling way whilst he and Holmes are solving a case in this.
It takes a while for Holmes and Watson to get to America. They do some investigating first in London before they get to America via plane. It’s not even in a passenger plane once they travel to America.
Incidentally, ‘Sherlock Holmes in Washington’ is about 71 minutes in length. My parents and I didn’t stop for a break with this film. I imagine that’s mostly the case with the films produced by Universal.
The film also features Marjorie Lord as Nancy Partridge, a woman who gets caught up in the business of the British secret agent gone missing. And it involves a V for Victory matchbook here. 😐
I like the idea of the confidential document being micro-filmed inside the V for Victory matchbook. Sherlock Holmes susses it out very well and even the villains of the movie don’t work it out in this. 😀
There’s also John Archer as Lt. Pete Merriam, Nancy Partridge’s husband-to-be. Fun fact: John Archer and Marjorie Lord were actually married at the time this film was made. Quaint that, isn’t it?
The film also features Gavin Muir as Mr. Lang, Edmund McDonald as Detective Lt. Grogan, Don Terry as Howe, Bradley Page as Cady, Holmes Herbert as Mr. Ahrens and Mary Gordon as Mrs. Hudson. 😀
Gerald Hamer plays Alfred Pettibone/John Grayson, the British secret agent who gets kidnapped, I believe. Gerald Hamer would star in four more Basil Rathbone ‘Sherlock Holmes’ films after this one.
There’s also Thurston Hall as Senator Henry Babcock, Clarence Muse as the porter George and Ian Wolfe as the antiques shop clerk. Ian Wolfe later did two ‘Star Trek’ episodes after doing this movie.
I enjoyed how the climax built up to Sherlock Holmes having his showdown with George Zucco’s character. Honestly, you could have easily made George Zucco as Moriarty in this particular scenario. 😐
In the end, George Zucco’s character doesn’t get the confidential document and neither does Henry Daniell’s character. Holmes and Watson soon head off in a car to return home. Safe travels, gents! 🙂
Sherlock Holmes even quotes from a Winston Churchill speech at the end. Overall, ‘Sherlock Holmes in Washington’ was fun to watch and I’m pleased to have seen it in full with my parents in our home.
The DVD special features are as follows. There’s the ‘Restoring Sherlock Holmes’ featurette, production notes by Richard Valley and a photo gallery.
‘Sherlock Holmes in Washington’ rating – 8/10
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