Sherlock Holmes in Washington

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matthew d Another thriller wherein Sherlock takes on Nazis foes. Roy William Neill's mystery thriller Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943) is a curious picture. Neill's direction is fascinatingly straightforward. There not that dark noir feel, but rather a brightly lit American style mystery. I like how he maneuvers around a single folder of matches around a dining room from person to person in a nerve wracking sequence. There's several neat visual tricks like this throughout his dazzling Sherlock Holmes in Washington. This one gets better the more you see it. Bertram Millhauser's writing is clear propaganda for England and America's wartime efforts against spies and to encourage viewers to buy war bonds. Millhauser writes about nefarious espionage and kidnapping. Having Henry Daniell's fiendishly cunning Sir William Easter be a kidnapper, shows viewers the dangers of the Nazi enemy. I like the use of microfilm for hidden documents and secret Red Herrings in transporting documents. It's quite clever. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original Sherlock Holmes concepts are upheld. Holmes is keenly observant and loyal to his country alongside his peculiarities. Basil Rathbone's portrayal of Sherlock Holmes is immaculate as always. His serious, yet playful Holmes is genius with sly tactics and brilliant as he finds out clues where there seems to be nothing of note. Nigel Bruce's delightful depiction of Dr. John Watson is still funny with his foolish remarks. Rathbone and Bruce have a fun rapport as Holmes and Watson. Marjorie Lord is pretty and comes across as sweet as Nancy Partridge. She plays the innocent well as she must pretend not to know about a hidden gift in front of terror. George Zucco's Richard Stanley character or Heinrich Hinckel is excellent as the villain. His arrogant demeanor is perfect for a Nazi spy. Thurston Hall's cameo as Senator Henry Babcock is very bombastic in his charming forthrightness. Gerald Hamer's supporting role as Alfred Pettibone also known as John Grayson is very neat with his nervous bumbling. Vera West's costume design is fashionable and gives Sherlock his stylish coat and classic hat. All the suits and flashy dresses are a nice touch. Skinner's score is exciting for Sherlock Holmes in Washington with added dramatic tension. Otto Ludwig's editing keeps Sherlock Holmes in Washington down to a brief 71 minutes. He swiftly cuts transition out of various encounters to keep the pace moving along fast. All the cinematography is clearly focused and uses inventive panning shots around people well to give the audience the best view of a certain object of importance. In all, Sherlock Holmes in Washington is solid for Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce's 14 film run. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review andy f Arguably the weakest of the Rathbone Holmes films. Conan Doyle this isn't. There isn't much for Holmes to figure out in this trip to the US and many of the familiarities are missing from this movie. Decidedly mediocre! Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member For pure nostalgia value and easy on the brain action, nothing beats Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Watson. This episode, which sees the sleuth come to DC to retrieve a missing bit of microfilm (a MacGuffin in Hitchcock's parlance), is a bit more ripsnorting than most - or perhaps it almost seems that Rathbone is having more fun (and even winking at the audience a few times to let us in on the joke). The usual band of character actors from the series are here and they do an effective job. However, no one is going to mistake this genre film for a piece of art. But works great as a salve. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Another thoroughly enjoyable (albeit unbelievable) mystery with Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson hot on the trail. Basil Rathbone is fabulous as Holmes and even though Nigel Bruce overplays his character and makes him too bumbling, he is still endearing. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the most appealing films in the collection. Although I can't say that I didn't enjoy Sherlock Holmes in Washington, it sometimes seemed a bit too forced and underdeveloped in its storyline. While it remains as patriotic as ever (this time on account of the USA), the mystery and conspiracy shown in the picture looks rather laughable than suspenseful. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Entertaining wartime thriller--The last gasp of Sherlock Holmes, Nazi-Buster!! Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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