Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943)

SHERLOCK HOLMES IN WASHINGTON
Digitally Restored in 35mm
The master detective Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and his faithful cohort Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce) are back, preserved and digitally restored in 35mm to original condition by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. This newly restored version of the classic film includes the period war bond tag, studio logo and credits from its original theatrical release. Filled with ominous shadows and interesting camera angles, the visual beauty of the film in 35mm is stunning.

A British secret service operative, carrying top-secret microfilm from England to Washington, disappears while traveling to his destination. Fearing for his safety just before his disappearance, he passes the microfilm, ingeniously hidden, to another passenger on the train without her knowing. The agent is reported missing and Sherlock Holmes is called in to investigate.

Filmed during World War II, SHERLOCK HOLMES IN WASHINGTON pits Holmes and Watson against Nazi enemy agents. The British government asks Holmes and Watson go to Washington to recover the missing documents before they fall into the wrong hands, which would be disastrous for England and her allies. Holmes is up against an international ring of spies in a race against time to piece together the clues and discover the whereabouts of the microfilm before it is too late. Preserved and restored in 35mm by the UCLA Film and Television Archive.

Once is Enough

As a fan of Sherlock Holmes (and the Basil Rathbone sherlock in particular), I found this effort disappointing to say the least. It reminded me of those corney old black and white serials they used to play in between movies in the old days. The sets were cheap and the acting rather tired. I would only buy this version if you were a collector and wanted a complete set. I have watched many of these Sherlock Holmes over and over but for this one, Once is enough. October 24, 2008

Pretty good -- a decent Rathbone-Bruce entry

First, I want to point out that THIS is the copy of this film that you want. It's been re-worked by the UCLA film lab and was digitized from a very pristine black-and-white 35 mm print. All other copies are inferior to this one. The aspect is full-screen.

In the story, A British courier is dispatched to Washington as a decoy for the real carrier of a secret WW II document which is imperative to the Allied offensive. The real courier is one Alfred Pettibone, traveling under the alias of John Gregson (played by Gerald Hamer, astonishingly, uncredited in this film! We also saw Hamer play the postman in "Sherlock Holmes and The Scarlet Claw"; and other characters in "Sherlock Holmes Faces Death" ; in "Pursuit to Algiers," and in; "Terror by Night").

Pettibone/Gregson manages to surreptitiously hand off the document, which he had reduced to microfilm and imbedded in a matchbook, to the fiance of an American Navy Lieutenant -- she doesn't know that she has it until she suddenly recalls that Pettibone/Gregson dropped the matchbook into her purse just after he lit her cigarette. Still, she plays dumb to Zucco's threatened tortures. Before the girl's actual abduction, Pettibone/Gregson is kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by these same Nazi agents, (one of whom is played by Daniell).

Holmes and Pettibone had worked together before on important cases so Holmes is ready to take on the task and travel with Watson to Washington when the British authorities tell him that his associate has disappeared, along with the document. Subsequent to attempts on his own life and that of Watson's, the pair travel to America where the Washington D.C. police are at their beck and call.

It's soon discovered by both Holmes and the Nazis that the young fiance has the document, or at least a knowledge of its whereabouts, so the bad guys kidnap her just before Holmes can get to her. Then, Holmes has to dredge up some quick clues to locate the Nazi agents' (the boss of whom is played by the great and sinister George Zucco!) base of operations.

Will Holmes be in time to save the girl and recover the document?!? What do YOU think *.* Still, it's a good suspenseful film with plenty of action. Definitely worth watching. January 20, 2008

"It's so old it's new."

I'd rank as SHERLOCK HOLMES IN WASHINGTON as the weakest of the three "Sherlock Holmes vs. the Germans" films Universal produced during WWII with Basil Rathbone in the starring role. The storyline is clumsy (and contains a notable plot inconsistency), alternating between the completely obvious and the maddeningly obtuse. So, to judge this, I'm just going to talk about its pure entertainment value. In those terms, the movie isn't bad. It's not the greatest thriller ever made, but it's fun enough.

Given that the first three in this line of movies from Universal were thinly veiled propaganda films, it was only a matter of time before the Americans would become involved. (Bringing Holmes and Watson into the then-present day worked quite well all things considered, though it seems appropriate that Watson reading a newspaper ignores the main headlines recounting world events and instead focuses on the cricket scores.) A large deal of time is spent showing that, hey, the Americans are great, and, hey, the British are great, and hey, isn't it great that we're all such great friends. Numerous scenes involve Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce staring at back-screen projections of various Washington, DC landmarks ("Magnificent!" declares Holmes of the Capitol Building). A photograph of FDR hangs in the background of one scene.

Watson gets the bulk of the pro-American lines. He's overjoyed at the possibility of taking in a baseball game. He reads a thin book on American customs and phrases which he takes delight in repeating at inappropriate moments. And, of course, he is suitably impressed with the comic strip adventures of Flash Gordon. Pure Holmes scholars might be horrified that the intelligent and sensitive Dr. James Watson of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories reduced to a bubbling buffoon kicking back milkshakes and being gently pushed off to eat his breakfast. Personally, I was giggling too much to be outraged.

Rewatching this in the background while I type up my review really highlights the film's flaws. Take SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE VOICE OF TERROR as an example. It also has a few storyline problems, but succeeds as a thriller because it successfully places style over substance. It just looks good, even when it isn't entirely making sense. WASHINGTON just doesn't have the same confidence. The pacing is a bit too slow, taking far too long to get from the revelation as to what exactly Holmes is looking for to the inevitable recovery.

Although this is a film with problems and one which is vastly inferior to other movies in the same series, I can't say that I was actually unhappy while viewing it. Sure, it's sillier (deliberately so) than was the norm, but it still has a lot of entertainment value. I wouldn't recommend this if you've never seen any of this series before, but if you're already a fan, you may find this one at least amusing. The Holmes and Watson double-team just manages to save it. August 16, 2004

Classic Sherlock Holmes

I loved this entry in the series. It was full of pithy, classic, Holmes deductions and Watson wise cracks. I enjoyed the other two WWII movies that were part of the Sherlock Holmes series and highly recommend this one as well. I thought it was excellent!!!! This movie is homeschooler friendly! July 20, 2004

Enjoyable curio

Other than "Dressed to Kill," the last entry in Universal's 12 film Sherlock Holmes series, "Sherlock Holmes in Washington" may be the weakest effort but it remains an enjoyable curio.

In this third film, the attempt to update Holmes for the 20th century reached its zenith as the producers sent the great detective into the very center of the New World, Washington D.C., in another episode devoted to espionage and criminal activity related to World War II. The novelty is tolerable if only because we know there are less gimmicky, superior entries to come, but anyone whose love of Holmes came from the original Conan Doyle stories rather than the film adaptations will wince at this film more than any other. Basil Rathbone entertainingly overplays the role this time, and with his eccentric hairstyle and wardrobe looks less like Sherlock Holmes than my tenth grade high-school English teacher, the one everyone suspected of being gay (not that there's anything wrong with that).

What makes this entry worthwhile, aside from the always entertaining emoting of Rathbone and Nigel Bruce (more bumbling than ever as he discovers the Sunday newspaper comics and chewing gum) is the supporting cast. The superb George Zucco, whose Satanic presence enlivened many a B horror movie and who already appeared as Professor Moriarty in 20th Century Fox's "Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," comes slithering back, not as Moriarty but as another demented creature, and Henry Daniell, who would be the best Moriarty of all (in Basil Rathbone's opinion, as well as mine) in "Woman in Green," is also on hand with his share of villainy.

This film may have greatest value for history buffs and sociologists than for Holmes fans, however. It remains fascinating to see how a major Hollywood film studio converted a beloved literary figure into a special agent as a way to contribute to the United States' propaganda campaign during WWII. January 7, 2004

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