Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943)

Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson travel to Washington D.C. in order to prevent a secret document from falling into enemy hands.

Director:

Roy William Neill

Writers:

Arthur Conan Doyle (characters), Bertram Millhauser (screenplay),

Stars:

Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Marjorie Lord

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Basil Rathbone	...	Sherlock Holmes
Nigel Bruce	...	Doctor Watson
Marjorie Lord	...	Nancy Partridge
Henry Daniell	...	William Easter
George Zucco	...	Heinrich Hinckel aka Richard Stanley
John Archer	...	Naval Lt. Pete Merriam
Gavin Muir	...	Mr. Lang, government agent
Edmund MacDonald	...	Detective Lt. Grogan
Don Terry	...	Howe
Bradley Page	...	Cady
Holmes Herbert	...	Mr. Ahrens
Thurston Hall	...	Senator Henry Babcock

Storyline

In World War II, a British secret agent carrying a vitally important document is kidnapped en route to Washington. The British government calls on Sherlock Holmes to recover it.

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Plot Keywords:

document | sherlock holmes | train | washington d.c. | microfilm | 

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller | Mystery

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 April 1943 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sherlock Holmes em Washington

Filming Locations:

Glendale Grand Central Air Terminal - Grandview Avenue, Glendale, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

71 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The fifth of fourteen films based on Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional consulting detective Sherlock Holmes starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson.

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Goofs

The plane is supposedly departing London for the United States. Yet there is a palm tree in the background.

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Quotes

Sherlock Holmes: I assure you that Dr. Watson is the very soul of discretion.

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Connections

Followed by The Pearl of Death (1944)

User Reviews

Tense, Often Exciting Sherlock Holmes Feature

This is one of the most tense and exciting of the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes movies, quickly establishing an atmosphere of danger and uncertainty, and maintaining it to the end. There is more than enough suspense and action to make up for a couple of minor holes in the story, and the setting in Washington generally works rather well as a change of pace from the usual British settings.

The story follows the fate of a secret courier and the vital documents that he is carrying, with a gang of villains that targets several innocent bystanders in their desperate desire to get hold of the documents. It's an interesting story that is developed at an effective pace by Roy William Neill, and in particular, the way that the matchbook is used is almost worthy of Hitchcock.

George Zucco has only a few scenes, but he does a fine job as Holmes's adversary. Rathbone and Bruce work smoothly together as usual, and Bruce gets several good moments with his reactions to American culture. It's not the kind of Watson that Arthur Conan Doyle would have recognized, but it works well in its own right, and it makes good use of Bruce's talents. Overall, it's one of the better movies in the enjoyable series.