Sherlock Holmes in Washington *** (1943, Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Marjorie Lord, Henry Daniell, George Zucco, John Archer, Gavin Muir) – Classic Movie Review 1,021

The World War Two-set 1943 mystery adventure film Sherlock Holmes in Washington sees Basil Rathbone’s Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce’s Dr Watson travelling to Washington DC to prevent a secret document from falling into enemy hands.

Director Roy William Neill’s World War Two-set 1943 mystery adventure film Sherlock Holmes in Washington sees Basil Rathbone’s Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce’s Dr Watson travelling to Washington DC to prevent a secret document from falling into enemy hands.

A British secret agent carrying the vital document is kidnapped en route to Washington, so the British Government gets Holmes to recover it. Holmes is on the case of a matchbook’s hidden microfilm, while Watson chews over the American peculiarity of chewing gum and other strange foreign habits.

The first wholly original film of the series, it is based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s characters but not on any of  his stories. Bertram Millhauser and Lynn Riggs’s new story is busy, well-plotted and richly enjoyable. It’s the third in Universal Pictures’ 12-part Holmes series, moving the film to the contemporary World War Two period, which followed the 20th Century Fox properly Victorian-set films The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939).

Riggs had written Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror, while Millhauser went on to write Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943) and The Woman in Green (1945), but this is their sole collaboration on a Holmes film.

DVD cover based on the cinema poster.

The star duo are on top, zesty form, making a belated entry in the movie in its second reel. And George Zucco is on especially good form as a creepy antiques shop proprietor, Richard Stanley, though it turns out he’s really Heinrich Hinckel. Henry Daniell’s equally sinister William Easter is another fine villainous creation.

Zucco and Daniell head a vintage character actor cast, which also includes Henry Daniell, Marjorie Lord, John Archer, Gavin Muir, Holmes Herbert, Thurston Hall, Gilbert Emory, Mary Forbes (as Mrs Hudson), Clarence Muse, Margaret Seddon and Ian Wolfe (in the first of his four Holmes film appearances).

The cinema poster.

John Archer and Marjorie Lord, who play engaged couple Lt Pete Merriam and Nancy Partridge, were married in real life.

Zucco earlier played Professor Moriarty in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939) and Daniell later played Moriarty in The Woman in Green (1945).

Gerald Hamer, who appears briefly as Alfred Pettibone or ‘John Grayson’ (uncredited), was in four more Holmes movies.

The wobbly-looking studio back-projections are a bit of a shame, but never mind.

The dubbed German version released in 1959 removed all Nazi references from the dialogue.

Followed by Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943).

The films of Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson: The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939), The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939), Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942), Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942), Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943), Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943), The Spider Woman (1943), The Scarlet Claw (1944), The Pearl of Death (1944), The House of Fear (1945), The Woman in Green (1945), Pursuit to Algiers (1945), Terror by Night (1946), and Dressed to Kill (1946).

The cast are Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes, Nigel Bruce as Dr Watson, Marjorie Lord as Nancy Partridge, Henry Daniell as William Easter, George Zucco as Heinrich Hinkel, John Archer as Lt. Pete Merriam, Gavin Muir as government agent Mr Lang,  Edmund MacDonald as Detective Lt Grogan, Don Terry as Howe, Bradley Page as Cady, Holmes Herbert as Mr Ahrens, Thurston Hall as Senator Henry Babcock Gerald Hamer as Alfred Pettibone or ‘John Grayson’, Clarence Muse as porter George, Gilbert Emory, Margaret Seddon, Ian Wolfe as Antiques Shop Clerk and Mary Gordon as Mrs Hudson.

Sherlock Holmes in Washington is shot by Lester White and scored by Frank Skinner.

Release date: April 30, 1943.

Running time: 71 minutes.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 1,021 derekwinnert.com