Gefährliche Mission

Since the wartime production (1945) of the Sherlock Holmes' adventure, "Pursuit to Algiers", many films have been made involving a seagoing setting. Mysteries set aboard a ship I suggest are notoriously easy to begin and difficult to consummate; this is because it is easy to introduce characters in a claustrophobic setting but notoriously more difficult to arrange for a series of logical events perpetrated by them that is varied, believable and possessed of a wide-enough scope of action. I find "Pursuit to Algiers" to be an unusually believable decently-filmed low-budget ship-based adventure and a tidy storyline without any need for apologies. The writers began the piece on land, in fact using a low-grade but intriguing series of clues--recognized by detective Sherlock Holmes as such--to lure him to an expositional meeting. At that meeting, the Prime Minister of a fictitious Balkan country, one whose king has been murdered (though this fact has not been made public), hires the famous consulting detective to safeguard the nation's young prince as he heads home from his school in England to his homeland for a now-vital coronation ceremony. Holmes accepts the commission; then he heads off in an airplane, planning to meet his friend Dr. Watson later, for several reasons. Watson has cause to believe he has been killed; but he eventually does meet his partner aboard the ship they had planned to sail on, after several neat plot twists and a display of unusual intelligence by Holmes; and from then on, the two are kept exceptionally busy trying to assess who the potential murderers are (who will be their deadly opponents). They are given a fairly large cast of suspects to choose from. Holmes then neatly thwarts the villains at every turn, until near the end he is knocked unconscious and the prince is kidnapped--exactly as Holmes had planned. Basil Rathbone is less effective than usual as Holmes and Nigel Bruce more useful as Watson than he was usually permitted to be; he sings beautifully, and acts as an effective comedic foil to his sharp-eyed and sharp-witted partner throughout. Among the larger than usual cast for a Holmesian adventure, Rosalind Ivan as a noisy matron is far better than thin, pretty Marjorie Riordan who sings better than she acts. Veteran heavies Martin Kosleck, John Abbott, Rex Evans and Gerald Hamer steal the film as clever but outwitted suspects or murderers; aboard such a small ship, the scenarists permit the suspects and even the villains to interact with and try to outthink Holmes quite directly, a rarity outside seagoing comedic tales (and, I find, the film's primary distinguishing feature). Frederick Worlock is affecting as the Prime Minister; the young men in the cast are all routine at best. This film was kept moving swiftly and ably by its producer-director, veteran Roy William Neill; the script was done as a screenplay by Leonard Lee adapted from elements of an Arthur Conan Doyle story. The feature's cinematography by Paul Ivano and art direction by John B. Goodman and Martin Obzina are above average; Vera West's costumes are done on an admirably high level throughout. Bernard Brown, for once, keeps a British film's voices and sounds perfectly intelligible. Some of the scenes aboard the ship are quite realistic; others are less successful, although Russell A. Gausman and Ralph Sylos try manfully to make every setting from a cafe to cramped staterooms believable. The seminal portions of this film I assert are the dialogue interactions of the characters which take place throughout; despite the dialogue sometimes being low-key, it is adult, convincing and serviceable from beginning to end. This is a very good second feature by my standards, if no more, on a par with The Woman in White, and quite tightly plotted.

The definitive movie Sherlock Holmes is Basil Rathbone; the definitive movie Dr. Watson is Nigel Bruce. Together, these two brilliant actors made fourteen Sherlock Holmes films between 1939 and 1946, most of them loosely based on stories by Arthur Conan Doyle; a few based on Doyle stories in name only. All are thrilling, exciting excursions into the realm of mystery and deductive reasoning, even the later low-budget ones.

The original pairing of the super sleuth with his bumbling if lovable assistant portrayed by Rathbone and Bruce was in "The Hound of the Baskervilles," where star billing went to Richard Greene as Sir Henry Baskerville. The popularity of Holmes and Watson showed the studio that the audience cared more for the two supporting players than for the somewhat stiff Greene. Next time in "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," Rathbone and Bruce deservedly received top billing.

During World War II with England in peril from the Luftwaffe, Holmes and Watson were utilized to booster the war spirit. Holmes could be heard at the end of the war-time films haranguing his fellow countrymen and their ally, the United States, about patriotism and gallantry. Winston Churchill was touted as the savior of his nation.

"Pursuit to Algiers," based on Doyle's "The Return of Sherlock Holmes," finds the crafty detective helping escort Nikolas (Leslie Vincent), heir of a foreign country and a target for conspirators, to assume his crown following the assassination of his predecessor. There are many clever scenes involving Dr. Watson unknowingly being used as a decoy to protect Nikolas. When Nikolas' supporters first contact Holmes surreptitiously, they employ a ruse involving a fish and chips cypher, beyond Watson's grasp. In the process Watson is propositioned by a hooker who calls the good doctor, Ducky, much to his chagrin. Holmes takes the high road by plane; Watson takes the low road by boat. There is much chicanery aboard the ship that takes up most of the movie. The ending may come as a surprise for many.

One of the high points of "Pursuit to Algiers" is Watson's story of "The Giant Rat of Sumatra." Entreated by his fellow passengers to tell about one of Sherlock Holmes' greatest adventures, Watson volunteers to entertain all with his giant rat fable. His use of inanimate objects on the table for purposes of illustration to make the exploits he relates more colorful is well worth the price of admission.

There are more songs than usual for a Sherlock Holmes outing. Such traditional Scottish airs as "Flow Gently Sweet Afton," sung by Marjorie Riordan as a girl from Brooklyn named Sheila Woodbury with something hidden in her sheet music satchel and "Loch Lomond," sung by Watson himself, not only serve as icing but are utilized to embellish the plot.

The twelfth in the Sherlock Holmes series and coming at the end of the war, "Pursuit to Algiers" is one of the most entertaining of the lot and there is no rousing speechifying by Holmes at the end. Those speeches were wonderful morale buildings at the time, but are a bit quaint for today's audiences.

Despite planning a fishing and shooting holiday in Scotland, Holmes and Dr Watson are approached to help smuggle the Prince Royal of another country back into his homeland. The King has been assassinated already and the Prince is feared to be next. Holmes and the Prince go by plane while Watson travels by boat as a decoy. When Holmes' plane is shot down Watson fears the worst until he finds that Holmes et al are already on the boat. With many days left before Algiers, Holmes must outwit the assassins he suspects are onboard.

I've always enjoyed Watson's contribution to these films just as much as I have Holmes, so I was worried when it looked like Watson would be separated from Holmes for the film. So imagine my happiness when the film actually followed Watson rather than Holmes. Although the film brings Holmes back together with Watson quite quickly, it does give Watson a lot more screen time and respect than they usually do - even going as far to have Holmes praise Watson for his observational skills! This makes a refreshing change - of course Holmes is still the star but it is nice to see him on an almost equal platform for once.

The plot itself is a little worrying at the start but settles once Watson gets on the ship. It allows for some gentleman playing between Holmes and his pursuers who are known to him. This is fun and allows for some nice twists toward the end. The whole thing about the stolen jewels was lost on me and just distracted from the main narrative.

Rathbone is as good as ever and is well worth watching but it is Bruce that impresses here. He does his usual stuff but he gets time to do it and it is fun to see him not being put down by Holmes so much. Holmes' pursuers are better than his usual foes - the amount of screen time that they share and the fact that they are known to each other makes it more enjoyable.

This is a great entry in the series. Bruce rises to the occasion and the twisty confrontation on the ship is very enjoyable as Holmes stays one step ahead. And, having seen the last couple of films end on Holmes giving moral speeches here the film ends on a killer line from Holmes where he advises Watson `never become an actor' - hilarious!

An unusual 'job' is being offered (or rather commanded) to Holmes this time: he's supposed to guard the heir, whose father has just been assassinated, of the throne to an obscure little kingdom safely to Algiers, from where he'll be taken home.

So an ADVENTUROUS ship's passage lies ahead of Holmes, Watson, and the young monarch; the atmosphere is quite dense (even the fog on deck is thicker than in the streets of London...), the plot is suspenseful and has got its pretty surprising moments; and a special feature for friends of Scottish nostalgia and our good Doctor Watson: here Nigel Bruce gets the opportunity to sing (undubbed!) the old Scottish tune "Loch Lomond"!

One of the lighter entries in the Rathbone/Bruce series, good, solid, classic crime entertainment.

Please make sure and get the UCLA restored version of this classic on DVD. There are some appalling Public Domain versions of the Rathbone/Bruce series floating about, especially in the U.K., which seem to have been ripped from poor quality VHS tapes, and they're worse than VCD quality. You'll certainly enjoy this series even more if you see them in good quality prints. Pursuit To Algiers is not the best of the series - that honour goes to SH and the Spider Woman - but it's very certainly worth watching, as it contains some delightful moments, although the storyline is a bit thin. Poor old Watson is put upon, as usual, while Holmes has, at least, the sense to keep his hair tidily back-combed in this episode, unlike others in the series where his barnet is all over the place. This is one to come back to again and again - a cosy evening in front of the fire, and Holmes and Watson off on a chase. But remember! Do yourself and your family a favour and get the RESTORED version. Avoid the market cheapies!