Sherlock Holmes em Washington

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.

An entertaining film about Holmes going to the USA, to recover an important diplomatic document. Reflects the wartime need to stress the democratic desires that were shared by the UK and the USA. Also needed by the increasing US involvement in the war against Germany. Serves as a good example of the attitudes of the day, together with an interesting plot.

A British spy carrying important diplomatic papers from Great Britain to the United States is kidnapped. Sherlock Holmes is needed to find the man, and more importantly the papers that would ruin world peace. This is a fine entry into the Sherlock Holmes cycle, albeit a bit thin in the area of plot. Notwithstanding this, Basil Rathbone and the lovable Nigel Bruce make the most of the material and turn the mundane into the sublime. Rathbone is his usual self, however, in this picture he sports a fairly unique hairstyle. Bruce is as ever a fun man to watch, uttering completely comic absurd remarks with the greatest conviction. The supporting cast is first-rate with the indeliable George Zucco as(who else?) the villain. Aiding Zucco is Henry Daniell. Throw in some great character acting by the likes of Gerald Hamer and Clarence Muse. The scene shared by Rathbone and Muse is particularly enjoyable to watch. At the end the film has its wartime message about the importance of democracy. A good mystery!

It seems to me that which ever Sherlock Holmes {Rathbone} film I watch there is always comments on the site stating it's one of the weaker in the series !!, it really just goes to show how we are all different as regards our love of the series because to me this entry is far from being weak. It has a very tidy plot that takes our delightful duo to America and contains one of my favourite sequences as we watch a (critical to the plot) book of matches go from person to person at a social gathering. Holmes gets to act up as an eccentric art collector and Watson does what he does best, comedy relief. The ending perhaps could of packed a bigger punch for me personally, but all in all it's yer above average detective drama acted out with the usual style from the regulars, 7/10.

Once again Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce deliver the goods in "Sherlock Holmes in Washington." I like this film from 1943.... A great cast that includes Henry Daniell, George Zucco and some other fine actors of note......

If I have any gripe at all about the series of 'Holmes' films that Rathbone and Bruce made is, they are all between 60 to 75 minutes long.... To me, that means rather short... I'd prefer longer scripts and films that run at least 80 to 90 minutes long.... For the 1940s, that is a normal run......

I love these old-time co-stars like "Henry Daniell, George Zucco, Lionel Atwill & Dennis Hoey." All them guys were pluses for the series of 'Holmes' films produced from 1939 to 1946...... Good quality there...

MR.BILL