Sherlock Holmes in Washington

"Yes, I shall write a monograph some day... on the noxious habit of accumulating useless trivia."

Sherlock Holmes (Rathbone) and Dr. Watson (Bruce) are hired by the British government to find a classified document and it's courier.  The document was being transported from England to America by British spy Alfred Pettibone (Gerald Hamer).  Pettibone was traveling undercover as John Grayson when he was kidnapped.

Holmes and Rathbone travel to America to retrace Pettibone's steps.  But they are not the only ones looking for the document.  William Easter (Daniell), Pettibone's kidnapper, and his associates are checking on all of the people that interacted with Pettibone and they are not above violence to reach their aims.  Can Holmes solve the case and recover the document?

This is the 5th of 14 Sherlock Holmes to star Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.  This is an original Holmes story, not based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories.

The Good:

As expected, Rathbone and Bruce are good in these roles.  Rathbone gets to try out a new persona when he goes undercover.  The villains, George Zucco and Henry Daniell, are fantastic.  Both actors also portrayed Professor Moriarty in the series (Zucco in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Daniell in The Woman in Green).

The Bad:

No real complaints.

Other Comments:

-The story is set in 1940s, the same as when it was made.

-The story moves at a brisk pace and keeps the various characters in play, without overloading the audience.

-It isn't my favorite entry in the franchise, but it was an entertaining and enjoyable film.

Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943) 71 minutes
Director: Roy William Neill
Starring: Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes
Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson
Marjorie Lord as Nancy Partridge

Henry Daniell as William Easter

George Zucco as Stanley

John Archer as Lieutenant Pete Merriam