Basil Rathbone: Master of Stage and Screen - "Sherlock Holmes in Washington"

"One of the best of the current Sherlock Holmes series offered by Universal, this mystery melodrama is well equipped to satisfy the entertainment seekers who will be attracted to it. The Washington setting lends considerable freshness to the Sherlock Holmes displays of amazing deduction. There is nothing startlingly new in the plot, but that's a non-essential, since the action carries along nicely and involves characters in such a way that there is a continuous thread of story interest. Also, the picture has a moments or two of good suspense. Basil Rathbone continues to give his best in accordance with his conception of the Conan Doyle character, and Nigel Bruce makes the most of his lines for comedy. The picture may well be exploited as an exciting detective story set in a background of importance and novelty and dealing with spy and counter-spy activities connected with the war." —Showmen's Trade Review, 27 March 1943

"The screenplay had interesting moments, but its story was somewhat similar to Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon. Unfortunately, the script was not as well written as the previous film and the picture must, therefore, be classified as only an average series entry." —Michael B. Druxman, Basil Rathbone: His Life and His Films

"Basil Rathbone is just what he should be in the title role, and Nigel Bruce is supplied with much bright comedy of which he is quick to make the most." —The Hollywood Reporter, March 26, 1943

Sherlock Holmes in Washington Best of This Detective Series

Brought up to date and in an American background, Sherlock Holmes in Washington is a cleverly-directed and well-acted programmer — best of this series to date. Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, ideal exponents of the characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, receive first-rate support from such arch villains as George Zucco and Henry Daniell and other expert character players. The formula plot, pitting Holmes against Nazi agents, benefits greatly by Roy William Neill's able direction. Suspense remains high as the document, concealed in an ordinary match folder, passes from hand to hand without being discovered. Comedy touches are supplied by Dr. Watson's blundering and by several typical Washington folk. The romantic interest is weak. This is a good supporting dualler for any house, while the title, author and star are all strong selling points in action spots.

The story, which merely makes use of the characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, brings Sherlock Holmes and the faithful Dr. Watson to America for the first time. Sent over by the British Government to solve the disappearance of a secret service operative who had been carrying an important state document, Holmes learns that the document has been micro-filmed and inserted between the covers of a match folder. Realizing that he was being followed by Nazi agents on the train to Washington, the operative had slipped his match folder to Marjorie Lord, a society girl, and Holmes traces this innocent possessor of the document. The search then leads to George Zucco's antique shop where the girl is being held prisoner by Nazis. Holmes is also made prisoner there, but when Dr. Watson arrives with the police, Zucco escapes, carrying the match folder although unaware of its valuable contents. Holmes finally catches up with Zucco, and, after the villain is safely handcuffed, he learns he had unwittingly been carrying the microfilmed document all the time.

Basil Rathbone does a smooth acting job as the master detective and Nigel Bruce is delightfully slow-witted as Dr. Watson. Marjorie Lord and John Archer are an attractive pair with little to do and Thurston Hall, as a pompous senator, and Regina Wallace, as a society woman, stand out.

—Leyendecker, Film Bulletin, 28 June 1943

"Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson fly to Washington in search of a document of international importance which has disappeared en route from England. Their experiences provide good entertainment in the line of mystery stories." —Motion Picture Reviews, March/April 1943

"It is clear that there are now two Sherlock Holmeses. One is the great detective of the eighteen-nineties, with his keen thin face, bald forehead, and, out-of-doors, deerstalker cap and Inverness cape. To this Holmes the hansom-cab was the swiftest means of transit through the streets of London, a train the promptest method of reaching the scene of a distant crime. ... There is also another Sherlock Holmes, a mythical figure who, having been accepted by the world as the immortal vanquisher of crime, is destined to pass through the ages, taking each one as he finds it, and accommodating his appearance, his habits and his methods accordingly. He will, however, retain certain innate characteristics, and so long as he complies with this condition there is no reasonable ground for complaint. On the whole his visit to Washington last year will not greatly jar the lovers of the original Holmes. Basil Rathbone, though neither lean nor thin on the top, has the proper incisiveness, lightning power of deduction, speed of action, sardonic humour and, in moments of relaxation, taste for lofty platitudes." —Punch, 20 January 1943

"A plot that out-Sherlocks Sherlock at his pleasant best. ... Rathbone is at his best and Bruce provides amusingly droll relief. Marjorie Lord is beautiful, competent and prominent in the action of the play." —Roanoke Rapids Daily Herald, 15 April 1943

"The team of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce is, as always, a delight with the pair playing beautifully off one another with the drollest of humor. The supporting cast also sparkles, including Marjorie Lord as a kidnapped socialite and Henry Daniell and George Zucco as the film's villains." —Andrea Passafiume, Turner Classic Movies article on Sherlock Holmes in Washington

"A far-flung conspiracy to possess an important state document is dramatized in Universal's Sherlock Holmes in Washington. Holmes, it is said, confronts his most cunning and desperate adversary in the new film which is based on the character created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The story is also unusual in that it takes the master sleuth to America for the first time. Much of the picture's intriguing action is played against a background of the wartime capital of the United States. ... Surprising hazards and perilous pitfalls hamper the famous detective in his new locale and the methods by which he finally wins out are claimed to be unique in the annals of crime detection." —The Evening Herald (Shenandoah, PA), 27 April 1943

"Sherlock Holmes in Washington brings the great sleuth to America to find some important papers stolen by Nazi agents. ... Basil Rathbone is once more the unbeatable Holmes and Nigel Bruce's Dr. Watson, who goes along for the ride and spends most of his time investigating quaint American customs such as gum, ice cream sodas and sports sections of Washington newspapers." —Mildred Martin, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 10 May 1943

"Despite mild amusement at Watson's coping with such cultural deviations as Sunday newspaper comics, chewing gum and the Brooklyn Dodgers, Sherlock Holmes in Washington lacked a strong story, and as a mystery offered little more than a climactic gunfight." —Chris Steinbrenner and Norman Michaels, The Films of Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes in Washington

If Sir Arthur Conan Doyle were alive today he would have reason to congratulate the authors of this exciting mystery drama for doing right by his characters and for contriving a plot that out-Sherlocks Sherlock at his pleasant best.

Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce live as Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, respectively, characters with which they have been so successful on the air and on the screen. the story present a spy ring headed by as clever a villain as Moriarty. They are after a document of great importance to the Allied nations, and they do murder to get it. The backgrounds are a little of London and a lot of Washington.

The messenger carrying the document is kidnapped and the document has disappeared when Holmes and Watson take a clipper to Washington. The battle of wits begins and the tides of conflict ebb and flow until the suspense is relieved by a surprise victory for the redoubtable master deductionist.

Rathbone is at his best and Bruce provides amusingly droll relief. Marjorie Lord is beautiful, competent and prominent in the action of the play. Holmes Herbert as "Mr. Ahrens," Thurston Hall as the bluff and lusty "Senator Babcock," and George Zucco as "Stanley," the meanest of rogues, give worthy portrayals.

This well-cast, well-directed, well-invested feature should find response at the box office. It ends with a patriotic line or two in keeping with the Churchill expressions on American and British solidarity.

Bertram Millhauser's original story was made into a screenplay by Mr. Millhauser and Lynn Riggs. Roy William Neill directed and Howard Benedict was the associate producer.

Reviewer's Rating: Excellent.

—A. J., Motion Picture Herald, 3 April 1943

"Neill directed this Howard Benedict production with a fine feeling for suspense and rapid action. The screenplay by Bertram Millhauser and Lynn Riggs, from an original by Millhauser, takes full advantage of the amazing deductive powers of Sherlock Holmes and thereby doesn't allow for incredulity in the pulling of clues from nowhere and the hasty cleanup of the spies. Although many of the methods of creating suspense are rather obvious, they are effective. Bruce is excellent and, at times, funny as Dr. Watson, and Rathbone is a convincing Holmes." —Lucille Greenberg, Motion Picture Daily, 26 March 1943

"What a public thinker that Rathbone is! You can practically see the mighty muscles of his mind tense, grab, and get to the heart of the toughest mystery." —The New York Post, May 29, 1943

"Flawless performances, a tantalizing mystery story, expert direction and a super-abundance of solid dramatic thrills have been blended in Universal's Sherlock Holmes in Washington. The versatile Basil Rathbone impersonates Sherlock and Nigel Bruce gives an incomparable portrayal of Doctor Watson, the great sleuth's comrade." —The Cumberland News, 19 April 1943

"As it often did, Holmes's omniscient nature reached almost unbelievable but amusing heights when, placing an urn before a large antique chest, he walks round it an then calmly throws up the lid, triggering a spear which smashes the urn and Stanley's hope for a dead Sherlock." —David Stuart Davies, Holmes of the Movies: The Screen Career of Sherlock Holmes

"Isn't it an historic moment, after all, when the ageless sleuth of Baker Street gazes over the shoulder of a transatlantic plane pilot and takes his first look at the skyscrapers of New York? What is additionally important is that the film is briskly entertaining. Bertram Millhauser's script, in its search for a lost British war document, brings forth suspense, surprise and trickery. It would be impossible to imagine a better screen Sherlock than the lean, tense and shrewd Basil Rathbone. Likewise perfect is the delightfully urbane and half-comprehending Doctor Watson of Nigel Bruce. The two characters take their modern situation—including chewing gum and an ice cream soda—entirely naturally. Marjorie Lord and John Archer are the love interest. Other figures comprise a skillful gallery of innocent looking rascals, rascally looking innocents and picturesque nitwits." —Alexander Fried, The San Francisco Examiner, 15 April 1943

"Basil Rathbone as 'Sherlock Holmes' has a fine time amid the intrigue and chaos of war. It is a good detective yarn written on a easily recognized pattern but capably presented by a good cast which includes Nigel Bruce, Marjorie Lord, Henry Daniell and George Zucco. ... Rathbone does well by the seriousness of his role and Bruce exhausts the possibilities of his for comedy" —H. T. K., The Newark Advocate, 19 April 1943

"The American stereotypes, the comic-opera jingoism, the bluster, are overwhelmingly insufferable, shameless and cloying. Hollywood Whoring at its worst. ... I think a good script COULD have been prepared with Sherlock and Dr. John in Our Nation's Capitol. What we get just isn't it... but there are a few things in the film that DO make it worthwhile to watch." —Richard Valley, from liner notes for the DVD

"Universal widens the scope for the operations of Sherlock Holmes by transferring the modernized sleuth and his aide to Washington amid war intrigue. It's one of the best to date in the Holmes series, despite the fact that Bertram Milhauser and Lynne Riggs have concocted a script that seldom ventures beyond the established formula. Director Roy William Neill has turned in a very workmanlike job while Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, with the aid of a fine supporting cast, are, as usual, the film's chief assets." —Variety, March 31, 1943