Sherlock Holmes in Washington
- Basil Rathbone: Sherlock Holmes
- Nigel Bruce: Dr. Watson
- Marjorie Lord: Nancy Partridge
- Henry Daniell William Easter
- George Zucco: Richard Stanley (H. Hinckel )
- John Archer: Pete marriam
- Gavin Muir: Bart Lang
- Edmund MacDonald: Detective Grogan
- Holmes Herbert: Mr. Ahrens
- Thurston Hall: Senator Babcock
- Don Terry Howe
- Bradley Page: Cady
- Mary Gordon: Mrs. Hudson
Fateful trip is an American crime film from the year 1943. It is the fifth production of the film series of Universal Pictures with Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson.
Action
Sir Henry Marchmont is a British diplomat who travels on a transatlantic flight from London to New York. He is pursued by a group of German spies, led by William Easter. The spies believe that Easter conducting secret government documents with them. The German agents find out that Easter acted as bait. The real courier is another passenger, John Grayson. Grayson noted that his cover is blown, and manages to place a matchbook in the handbag of Nancy Partridge, before he is kidnapped by Easter and his group.
Mr. Ahrens by the Interior Ministry informed the detective Sherlock Holmes and his friend Dr. Watson, that Grayson is in reality the Secret Service Agent Alfred Pettibone. Holmes is now again obtain the missing documents. Holmes quickly finds out that Grayson photographed the documents and photos has captured on microfilm. This microfilm is housed in a matchbook. In Washington, Holmes and Watson meet with the embassy staff beard long. He introduces both the Detective Lieutenant Grogan of the Washington police which deals with the kidnapping of Grayson.
Grayson's corpse is placed in Holmes hotel room. Holmes comes by deduction to the conclusion that the spies did not find the documents. Further investigations bring Holmes on the trail of Nancy Partridge. Also Easter finds out that Nancy has the matchbook and gives himself and his men invitations to Nancy's engagement party. The spies kidnap Nancy and her fiance, Marine Lieutenant Peter Merriam. They create Nancy in a closet and let Peter again.
After the examination of Grayson's corpse Holmes recognizes found traces that his killers have to work in an antique shop. Holmes and Watson encounter the antique shop of Richard Stanley and do there the hiding of the spies. Nancy has also been brought into the hideout and is interrogated by Stanley. As an eccentric art collector inlet Holmes gives in Stanley's office. He recognizes in Stanley the former German secret agent Henry Hinkel. Stanley recognizes as Holmes, but I do not think he ignited Holmes cigarette with a match from the booklet that houses the microfilm. Stanley's men take Holmes caught. Even before the spies Holmes and Nancy can kill, Watson arrives with Peter and the police.
Stanley may escape through a secret passage. He sets out to search for the Senator Babcock. From Holmes, he knows that Babcock has received a stamped envelope of Grayson. He believes that the envelope containing the microfilm. But Holmes has Stanley thus set a trap and he is arrested in Babcock's office. Holmes finds the microfilm in the matchbook. Holmes recalls Stanley to his statement that the one who has the documents do not even know that he has it. And Stanley had the matchbook since Nancy's kidnapping with him.
Reviews
" An adventure of the entertaining Universal series, which relies on the amazing power of deduction of the intelligent detective, the film directorial the last third of abating abundant. "
Background
The film premiered on 19 April 1943 in Sweden. It was only on April 30, he came into the American cinema. In Germany, he first appeared on March 6, 1959 in an edited version in theaters. The reconstructed version was broadcast on October 2, 1983 TV premiere on German TV.
In the German version of 1959 from the German spies employee of a pharmaceutical company, from the secret documents were documents of this company.
For the production company Universal Pictures, it was the third Holmes adventure with Basil Rathbone, while the first one that was not based directly on a story by Arthur Conan Doyle.
George Zucco and Henry Daniell are in this film, the opponents of the detective. Zucco played in the second film in the series ( The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, 1939) the villain Professor Moriarty, who was then in 1945 played by Daniell in The Woman in Green.
John Archer and Marjorie Lord were married in 1941. One of her two children is the actress Anne Archer.
German synchronization
The East German dubbed version was created in 1969 at the German television and radio was erstausgestrahlt on 28 August 1969. The film spoke Walter Niklaus ( Sherlock Holmes) and Alfred Bohl ( Dr. Watson).