Pursuit to Algiers (1945) - film review

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are about to head off to Scotland for a hunting holiday when they are hoodwinked into accepting another case.  The king of Rovenia has just been assassinated and the country’s Prime Minister asks Holmes to accompany his heir, King Stefan, from England back to his homeland.  Whilst Holmes and Stefan undertake the journey by plane, Watson is persuaded to act as a decoy, taking the same route by cruise ship.  Not long after the ship embarks, Watson learns that a small plane has just crashed, killing all on board.  Then, to his surprise, Holmes appears, revealing that he has made alternative arrangements to ensure the safety of his young charge.  Stefan is now on board the ship, posing as Watson’s nephew.  Unfortunately, some hired assassins are also aboard, and they are determined to dispose of the new King before he reaches Rovenia...

By far the weakest of the fourteen Sherlock Holmes films featuring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, Pursuit to Algiers gives the strong impression that it was scripted by someone who has never read a Sherlock Holmes story.  Holmes is, apparently, not content to be merely a sleuth, solving mysteries from the comfort of his armchair in 221B Baker Street.  He is now a hired agent, ready to be employed as a minder for dignitaries of foreign governments.  Likewise, Watson has grown tired of being Holmes’s friend and helpmate.  He has aspirations of being a concert singer and will soon be appearing for a solo performace at the Royal Albert Hall, tickets available on request.

None of this would really matter if the story had had some merit and was imaginatively realised.  The problem with Pursuit to Algiers is that no one seems to be taking it seriously, apart from messieurs Rathbone and Bruce (who are, as ever, impeccable).  The script looks like it was thrown together in an afternoon by someone who had a severe imagination bypass, and the direction is slipshod and lazy to the point of narcolepsy.

Watson’s attempt to sing (or, more strictly speaking, mime, since the lip-sync is so bad) Loch Lomond has been cited as the low point, but this is just one of a seemingly endless series of bad decisions on the part of the production team.  What is the justification for the overly elaborate beginning to the film?  Why remove Holmes from the first quarter of the film?  Why slow down the plot to a snail’s pace with so many musical interludes?  Why are the villains so easily identifiable and behave like a bad Marx Brothers tribute act?  It’s a mess – plodding, dull and silly.  It’s a miracle the series was able to continue after this incredible fiasco.

© filmsdefrance.com 2009

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