Pursuit to Algiers (1945)

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

PURSUIT TO ALGIERS (Universal, 1945), produced and directed by Roy William Neil, is not a continuing saga of Pepe LeMoko, a role immortally enacted by Charles Boyer in the classic motion picture ALGIERS (1938), but a continuation to the popular Sherlock Holmes series, the twelfth installment in fact, starring Basil Rathbone (Sherlock Holmes) and Nigel Bruce (Doctor Watson). Although it might have been interesting having Holmes and Watson coming face to face with LeMoko as part of their new assignment returning the gentleman thief back to the authorities, this Sir Arthur Conan Doyle based story carries on another tale set mostly on board an ocean liner. As in most series films, a need for change of scenery was usually necessary, at times beneficial. Missing in this segment are series regulars Mary Gordon (Mrs. Hudson) and Dennis Hoey (Inspector Lestrade). Rather than the usual five to ten-minute prologue revolving around other people, Holmes and Watson of 22-B Baker Street appear in the very first scene, carrying the story together or individually in this tightly scripted 64 minutes.In the fade-in, Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and his colleague, Doctor Watson (Nigel Bruce), have purchased and arranged a delivery of a rifle from Stimson's (Olaf Hytten) store to take with them on their hunting trip in Scotland. With Watson assuring Holmes they'll be no more cases on their holiday, they're soon approached on the dark streets by total strangers, one passing Holmes the London Chronicle newspaper, the other advising him to come to the Soho Oyster House for some fish and chips. While at the pub, Holmes notices written code in the newspaper that soon leads him to place in Fishbone Alley. As they enter a building, they're soon met and summoned by men for Holmes to undertake a mission returning King Nikolas to his country of Rovenia, and with his help, prevent an assassination plot that has already taken place on the young man's father. Later, Holmes boards an airplane with the men, leaving Watson behind to board the S.S. Friestland with plans on meeting him at a latter date. While mingling with other passengers, Watson comes across some mystery of his own, asking himself, "What would Holmes do?" Later, Watson reads in a wireless that Holmes and others on the airplane having perished, only to soon discover Holmes very much alive and on board ship. Accompanied by King Nikolas (Leslie Vincent) posing as Watson's nephew, situations occur with the involvement of international jewel thieves; Sheila Woodbury (Marjorie Riordan) a singer from Brooklyn, who fears the sight of Holmes; Agatha Dunham (Rosalind Ivan); a rich woman with a pistol in her purse whose famous emerald had been stolen; a couple of odd looking gentlemen, Jordi (John Abbott) and Kingston (Gerald Hamer); plus three additional passengers boarding the ship while stopping in Lisbon: the knife throwing Mirko (Martin Kosleck), the deaf mute, Bruno (Wee Willie Davis), and their rugged leader Gregor (Rex Evans) who add to Holmes' worries as they room in the cabin across the hall from him.Though Holmes doesn't use acquire any disguises as he's done in the past, the fun part of PURSUIT TO ALGIERS is how the master detective manages to outwit the would-be assassins in certain instances. However, Holmes' cleverness is put to a halt when he is subdued by one of them, socked on the jaw and thrown on his bed bound and gagged in his cabin, leading the henchmen free to abduct King Nikolas. Lots of neat twists follow to keep viewers wondering what happens next before the boat ports at its proposed destination, with no Pepe LeMoko greeting a tour of passengers saying, "Come with me to the Casbah." Other than the usual fun and games of mysterious circumstances and some utter confusion regarding Nikolas, co-star Marjorie Riordan takes time entertaining on board with such tunes as "There Isn't Any Harm in That," "Cross My Heart" and "Flow Gently Sweet Afton." Nigel Bruce shows he can carry a tune just as well by singing "Loch Lomond." Distributed to Key Video in 1988, and later onto DVD, PURSUIT TO ALGIERS, being broadcast on numerous television and cable channels, including Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: December 26, 2009 for an all night tribute to Sherlock Holmes movies), PURSUIT TO ALGIERS comes with some criticism by Holmes devotees for not being the best in the series. It may not be perfect but still a watchable little item as movie detectives in transition go. Next in the series: TERROR BY NIGHT (1946). (**1/2)

Pretty awesome way to finish off (for me that is, I previously had watched the final two in the series earlier in the year (or maybe earlier than that loll) The Basil Rathbone / Nige Bruce Sherlock Holmes series. Holmes and Watson are on board a ship trying to protect a young head of a foreign country from being kidnapped or killed. They take a cruise ship to where they're supposed to go with a lot of suspicious characters. Who are they and why are they are on board? All of them are explained in due time. This is all terribly entertaining as the plot, although with some implausibilities, twists and turns to it's delightful (but again, somewhat implausible) surprise ending. One of the best!

Pursuit to Algiers is the 12th Basil Rathbone and Bruce Nigel Sherlock film, and it's based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's characters. The movie is noted to have taken some characters and elements from Conan Doyle's The Adventure of the Red Circle.The movie's plot is quite ingenious, as it takes you unawares in the way things just turn up, with Sherlock proving to be a mastermind genius from the way he disguised the King, to the way he got himself on the boat, after sending Dr. Watson ahead.Majority of the movie is shot in a boat setting, and the movie even ends on the boat, which gave way for us to see some nice cinematography and the plot shows a little of what many people think Sherlock is, a guy who is too smart for we the rest of the world. Before this was The Woman in Green (1945) and that was also directed by Roy William Neill, who actually did a better job here than he did in The Woman in Green. The screenplay was done by Leonard Lee, who did a good job making sure each time you spent watching this movie, anticipation is created as you are curious to see how Holmes is going to pull it off, and the final twist in the movie was just the icing on the cake of this masterpiece.The movie's plot starts with our duo planning a vacation to take a load off the unending cases that they seem to be swamped in, when some series of fortunate events start to happen on their way home, Sherlock was able to deduce from the series of events that he was been called for a meeting.After he had solved the events to deduce the address (which was basic elementary if I could say so myself) and time of the meeting, he attended it and he is giving a task which he took. The task was given to him by the prime minister of the fictional country of Rovinia, who begs Holmes to escort Prince Nikolas back to his country Rovinia. It turns out that his father has been assassinated, and Nikolas is the next in line to be king, but since he left the country at birth to be raised in England no one but the prime minister and a few knows what he looks like, and the assassinators of the father will stop at nothing to kill Prince Nikolas.The movie is a nice watch, it is one movie that you watch, and then you gather your friends around to watch with you and just telling them that there is something at the end that they can't guess what it is. It is a nice addition to anyone's shelf of movie collections. The ending joke of the movie had Sherlock telling Watson that no matter what, Watson should not take up a career as an actor as he is a bad actor, which is why sometimes he (Sherlock) has to keep things from him.www.lagsreviews.com

Pursuit to Algiers is directed by Roy William Neill and adapted to screenplay by Leonard Lee, based on characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle. It stars Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Marjorie Riordan, Rosalind Ivan and Morton Lowry. Music is by Edgar Fairchild and cinematography by Paul Ivano. Film is the twelfth of fourteen made featuring Rathbone and Bruce as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson respectively. Plot finds the pair involved in trying to safely escort home the heir to the throne of Rovinia. With the Prince under threat of assassination, the pair must keep their wits about them as they sail onwards to Algiers.After opening with considerable interest in fog bound London-as Holmes follows some cryptic clues to a meeting with the Prime Minister of Rovinia-film then drifts amiably along without much fuss or care for Holmsian drama. It rarely feels like a Sherlock Holmes film, and in truth it looks like Rathbone in particular was going through the motions. With 98% of the film set on a ship, there was considerable scope for a tight thriller, but plot plods along feeding on red herrings and nothing else. It's a waiting game, for both them and us, and it's really not that much fun. There's a good twist to reward the patient, and the sight of Watson warbling Loch Lomond is something positive to take away from the experience. But it's a poor entry in the series and it dwells near the bottom of the Rathbone/Bruce Sherlock Holmes list. 5/10