Pursuit to Algiers (1945)

 ☆ ☆ ☆

Pursuit to Algiers (1945) – R. W. Neill

Twelfth out of the 14 Sherlock Holmes films with Basil Rathbone (Holmes) and Nigel Bruce (Watson). Although the series was in decline (and sometimes hijacked as a vehicle for patriotic WWII messaging), this entry holds up pretty well (and I could not remember any of the details, including the twist ending, from previous viewings which may very well have been 40+ years ago). Holmes is invited (through a series of mysterious clues) to a meeting where he is asked to protect the heir to the throne of a European country whose king had recently been assassinated. To distract the enemies of the throne, he sends Watson by ship while he accompanies the prince by plane.  Some twists later, they are all on the ship and playing literal and figurative chess with a trio of bad guys (and numerous red herrings) who want to capture the prince and kill Holmes.  Watson is slightly less the buffoon here but still mostly along for comic relief.   Always a salve to a weary brain, the B-movie series.