Pursuit To Algiers (1945)

After the assassination of the King of Ravenia, Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and his companion Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce) are pressed into service to protect the heir to the throne. This entails a sea voyage with a ship overpopulated with suspicious passengers. Directed by Roy William Neill, this is one of the most entertaining of the Universal Sherlock Holmes franchise. The screenplay affords Bruce more screen time without Holmes than is usual in the series and the supporting cast of characters are wonderfully unique and diverting. Which is a good thing because the mystery itself isn't particularly intriguing though I have to confess the little twist at the end had me fooled. Rathbone and Bruce inhabit Holmes and Watson so idiosyncratically that you no longer think of them as Rathbone and Bruce but Holmes and Watson. The shining supporting cast includes Martin Kosleck, Rosalind Ivan, John Abbott, Morton Lowry, Leslie Vincent and Marjorie Riordan.