Spitball Army

Here is yet another Basil Rathbone Holmes picture that places the detective smack dab in the middle of the 20th century. Holmes is on the trail of a piece of microfilm that is making its serpentine way into the hands of the Nazis. There is a terrific set piece in a booby-trapped antique shop that I would swear I’ve seen copied since in another film or TV show (maybe in a Pink Panther film, or an episode of “I Love Lucy,” or the secret agent spoof “Top Secret”). There are also some great dated touches: passengers smoking in airplanes; a fully stocked railroad car bar with plush leather upholstery; small planes flying around over New York City; civilian cars pulling up alongside an airport runway to collect passengers. Best quotable line from the movie: “No screams till the customer’s gone.”