What We Are Watching Vol. 14: July 2021

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942)

In the late 1930s, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce starred in a Sherlock Holmes movie. It was so successful, the pair made thirteen more adventures into the late 1940s.

This one, made during WW II, was really good (actually, all of them were good, but I am not here to talk about all fourteen). Rathbone is Holmes, and Bruce is his sidekick, Dr. Watson. This is the opening shot for a number of their films. Holmes is on the left, and Watson is on the right.

The story involves a British secret weapon that the Nazis want to steal. Holmes is assigned with the inventor’s protection.

Holmes disguises himself as several characters to confuse and keep track of the Nazi spies. Below, he is seen as an antique bookseller (center with white hair).

And later, a fishing dock rat (below, center). Professor Moriarty (right side, played by Lionel Atwill), who is Holmes’ constant nemesis, wants the weapon too.

In this movie, Holmes’ hair is combed rather strangely (seen below), perhaps a stylistic fashion for the day.

The constant struggle between Holmes and Moriarty is a major part of the story.

The funny thing is that Moriarty appears in several of their movies, and he is either killed or taken off to be hanged in each one. But, he shows up again subsequently without an explanation of how he escaped death. He is played by different actors though, perhaps for that reason.

Regardless, all fourteen of the Sherlock Holmes movies with Rathbone and Bruce are superbly acted and scripted. Very much worth watching, and you can get them on YouTube for free.

Grant is T.R. Devlin, an American agent who is Alicia’s contact. Naturally, they fall in love, and this gets complicated by Alicia being assigned to become romantically involved with one of the Nazis, Alexander Sebastian (Rains).

This particular love scene (above) is one of the longest ever filmed, and Bergman is incredible. Devlin is passive in the scene, part of Hitchcock’s unique style.

She scores with Sebastian, much to the consternation of Devlin, especially when Sebastian asks Alicia to marry him. She accepts, thinking that Devlin does not really care, when in fact, he is devastated.

The rest of the story is about how she discovers the Plutonium ore in Sebastian’s wine cellar, and then, Sebastian and the other Nazis learn that she is an American agent. They plot to kill Alicia. The rest I will leave to your curiosity as to how they plan to do it and how Devlin saves her. A hint: Sebastian’s mother, played by Madame Konstantin (how’s that for a stage name?), supplies the method for her death. Magnificent ending.

If you have never seen this film, it is a must.

The movie is free on YouTube.

Director Lurie has been responsible for some excellent but little-seen films in the past, including Deterrence, The Contender in 2000, and he’s directed some episodes of Commander in Chief and Line of Fire.

The film has been out on DVD since just after its theatrical release, and many fans were clamoring for a Blu-ray.

The film in HD looks really good, with details coming through in the generally dimly lit prison scenes. The outdoor scenes sparkle and all in all, this shot on 35mm movie looks great after we’ve been stuck with the DVD for almost 20 years.

The film has been released in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; German, French, and Japanese 5.1 Dolby Digital; and English descriptive audio. The English 5.1 track is a good one, with noticeable ambiance in the person scenes, and more obvious surround material during the prison riot.

Audio Commentary by Rod Lurie (recorded for the DVD)
Rod Lurie on The Last Castle
A Hero’s Farewell: A Discussion on the Alternate Ending
HBO First Look: Inside the Walls of The Last Castle (SD)
Deleted Scenes with Optional Audio Commentary (SD)
Theatrical Trailer

The Last Castle slipped by in theaters, unnoticed, but collecting fans after the DVD release. Lurie is an interesting director. His films are all political, with military overtones. Redford has been in film prison before (Brubaker) but I like The Last Castle more. It’s a meditation of leadership and morality, and it draws you in and by the end, you are cheering Redford and his fellow prisoners on. Gandolfini is also terrific in the ‘Caption Bligh’ role, and his performance is sensitive and realistic. In the movie, the warden overhears a comment made by Col. Winter and the relationship between warden and prisoner deteriorates from there.

It’s great to see this movie on a solid Blu-ray release, giving it a new life that it never had in 2001.

This box set includes the theatrical version and the bootleg version (aka Untitled) which includes about 40 minutes of extra movie footage. If you already love this movie, then seeing the extended version will be a revelation as it fills in some storyline gaps and rounds out the narrative better than the original version. The film is full of music, much of which must be favorite tunes for Crowe and the sound and picture are stunning. I was surprised by some of the deep bass that rattled my windows. The Dolby Vision HDR really made the picture pop as well and it was blemish-free and sharp. There are also a ton of extras which are brand new for this 4K release. There is some drug usage, swearing with a bit of nudity, but I consider it mild enough for most teens. The film was a nostalgic trip down memory lane as I was a teen in the ’70s, too. I may be old, but I got to hear the great bands!

This musical extravaganza shimmers in UHD and Dolby Vision from an 8K master scan of the original 65mm print. The soundtrack is remastered with a 96 kHz resolution 7.1 Dolby Digital TrueHD audio soundtrack that sounds fantastic! The colors (esp. purple) are stunning with intense white shirts, solid blacks, and wonderfully intricately made costumes. I would put this restoration right up there with Lawrence of Arabia, as the transformation is nothing short of stunning. I saw this in the theaters when I was a kid and I still remembered most of the tunes. This would be my second favorite, only to Camelot, which has yet to get a UHD treatment. The Prelude and Intermission sequences are also intact, which is good because the movie is 3 hours long. This is another “Golden Age” of Hollywood movie that the serious collector must own. Recommended!

I wish it had a 4K treatment, not because the picture quality is all that great (and it is not bad, for its age), but because the movie is so iconic, it would have been nice to have the upgrade. Nonetheless, It is a blast to watch, even after all of this time. Oh Yeah!