Two men, when mistaken to be Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, quickly accept the benefits of the mistaken identity, only to later be saddled with some of the responsibilities as well. Watched on DVD in German with English subtitles.
This film was enjoyable on many different levels...
As a comedy, the humor is subdued, but well done.
As a mystery, I was kept guessing as to character motivations as well as the story's final outcome, until the very end.
As an adventure, there is a nice build up to a climactic scene where the main characters are facing certain doom at the hands of villains.
And as Nazi propaganda, it is so subtle and well done that neither of the other reviewers to date have recognized it. (One said there is no propaganda and the other says the British are portrayed as criminals, which I suppose is technically correct, if you can see propaganda in having English criminals in a story set largely in England.) The propaganda comes from the perspective of Germans being the master race, superior to all others. The only character in the film specifically identified as German is the young boy who has walked from Berlin to attend the exposition where valuable stamps are on display. German superiority is shown as the young boy walks across Europe unassisted, recognizes the stamps as forgeries (a fact missed by the experts from other countries), and is the one who validates the real stamps when they are recovered in the end. The British are not only too dumb to recognize the forgeries, but too foolish to even know that there is no Sherlock Holmes in real life,... that Holmes and Watson are fictional characters. (This fact gets brought out in the end.)
Germans watching this film in 1937 got a subtle reinforcement of their superiority over all others, without interfering with a good story.
I recommend catching this film if you get the chance. From any of the perspectives above, you get a well done film.
This film was enjoyable on many different levels...
As a comedy, the humor is subdued, but well done.
As a mystery, I was kept guessing as to character motivations as well as the story's final outcome, until the very end.
As an adventure, there is a nice build up to a climactic scene where the main characters are facing certain doom at the hands of villains.
And as Nazi propaganda, it is so subtle and well done that neither of the other reviewers to date have recognized it. (One said there is no propaganda and the other says the British are portrayed as criminals, which I suppose is technically correct, if you can see propaganda in having English criminals in a story set largely in England.) The propaganda comes from the perspective of Germans being the master race, superior to all others. The only character in the film specifically identified as German is the young boy who has walked from Berlin to attend the exposition where valuable stamps are on display. German superiority is shown as the young boy walks across Europe unassisted, recognizes the stamps as forgeries (a fact missed by the experts from other countries), and is the one who validates the real stamps when they are recovered in the end. The British are not only too dumb to recognize the forgeries, but too foolish to even know that there is no Sherlock Holmes in real life,... that Holmes and Watson are fictional characters. (This fact gets brought out in the end.)
Germans watching this film in 1937 got a subtle reinforcement of their superiority over all others, without interfering with a good story.
I recommend catching this film if you get the chance. From any of the perspectives above, you get a well done film.