Film can be the most fun.<br /><br />One of the most interesting things about film is how we use them to work out who we are. I'm interested in certain notions of complex abstract reasoning, but the simpler, more obvious stuff is fun too. One of those "simple" things is national identity. And there is hardly a better case than how the British defined themselves during the great war. While France rolled over and most Europeans were left to define themselves as humans instead of citizens, the English really turned to film as a nation.<br /><br />One of the most interesting appropriations was Sherlock Holmes. He has a singular importance in the history of literature, both in terms of placing a discoverer of story in the story, and in terms of being a representative of the (then) new notion that people are motivated and act rationally.<br /><br />So any movie with Holmes in it, no matter how casual, is loaded, and this one is loaded by bulldozers. Holmes is transported from Victorian times to then modern times. His nemesis here is the guy who played his old opponent: Moriarty. <br /><br />And there are other transpositions as well. Holmes' interest in science is transformed to a focus on technology, here microfilm, high tech for the time. And the action — after some homeland establishing shots (including a loving mother) — is transported from the UK to the US. And that's the interesting part, because when you are defining your nature, you have the choice by defining it against others.<br /><br />In this case, we have a parade of American stereotypes. Since it was absolutely clear that the Americans were saving the Brits from extinction, this is done with less edge than usual. But we still have the bullmoose loud senator, the dippy but earnest girlie, the solid naval officer and such. These are woven around landmarks of Washington.<br /><br />But one stereotype is particularly of interest. In the 40's in the US, black men were railroad porters. By a lucky accident, it was a way to earn decent money, be relatively cosmopolitan but still stay in a role of servitude. These were Jim Crow days in the US, a bad time, a time of canker. So depicting the necessary black man in this film was handled with some sensitivity. The British filmmakers followed the form of polite deference, but with less bowing and scraping than in an America movie of the era. <br /><br />But check out who plays the black porter. He's George Muse, perhaps the least servile black man in the business at the time, someone who would go on to earn a doctorate. Someone who refused to give an inch on basic respect. I think the Brits in charge of production, who did the US portions in California with DC projected on screens behind, would have been amused. The savior of the world, with this huge blot.<br /><br />Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.