Sherlock Holmes is a film series running from 1931 to 1937.

Arthur Wontner Arthur Wontner (21 January 1875 – 10 July 1960) was a British actor best known for playing Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's master detective Sherlock Holmes in five films from 1931 to 1937. Career Wontner's acting career began on the stage where h ...

portrayed

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

in five films.

Production

Having been told he resembled Doyle's creation for years, Wontner was finally cast in the role for ''

The Sleeping Cardinal ''The Sleeping Cardinal'', also known as ''Sherlock Holmes' Fatal Hour'' in the United States, is a 1931 British mystery film directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and starring Arthur Wontner and Ian Fleming. The film is an adaptation of the Sherlock H ...

'' in 1931. Wontner was noticed after portraying

Sexton Blake Sexton Blake is a fictional character, a detective who has been featured in many British comic strips, novels and dramatic productions since 1893. Sexton Blake adventures were featured in a wide variety of British and international publications ...

at the Prince Edward Theater in 1930. Wonter was fifty-six when he began portraying Holmes and was forced to wear a

toupée A toupée ( ) is a hairpiece or partial wig of natural or synthetic hair worn to cover partial baldness or for theatrical purposes. While toupées and hairpieces are typically associated with male wearers, some women also use hairpieces to len ...

in the first three films to hide his bald spot. Holmes in the novels had retired at age fifty and as such, Wontner was technically too old for the part. Produced by

Twickenham Studios Twickenham Studios (formerly known as Twickenham Film Studios) is a film studio in St Margarets, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, that is used by various motion picture and television companies. It was established in 1913 by Ralph ...

, ''

'' was loosely based on "

The Adventure of the Empty House "The Adventure of the Empty House", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 13 stories in the cycle collected as '' The Return of Sherlock Holmes''. It was first published in '' Collier's'' in ...

" with the noticeable change that in the film version, Ronald Adair is a card cheat. Wontner was joined by

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., a ...

Doctor Watson John H. Watson, known as Dr. Watson, is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). The last work by Doyle fe ...

and

Philip Hewland Philip Hewland (12 December 1876, Gravesend, Kent, England – 1953, Ealing, London) was a British actor. He had one son Ivor and a granddaughter Domini. Selected filmography * '' The Christian'' (1915) * '' His Daughter's Dilemma'' (1916) * ''Ar ...

Inspector Lestrade Detective Inspector G. Lestrade, or Mr. Lestrade ( or ), is a fictional character appearing in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Lestrade's first appearance was in the first Sherlock Holmes story, the novel '' ...

. ''

'' was well received so producer Julies Hagen rushed a second film into production. ''

The Missing Rembrandt ''The Missing Rembrandt'' is a 1932 British mystery film directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and starring Arthur Wontner, Jane Welsh, Miles Mander, and Francis L. Sullivan. It is considered a lost film. The film was loosely based on the 1904 Sherloc ...

'' reunited director

Leslie S. Hiscott Leslie Stephenson Hiscott (25 July 18943 May 1968) was an English film director and screenwriter who made over sixty films between 1925 and 1956. He was born in London in 1894. He directed ''Alibi'' (1931), the first ever depiction of Hercule ...

with Wontner, Fleming, and Hewland and was released in 1932.

Norman McKinnel Norman McKinnel (10 February 1870 – 29 March 1932) was a Scottish stage and film actor and playwright, active from the 1890s until his death. He appeared in many stage roles in the UK and overseas as well as featuring in a number of films, ...

joined the cast as

Professor Moriarty Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and criminal mastermind created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to be a formidable enemy for the author's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. He was created primarily as a device by which Doyle could ...

. Loosely based on "

The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton" is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It was originally published in ''Collier's'' in the United States on 26 March 1904, and in ''The Strand Magazine'' in ...

", the film altered the story converting a blackmailer to an art dealer. ''The Missing Rembrandt'' is now considered a lost film. With the second film another success, Associated Radio Pictures lured Wontner to their studio to make '' The Sign of Four: Sherlock Holmes' Greatest Case'' which was produced and released later the same year. For this film, Fleming was replaced by younger actor Ian Hunter to better facilitate the storyline of Watson's wooing of

Mary Morstan This article describes minor characters from the ''Sherlock Holmes'' stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and from non-canonical derived works. The list excludes the titular character as well as Dr. Watson, Professor Moriarty, Inspector Lestrade, M ...

. In 1935, Wontner returned to the role for ''

The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes ''The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes'' is a 1935 British mystery film directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and starring Arthur Wontner. It was based on the 1915 Sherlock Holmes novel '' The Valley of Fear'' by Arthur Conan Doyle. It is the fourth film ...

''. For this film, Wontner jettisoned the toupée and Ian Fleming returned to the role of Dr. Watson.

Lyn Harding David Llewellyn Harding (12 October 1867 – 26 December 1952), known professionally as Lyn Harding, was a Welsh actor who spent 40 years on the stage before entering British made silent films, talkies and radio. He had an imposing and menac ...

took over the role of Professor Moriarty from Norman McKinnel, and

Charles Mortimer Charles Mortimer (1885–1964) was a British actor. Son of Charles Neil Mortimer - actor. Husband of Greta Wood - actress. Filmography * ''Watch Beverly'' (1932) (film debut) * '' You Made Me Love You'' (1933) * ''Sometimes Good'' (1934) * ' ...

took over the role of Inspector Lestrade from Philip Hewland. Wonter's age, fifty-nine by this time, was too difficult to hide so Holmes is on the verge of retiring. The film is a very accurate adaptation of ''

The Valley of Fear ''The Valley of Fear'' is the fourth and final Sherlock Holmes novel by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle. It is loosely based on the Molly Maguires and Pinkerton agent James McParland. The story was first published in the ''Strand Magazine ...

''. The film received rave reviews which would lead to one final film. In 1937, Wontner's final Holmes film, '' Silver Blaze'', was released in Britain. Ian Fleming returned for a final turn at Dr. Watson, as did Lyn Harding as Moriarty while John Turnbull became the third actor to play Inspector Lestrade. The production was far less faithful than previous films, injecting Sir Henry Baskerville from ''

The Hound of the Baskervilles ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' is the third of the four crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in ''The Strand Magazine'' from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set i ...

'' into this adaptation of "

The Adventure of Silver Blaze "The Adventure of Silver Blaze", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is the first from the 12 in the cycle collected as '' The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes''. It was first published in ''The Strand Magaz ...

". The film wasn't released in the U.S. until 1941 by which time it had undergone a retitle to ''Murder at the Baskervilles''.

Main cast

Films

Reception

Lionel Collier wrote in ''

Picturegoer ''Picturegoer'' was a fan magazine published in the United Kingdom between 1911 and 23 April 1960. Background The magazine was started in 1911 under the name ''The Pictures'' and in 1914 it merged with ''Picturegoer''. Following the merge it was ...

'', "Arthur Wontner is a perfect Sherlock Holmes."

Vincent Starrett Charles Vincent Emerson Starrett (; October 26, 1886 – January 5, 1974), known as Vincent Starrett, was a Canadian-born American writer, newspaperman, and bibliophile. Biography Charles Vincent Emerson Starrett was born above his grandfathe ...

, one of the founders of the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

chapter of the

Baker Street Irregulars The Baker Street Irregulars are fictional characters who appear in three Sherlock Holmes stories, specifically two novels and one short story, by Arthur Conan Doyle. They are street boys who are employed by Holmes as intelligence agents. The na ...

, said of Wontner's performance as Holmes, "Surely no better Sherlock Holmes than Arthur Wontner is likely to be seen and heard in pictures, in our time."

Wontner on radio

Wontner's final performance as Sherlock Holmes was in a 1943

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Production

Main cast

Films

Reception

Wontner on radio

References

External links