''The Valley of Fear'' is a British silent adventure film of 1916 directed by

Alexander Butler Alexander Butler was a British film director who made over sixty features and short films during the 1910s and 1920s including many for G. B. Samuelson's production company. Butler directed several British films in Hollywood in 1920, where Samuel ...

and starring

Harry Arthur Saintsbury Harry Arthur Saintsbury, usually called H. A. Saintsbury (18 December 1869 – 19 June 1939), was an English actor and playwright. A leading man, he became well known for his stage interpretation of Sherlock Holmes, was an early mentor of Charli ...

Daisy Burrell Daisy Burrell (born Daisy Isobel Eaglesfield Ratton; 16 June 1892 – 10 June 1982) was a British stage actress and Edwardian musical comedy performer who also appeared as a leading lady in silent films and in pantomime. In 1951 she appeared i ...

and Booth Conway. The film is an adaptation of the 1915 novel, ''

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 ...

'' by Arthur Conan Doyle featuring Sherlock Holmes. This is now considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing char ...

Production

After the success of ''

A Study in Scarlet ''A Study in Scarlet'' is an 1887 detective novel by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle. The story marks the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, who would become the most famous detective duo in literature. The book's title der ...

'' in 1914, producer

G. B. Samuelson George Berthold Samuelson (6 July 1889 – 17 April 1947) was a director and film producer. Born in Southport, Lancashire, Samuelson was the youngest son of Henschel and Bertha Samuelson, tobacconists originally from Prussia. By 1891, his mother ...

decided to make another feature-length adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. French company Eclair owned the cinematic rights to Conan Doyle's stories up to 1912 which left only one full length story available, ''The Valley of Fear'' While James Bragington was considered a virtual doppelgänger of Sherlock Holmes in ''A Study in Scarlet'', the role in ''The Valley of Fear'' required more from an actor so H.A. Saintsbury was cast instead. Saintsbury had played the role onstage more than any other actor, over 1,000 times in both

William Gillette William Hooker Gillette (July 24, 1853 – April 29, 1937) was an American actor-manager, playwright, and stage-manager in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is best remembered for portraying Sherlock Holmes on stage and in a 1916 ...

's '' Sherlock Holmes'' as well as Conan Doyle's '' The Speckled Band''. Arthur Cullin was cast as Watson, a role he would repeat seven years later in 1923's ''

The Sign of the Four ''The Sign of the Four'' (1890), also called ''The Sign of Four'', is the second novel featuring Sherlock Holmes by British writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle wrote four novels and 56 short stories featuring the fictional detective. Plot ...

'' opposite

Eille Norwood Eille Norwood (born Anthony Edward Brett; 11 October 1861 – 24 December 1948) was an English stage actor, director, and playwright best known today for playing Sherlock Holmes in a series of silent films. Early life He was born 11 October 18 ...

as Holmes.

Cast

- Sherlock Holmes *

- Ettie Shafter * Booth Conway - Professor Moriarty * Jack McCauley - McGinty * Cecil Mannering - John McMurdo * Arthur M. Cullin -

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 ...

* Lionel d'Aragon - Captain Marvin * Bernard Vaughan - Shafter * Jack Clare - Ted Baldwin

References

External links

*
''The Valley of Fear'' at SilentEra
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valley of Fear (1916 film) 1916 films 1916 adventure films 1916 lost films British adventure films British black-and-white films British detective films British silent feature films 1910s English-language films Films based on mystery novels Films directed by Alexander Butler Films set in England Lost adventure films Lost British films Sherlock Holmes films based on works by Arthur Conan Doyle Silent adventure films 1910s British films Silent mystery films Silent thriller films

Production

Cast

See also

References

External links