"The Sleeping Cardinal"{1931} with Arthur Wontner playing the part of Sherlock Holmes was long thought lost and has only recently been found. When we think of Sherlock Holmes in film, most likely either Basil Rathbone or Jeremy Brett come immediately to mind. I find the latter gives the character an excessive nervous, edgy quality. It is true that Doyle in the early stories had Holmes taking cocaine, but it is never given any consistent emphasis and one must remember that opium use (via Laudanum} was common in the Victorian era.
Rathbone's Holmes has great energy and there is little doubt that he has created the image of the detective that remains a cinematic icon. But much of Rathbone's performance depends on his character sparking off against the ludicrous parody of Dr Watson as played by Nigel Bruce.
I found Arthur Wontner very satisfying in the role. Wontner lacks the sheer physical exuberance we admire in Rathbone but he conveys the character's whimsical brilliance better than anyone else. While considerable liberties are taken with the Doyle stories upon which this film is based, it is still recognisably Doyle--something not always the case with the Rathbone series.
Ian Fleming created a believable and sympathetic Watson. {One must wait until Andre Morell in the neglected 1959 version of "The Hound of the Baskervilles" to find a performance equally good.} Fleming gives us the Watson as conceived by Doyle--a loyal, intelligent, courageous friend--not an absurd buffoon.
I'm not saying that this film is a masterpiece by any means! The print I saw was not the best quality, to put it charitably. One felt that there was a serious lack of good, interesting cinematic techniques. It could very well have been presented as it was shown on a stage. Many of the supporting roles were quite ordinary.
But still this film is worth viewing to see a performance of Sherlock Holmes that rings true.
Other films in which Wontner played the role are all in the Public Domain and available on the Internet Archive site.
Rathbone's Holmes has great energy and there is little doubt that he has created the image of the detective that remains a cinematic icon. But much of Rathbone's performance depends on his character sparking off against the ludicrous parody of Dr Watson as played by Nigel Bruce.
I found Arthur Wontner very satisfying in the role. Wontner lacks the sheer physical exuberance we admire in Rathbone but he conveys the character's whimsical brilliance better than anyone else. While considerable liberties are taken with the Doyle stories upon which this film is based, it is still recognisably Doyle--something not always the case with the Rathbone series.
Ian Fleming created a believable and sympathetic Watson. {One must wait until Andre Morell in the neglected 1959 version of "The Hound of the Baskervilles" to find a performance equally good.} Fleming gives us the Watson as conceived by Doyle--a loyal, intelligent, courageous friend--not an absurd buffoon.
I'm not saying that this film is a masterpiece by any means! The print I saw was not the best quality, to put it charitably. One felt that there was a serious lack of good, interesting cinematic techniques. It could very well have been presented as it was shown on a stage. Many of the supporting roles were quite ordinary.
But still this film is worth viewing to see a performance of Sherlock Holmes that rings true.
Other films in which Wontner played the role are all in the Public Domain and available on the Internet Archive site.