In the 1930s, Arthur Wontner made several well-made Sherlock Holmes stories. Unlike the others I have seen, however, THE SLEEPING CARDINAL is not based on a Conan Doyle tale but was created for this film. In addition, this movie makes quite a few references to contemporary things—things you would not have heard about in the original stories (such as cars and the German Reichstag).
The story begins with a young well-to-do man doing extremely well at Bridge. In fact, in recent months, he's been unbeatable. In light of this AND that the man had been on the brink of bankruptcy before this leads many to think he must be cheating but how? When the means of cheating IS discovered by the evil Moriarty, he wants to use this man's position at the Foreign Office to do some "bad things"—and he will blackmail the card cheat into doing his bidding. The man's nice sister, incidentally, has contacted Holmes with her concerns—though she is not yet aware of the blackmail attempt. When this man is later found dead, Holmes announces that he was murdered—though the evidence seems to clearly indicate that he killed himself.
While I am a Sherlock Holmes purist and this is NOT an original tale, I appreciated this film quite a bit. Sure, Inspector Lestrade was only a minor character in a small number of Holmes stories and Moriarty was actually killed at Whisteria Falls in the Conan Doyle stories, but the spirit of the stories is intact here—much more so than in most of the Basil Rathbone versions of Sherlock Holmes. The way he deduces, the character of Watson and the entire style of the film fits very nicely into the Holmes cannon. Worth seeing and a very interesting tale—showing Wontner was quite capable in this role.
By the way, the Ian Fleming in this film who played Watson is NOT the same man who wrote the James Bond stories—though they share the same name.
The story begins with a young well-to-do man doing extremely well at Bridge. In fact, in recent months, he's been unbeatable. In light of this AND that the man had been on the brink of bankruptcy before this leads many to think he must be cheating but how? When the means of cheating IS discovered by the evil Moriarty, he wants to use this man's position at the Foreign Office to do some "bad things"—and he will blackmail the card cheat into doing his bidding. The man's nice sister, incidentally, has contacted Holmes with her concerns—though she is not yet aware of the blackmail attempt. When this man is later found dead, Holmes announces that he was murdered—though the evidence seems to clearly indicate that he killed himself.
While I am a Sherlock Holmes purist and this is NOT an original tale, I appreciated this film quite a bit. Sure, Inspector Lestrade was only a minor character in a small number of Holmes stories and Moriarty was actually killed at Whisteria Falls in the Conan Doyle stories, but the spirit of the stories is intact here—much more so than in most of the Basil Rathbone versions of Sherlock Holmes. The way he deduces, the character of Watson and the entire style of the film fits very nicely into the Holmes cannon. Worth seeing and a very interesting tale—showing Wontner was quite capable in this role.
By the way, the Ian Fleming in this film who played Watson is NOT the same man who wrote the James Bond stories—though they share the same name.