The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes is a fairly watchable outing for the intrepid detective, predating Basil Rathbone by some 4 years. One of the most unfortunate things about this film is that it was shot on a low budget in the UK, which means that modern-day prints are pretty terrible looking: sound you can't hear half of, crackling all the while, fuzzy-looking picture. If you can put these flaws aside and view the film for what it was at the time it was made, I think you'll be impressed, as this is one of the most literate, engaging, well-scripted and loyal Holmes movies out there.
It's also very static and stagy, which loses it points, but then this is to be expected in the mid-1930s; it wasn't until Rathbone's entrance as the famous detective that Holmes became an adventurer, a fighting hero. Here he's more inclined to sit back and examine a few clues, but then this is in the spirit of the book.
The film does have some other flaws, mainly in the plotting. The inclusion of arch-villain Moriarty seems to be an instance of 'over egging the cake' because he really does feel extraneous to the story here. He adds an extra twenty minutes to the running time, which is why, I guess, they put him in. There's also a lengthy sub-plot set in America, which isn't very interesting – at least until the twist. In fact, the only thing that kept me watching during this mid section of the film was the presence of Roy Emerton, playing 'Boss' McGinty – this huge, scarred British character actor is absolutely fantastic, I couldn't take my eyes off him. What a scary, imposing presence he has – it's a shame he never made it bigger than he did.
There's some more great casting in the central pairing of Arthur Wontner as Holmes and Ian Fleming (not the author) as Watson. These guys are exactly how you imagine them in the stories, and Wontner even closely resembles the original illustrations of Holmes in the Strand magazine. They're great actors to boot, with Fleming adding comedy (although not overdone) as Watson and Wontner ably catching Holmes' edgy, brainy appeal. I wish the mystery had given the duo a little more to do – a little more to get their teeth into, perhaps – but they really do make the film stand out. The same actors paired up for a half dozen or so Holmes outings and, on the strength of this, they're worth tracking down for fans of the big man.
It's also very static and stagy, which loses it points, but then this is to be expected in the mid-1930s; it wasn't until Rathbone's entrance as the famous detective that Holmes became an adventurer, a fighting hero. Here he's more inclined to sit back and examine a few clues, but then this is in the spirit of the book.
The film does have some other flaws, mainly in the plotting. The inclusion of arch-villain Moriarty seems to be an instance of 'over egging the cake' because he really does feel extraneous to the story here. He adds an extra twenty minutes to the running time, which is why, I guess, they put him in. There's also a lengthy sub-plot set in America, which isn't very interesting – at least until the twist. In fact, the only thing that kept me watching during this mid section of the film was the presence of Roy Emerton, playing 'Boss' McGinty – this huge, scarred British character actor is absolutely fantastic, I couldn't take my eyes off him. What a scary, imposing presence he has – it's a shame he never made it bigger than he did.
There's some more great casting in the central pairing of Arthur Wontner as Holmes and Ian Fleming (not the author) as Watson. These guys are exactly how you imagine them in the stories, and Wontner even closely resembles the original illustrations of Holmes in the Strand magazine. They're great actors to boot, with Fleming adding comedy (although not overdone) as Watson and Wontner ably catching Holmes' edgy, brainy appeal. I wish the mystery had given the duo a little more to do – a little more to get their teeth into, perhaps – but they really do make the film stand out. The same actors paired up for a half dozen or so Holmes outings and, on the strength of this, they're worth tracking down for fans of the big man.