For at least two thirds of the way, this film plays more like a turkey than a triumph; the direction is static and there are incredibly long flashbacks where the narrator does not even appear in most of the events she is recounting, while Sherlock Holmes becomes a guest star in his own movie. But, in the last third, the film regains its footing with a couple of smart twists which prove that all those flashbacks served a purpose after all. Not to say much more, so that I won't spoil it for you, but this mystery uses a narrative technique that is most unusual for its time and didn't enter the "mainstream" for at least 15 more years, when a much more famous director employed it. Arthur Wontner is a very pleasurable Holmes, but like his other films, the print itself is pretty poor. **1/2 out of 4.