Small House of Everything

Small House of Everything

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

OVERLOOKED MOVIE: SHERLOCK HOLMES' FATAL HOUR (1931)

Based in part on the Sherlock Holmes stories "The Final Problem" and "The Empty House," this movie was believed to be lost after the only known print went issing in 1955.  The film shown below is an amalgam of two partial prints of differing quality.

The film was adapted by Cyril Twyford, who also wrote two other Sherlock Holmes stories for the production company (and possibly a fourth, which has been completely to time) and two films based on classic mysteries by A. E. W. Mason in the early Thirties.

Sherlock Holmes' Fatal Hour was produced by Julius Hagen Productions, which operated under six fifferent names from 1927 to 1938, producing a total of 61 mostly forgettable films.  Helming the film was Leslie S. Hiscott, notable for directing second tier and "quota quickie" films; his most lasting contribution to the British film industry was in co-founding Twickenham Films Studios.

The cast included a Who's That? of British actors including Arthur Wontner as Sherlock, Ian Fleming (no, not him; in fact this Ian is credited as Jan Fleming in this movie), Minnie Raynor as Mrs. Hudson, Normaan McKinel as Moriarty, Louis Goodrich as Sebastion Moran, and Philip Hewland as Lestrade.

Enjoy this oft-overlooked adenture of the World's Greatest Detective.

https://archive.org/details/TheSleepingCardinal

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