Arthur Wontner started his onscreen career as Holmes in 1931 with The Sleeping Cardinal which was followed by The Missing Rembrandt (unfortunately a lost film) a year later and then this one, also in 1932. And compared to The Sleeping Cardinal it couldn't be more different. That one was a very simple, yet effective movie, obviously made with a rather moderate budget, filmed mostly indoors, while this one is a pretty high-scale and action packed production, with several scenes shot on location and actually it often closer to an action movie, than your average murder mystery. Especially during its showdown which features a high-speed boat chase and a fight scene in a warehouse with surprisingly liquid overhead shots.
But the bigger budget and it being a lot more action-packed does not necessarily mean that it is better as well. While it is certainly fun to watch, the movie kind of falls apart at places and I sometimes had the feeling that the production team was often more concerned with the action than the plot and while Holmes warns not to jump to conclusions, he does just that at some occasions.
Wontner's resemblance to the original depiction of Holmes is still uncanny, but due to the script's flaws he cannot shine as much as in the earlier film, however instead of a strong lead we have a strong villain this time with Graham Soutten stealing the show playing Jonathan Small a one-legged heavy who escaped from prison to track down a treasure, which ultimately brings him face to face with Holmes.
But the bigger budget and it being a lot more action-packed does not necessarily mean that it is better as well. While it is certainly fun to watch, the movie kind of falls apart at places and I sometimes had the feeling that the production team was often more concerned with the action than the plot and while Holmes warns not to jump to conclusions, he does just that at some occasions.
Wontner's resemblance to the original depiction of Holmes is still uncanny, but due to the script's flaws he cannot shine as much as in the earlier film, however instead of a strong lead we have a strong villain this time with Graham Soutten stealing the show playing Jonathan Small a one-legged heavy who escaped from prison to track down a treasure, which ultimately brings him face to face with Holmes.