Triumph of Sherlock Holmes Reviews

Faithfully adapted from the Arthur Conan Doyle novel The Valley of Fear, this entry in the British Sherlock Holmes series starring Arthur Wontner has the famous detective at the beginning of his retirement. Before leaving for his bee farm in Sussex, Holmes is paid a visit by his nemesis Professor Moriarty (Harding) and warned not to come out of retirement, or else. Of course Holmes ignores Moriarty's threat after he comes to suspect the villain is responsible for the death of a former American Pinkerton agent (Perrins) who had moved to the British countryside to escape a vengeful gangster (Welden). Arthur Wontner, who knew Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and had received the author's stamp of approval, was heralded as the definitive Sherlock Holmes in the early 1930s. His physical resemblance to the character was remarkable, and the actor enthusiastically played Holmes in five popular films. Although in a few years Basil Rathbone would come along and claim the role for himself, Holmes buffs consider Wontner's portrayal equal, if not superior, to Rathbone's.