The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes

Leslie S. Hiscott (1894 - 1968) made over 60 films between 1925 and 1956 and was best known for mystery films based on famous literary detectives. His film Alibi (1931) provided the first cinematic depiction of Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie's Belgian detective. Before that, Hiscott released The House of Arrow (1930), a quota quickie based on A. E. W. Mason's book of same title showcasing the talents of Inspector Hanaud - a character who had an influence on Christie's Poirot and first appeared in Mason's 1910 detective novel At the Villa Rose. While perhaps all great detectives can trace their chain of influence back to Auguste Dupin in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", it is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who truly set the high bar for detective characters when he put pen to paper in 1886 to create Sherlock Holmes. Hiscott adopted Holmes to the screen three times, starting with Sherlock Holmes' Fatal Hour (1931), then Sherlock Holmes and the Missing Rembrandt (1932) and finally The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes (1935). The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes was based on The Valley of Fear, Doyle's fourth and final novel to feature the famous detective - here played by Arthur Wontner. There are hundreds of movies, television and radio shows that have tackled Sherlock Holmes throughout the years, although several of those adaptations have little to do with Doyle's original canon of four novels and 56 short stories. Which is not to say that working directly from source material prevents a director from taking liberties, as Hiscott did when he updated the setting of The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes to the 1930's. This small conceit allows all five films in which Wontner plays Holmes to stay in a contemporary setting for the time of its production. The disadvantage is that Doyle's story, originally serialized in 1914 and published as a book in 1915, is based on a real-life incident that occurred in the 1870s when James McParland, a Pinkerton agent, infiltrated the Molly Maguires, a secret society who lost 20 members to execution after being accused of murder and other crimes. Putting aside slight fudges to Doyle's original timeline, any fan of Sherlock Holmes will be on familiar ground. The story starts off with Professor Moriarty (Lyn Harding) paying Holmes a visit to voice his satisfaction at hearing that Holmes is going to retire. Moriarty wastes no time planning his next crime. Holmes is barely able to enjoy some light repartee with Dr. Watson (played by Ian Fleming, no relation to the James Bond author) before being informed of a murder at a nearby castle. Aside from a prolonged flashback that encapsulates the entire second act and is provided by the wife of the deceased (played by Jane Carr) it's up to Holmes and his meticulous deductive abilities to scour the crime scene for clues to solve the mystery. An original review in the August 31, 1935 issue of Picture Show praises Wontner for his "quiet confidence." The succinct review ends with the following three sentences: "Ian Fleming handles the part of Dr. Watson quite well. Lyn Harding as the sinister Dr. Moriarty is good, and Jane Carr as Ettie is attractive. Entertaining picture." It's interesting to note how this particular review from 84 years ago would not run afoul of the character limit imposed by one Twitter post today, although it certainly would run afoul of a more progressive gender evaluation. By latter measure, Dr. Watson is certainly guilty of a wandering eye when it comes to Ettie. When he asks Holmes whether he noticed what "a strikingly pretty woman" she is, Holmes--who clearly knows better than to judge a book by its cover--replies: "My dear Watson, I never allow my judgment to be biased by personal qualities. I can assure you that the most winning woman I ever knew was hanged for poisoning three little children for their insurance money." By Pablo Kjolseth