Silver Blaze (1937 film)
| Silver Blaze | |
|---|---|
.jpg) U.S. poster | |
| Directed by | Thomas Bentley |
| Produced by | Julius Hagen |
| Written by |
Arthur Conan Doyle (story "Silver Blaze") H. Fowler Mear (adaptation) Arthur Macrae |
| Starring |
Arthur Wontner Ian Fleming |
| Cinematography |
Sydney Blythe William Luff |
| Edited by |
Michael C. Chorlton Alan Smith |
Release dates | July 1937 |
Running time |
71 minutes USA: 65 minutes (TCM print) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Silver Blaze is a 1937 British, black-and-white crime and mystery film, based loosely on Arthur Conan Doyle's short story "Silver Blaze". It was directed by Thomas Bentley, and was produced by Twickenham Film Studios Productions. It starred Arthur Wontner as Sherlock Holmes, Ian Fleming as Dr. Watson and Ronald Shiner (uncredited) as Simpson the Stable Boy/Jockey .[1] In the USA the film was released in 1941 by Astor Pictures, where it was also known as Murder at the Baskervilles, retitled by distributors to capitalize on the success of the Basil Rathbone Holmes film, The Hound of the Baskervilles.[2]
Synopsis
Sherlock Holmes takes a holiday by visiting his old friend, Sir Henry Baskerville (Lawrence Grossmith). Holmes' vacation ends when he and Watson suddenly find themselves in the middle of a double-murder mystery; they must find Professor Robert Moriarty (Lyn Harding) and Silver Blaze before the horse race, and bring the criminals to justice. Neither Moriarty nor Baskerville appear in the original story.
Like all of the films featuring Wontner as Holmes, Silver Blaze is set in contemporary (e.g. 1930's) times. Indeed, at one point, during an automobile chase, Holmes, Watson, and the local Chief Constable are attacked, gangland-style, by a Tommy-gun-armed Col. Moran.
Cast
- Arthur Wontner as Sherlock Holmes
- Ian Fleming as Dr. Watson
- Lyn Harding as Professor Moriarty
- John Turnbull as Inspector Lestrade
- Robert Horton as Col. Ross
- Lawrence Grossmith as Sir Henry Baskerville
- Judy Gunn as Diana Baskerville
- Arthur Macrae as Jack Trevor
- Arthur Goullet as Col. Sebastian Moran
- Martin Walker as James Straker
- Eve Gray as Mrs. Mary Straker
- Gilbert Davis as Miles Stanford
- Minnie Rayner as Mrs. Hudson
- D. J. Williams as Silas Brown
- Ralph Truman as Bert Prince
- Ronald Shiner as Simpson the Stable Boy / Jockey (uncredited)
Critical reception
TV Guide wrote that the film "suffers from too slight a plot stretched out to feature length. Wontner is good in his final portrayal of the great detective, and the film does have some interesting moments; but on the whole this is lackluster Holmes, an all too elementary case." [3]
References
- ↑ "Silver Blaze". BFI.
- ↑ "Murder At The Baskervilles". TV Guide.
- ↑ "Murder At The Baskervilles". TV Guide.
External links
- Silver Blaze at AllMovie
- Silver Blaze at the British Film Institute's Film and TV Database
- Silver Blaze at the Internet Movie Database
- Silver Blaze is available for free download at the Internet Archive
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