Arthur Wontner
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arthur Wontner (21 January 1875 – 10 July 1960) was a British actor best known for playing Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's master detective Sherlock Holmes in five films from 1931 to 1937. These films are:
The Sleeping Cardinal (1931) (US title: Sherlock Holmes' Fatal Hour) based on Doyle's two stories, "The Adventure of the Empty House" and "The Final Problem"
The Missing Rembrandt (1932) (still considered lost) based on "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton"
The Sign of Four: Sherlock Holmes' Greatest Case (1932)
The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes (1935) based on The Valley of Fear
Silver Blaze (1937) (US title:Murder at the Baskervilles, release 1941) based on "Silver Blaze"
Reportedly, Wontner landed the role of Sherlock Holmes thanks to his performance of Holmes imitation Sexton Blake in a 1930 stage production.
Of all Wontner's films as Sherlock Holmes, The Missing Rembrandt is no longer available. It is officially a lost film. It is possible to obtain all of the others.
Silver Blaze was renamed Murder at the Baskervilles on its US release in order to make the most of the publicity which had been generated by Basil Rathbone's version of The Hound of the Baskervilles. In many respects Wontner's film can be seen as a sequel as it is set twenty years after the events of the more famous story.
Wontner's son became the well-known hotelier and Lord Mayor of London Sir Hugh Wontner.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Arthur Wontner,licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
| Known For | Acting |
|---|---|
| Most Rating | 0.5195 |
| Birthday | 1875-01-21 |
| Place of Birth | London, England, UK |
| Also Known As |
1943
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
7.444/269
General Candy, who's overseeing an English squad in 1943, is a veteran leader who doesn't have the respect of the men he's training and is considered...
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The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
1932
The Sign of Four: Sherlock Holmes' Greatest Case
4.767/15
A young woman turns to Holmes for protection when she's menaced by an escaped killer seeking missing treasure. However, when the woman is kidnapped, H...
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The Sign of Four: Sherlock Holmes' Greatest Case
1953
Genevieve
6.696/51
Two friends driving in the London to Brighton vintage car rally bet on which of them will be the first to arrive back home.
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Genevieve
1937
Silver Blaze
5.75/18
Holmes takes a vacation and visits his old friend Sir Henry Baskerville. His vacation ends when he suddenly finds himself in the middle of a double-mu...
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Silver Blaze
1935
The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes
5.385/26
Holmes, retired to Sussex, is drawn into a last case when his arch enemy Moriarty arranges with an American gang to kill one John Douglas, a country g...
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The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes
1938
The Terror
6.5/8
For ten years, The Terror has laughed at both police and public. And for ten years, two of his erstwhile associates, Joe Conner and 'Soapy' Marks, hav...
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The Terror
1931
The Sleeping Cardinal
5.5/16
A card cheat is threatened with exposure into joining a criminal enterprise that Sherlock Holmes believes is controlled by Professor Moriarity.
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The Sleeping Cardinal
1916
Lady Windermere's Fan
7.5/2
Early silent version of the Oscar Wilde play.
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Lady Windermere's Fan
1938
Kate Plus Ten
8.333/3
Kate is secretary to Lord Flamborough. But she is also leader of a criminal gang. Can Mike Pemberton catch her red-handed?
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Kate Plus Ten
1948
Pygmalion
7/1
Can Professor Higgins transform flower-girl Eliza Dolittle into a great lady?
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Pygmalion
1936
Dishonour Bright
6.5/2
A man is cited as the co-respondent in a divorce case, but is cheerfully unashamed when he appears in court.
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Dishonour Bright
1932
Condemned to Death
7/1
A condemned man uses hypnotism on a judge. After the man's death, the judge finds himself acting like the condemned man.
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Condemned to Death
1949
Ten Little Indians
9/1
Ten people are invited to a summer party on an island oft the Devon coast. They are an extremely varied group from a blustering major to a frigid spin...
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Ten Little Indians
1953
Sea Devils
5.867/30
Gilliatt, a fisherman-turned-smuggler on the isle of Guernsey, agrees to transport a beautiful woman to the French coast in the year 1800. She tells h...
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Sea Devils
1923
Bonnie Prince Charlie
10/1
In the Jacobite Rising of 1745, the Young Pretender Bonnie Prince Charlie leads an insurrection to overthrow the Protestant House of Hanover and resto...
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Bonnie Prince Charlie
1924
The Diamond Man
8/1
Orphan, Audrey Bedford takes the blame for her half- sister's gem theft and later exposes her employer as her crooked husband.
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The Diamond Man
1924
Eugene Aram
9/1
A blackmailed ex-thief is executed for a murder he didn't commit.
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Eugene Aram
1931
A Gentleman of Paris
4.25/4
A prominent Parisian judge is a witness to a murder while he is at a rendezvous with his mistress. A woman is arrested for the crime and brought befor...
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A Gentleman of Paris
1932
The Missing Rembrandt
7/1
Holmes goes on the trail of a Rembrandt painting, stolen by a drug-addicted artist.
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The Missing Rembrandt
1985
The Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes
8.5/4
This documentary examines the making of the Sherlock Holmes cinematic dynasty and includes interviews and archival film clips featuring the original c...
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The Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes
1937
Storm in a Teacup
7.435/31
A local politician in Scotland tries to break the reporter who wrote a negative story about him, and who is also in love with his daughter.
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Storm in a Teacup
1948
Blanche Fury
6.16/25
Penniless governess Blanche Fullerton takes a job at the estate of her rich relations, the Fury family. To better her position in life, Blanche marrie...
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Blanche Fury
1937
Thunder in the City
6/6
A visiting American engages in a bold business promotion, the likes of which the British have not seen.
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Thunder in the City
1952
Brandy for the Parson
6.5/8
A young couple get involved with a smuggler
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Brandy for the Parson
1950
The Elusive Pimpernel
6/10
Foppish Sir Percy Blakeney, who secretly leads a double life as the daring rescuer of French aristocrats from the guillotine during the French Revolut...
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The Elusive Pimpernel
1916
The Bigamist
10/1
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The Bigamist
Temptation's Hour
10/1
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Temptation's Hour
1938
The Live Wire
8/1
Two professors who hire a sailor to lead them on a treasure hunt, and they soon find themselves in a dangerous situation involving pirates. The sailor...
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