The two Sherlock Holmes movies starring
Arthur Wortner and Ian Hunter/Ian Flemming!

SHERLOCK HOLMES DOUBLE FEATURE SET

SIGN OF FOUR(1932):

It is unfortunate that the picture quality is
so poor on this, as it probably was a great
movie in its time! The sound quality also suffers
doubly, as not only is it muffled, but the Brittish
accents are so thick in parts that it's nigh on
to impossible to understand! That all being said,
this was an interesting movie with Arthur Wontner
doing a good job as Holmes, though certainly not
of the caliber of Basil Rathbone! And, honestly,
Ian Hunter does a bang up job as Watson! Not
a bad movie, you just need to really pay
attention throughout so as not to get lost!! C+

From an Amazon.com customer:

The best of Arthur Wontner's Sherlock Holmes
films, much of the credit for The Sign of Four
is due to Graham Cutts' strong direction and
some imaginative cinematography by William
Luff and Alan Smith making much atmospheric
use of overhead tracking shots. Ian Hunter's
Watson is something of a liability, though:
closer to Doyle's original vision of the character,
he overdoes the interest in the opposite sex
something rotten, turning into a virtual walking
erection every time the leading lady appears,
lasciviously rubbing his hands when he sits near
her like a drooling melodrama villain. Amazingly,
this technique actually works, as the foolish girl
ends up marrying him. Perhaps she didn't get
out much. Maybe I should try out the Watson
technique myself...

One curious note is the villain's decision to
disguise his henchman Roy Emerton by covering
him in tattoos - not much use when he wears a
suit for the rest of the film. Sadly the public
domain DVD takes a bit of effort: although decent
prints do exist on UK TV, every expense has been
spared for this Region 1 NTSC DVD release, so
don't be surprised if you have to rewind to catch
the odd line of dialogue thanks to a noisy
soundtrack. - Trevor Willsmer

A much better transfer on this!! Sound and
picture are both great. This one moves along
at a quick pace, and is quite engaging! Great
acting, great plot, and being set in a horse
race venue is wonderful! Ian Fleming(not of
James Bond fame!) plays Dr. Watson this time
doing a fine job! Well worth the price of the dvd! B

From an Amazon.com customer:

One of the saddest things about old films
that are not in good shape is that a lot of
quality performances tend to not get the
recognition that they deserve. An excellent
example of this is the movie SilverBlaze
staring Arthur Wontner in his final of 5
films as Sherlock Holmes.

Wontner plays an excellent Holmes with
a pacing and a demeanor that simply
shouts Victorian/Edwardian. It is not so
much a "better" Holmes than Basil Rathbone
but a "different" one. The same can not be
said concerning Lyn Harding's Moriarty
whose performance is so superior that
it dwarfs any other I've seen in the role.

The plot is straightforward, a man who
stands to lose a fortune if a particular
race is won by the title character engages
Moriarty to make sure the horse doesn't
get the chance. Unfortunately for the
professor Holmes after years of declining
has finally decided to accept Henry
Baskervilles invitation to return for a
holiday to the scene of his triumph
putting him right in the center of the
action as murder and theft strikes right
around him.

All in all a first rate mystery with great
performances all around. Why then
only 4 stars? Because the actual quality of
the copy available for viewing leaves
much to be desired. That is of course
not the fault of the filmmakers or the
actors, but it is what it is.

For all that it's certainly worth your time
to find it, particularly if you are Holmes
fan. If the price for a copy is prohibitive
then Netflix and IMDB are acceptable
possibilities.

Either way don't let the age of this gem
keep you from enjoying it. - Peter Ingemi

COMPLETE LIST OF DVDs
LIST OF MOVIE DVDs
LIST OF ANIME/ANIMATION DVDs
LIST OF BOND DVDs
LIST OF DISNEY DVDs
LIST OF ELVIS DVDs
LIST OF MUSIC DVDs
LIST OF STAR TREK/STAR WARS DVDs
LIST OF SUPERHERO DVDs
LIST OF TELEVISION DVDs

TO PHOTO PAGES OF MOVIES:

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J-K
L
M
N
O
P-Q
R
S
T
U-V
W
X-Z

ANIME/ANIMATION
ANIME SUPERHERO
BOND
DISNEY
ELVIS
HOLIDAY
MUSIC
MUSICALS
OTHER
SERIALS
SETS #-M
SETS N-Z
STAR TREK/STAR WARS
SUPERHERO
TELEVISION A-B
TELEVISION C-D
TELEVISION E-F
TELEVISION G-H
TELEVISION I-K
TELEVISION L
TELEVISION M
TELEVISION N-O
TELEVISION P-Q
TELEVISION R
TELEVISION Gene Roddenberry
TELEVISION S
TELEVISION T
TELEVISION U-W
TELEVISION X-Z
TELEVISION STAR TREK/STAR WARS
TELEVISION SUPERHERO

There is no music for either of these movies!