A Study In Scarlet

1933

mystery, sherlock holmes

From IMDb: In London, a secret society led by lawyer Thaddeus Merrydew collects the assets of any of its deceased members and divides them among the remaining members. Society members start dropping like flies. Sherlock Holmes is approached by member James Murphy's widow, who is miffed at being left penniless by her husband. When Captain Pyke is shot, Holmes keys in on his mysterious Chinese widow as well as the shady Merrydew. Other members keep dying--Malcom Dearing first, then Mr. Baker. There is also an attempt on the life of young Eileen Forrester, who became a reluctant society member upon the death of her father. Holmes' uncanny observations and insights are put to the test.

The failure of the original copyright holder to renew the film's copyright resulted in it falling into public domain, meaning that virtually anyone could duplicate and sell a VHS/DVD copy of the film. Therefore, many of the versions of this film available on the market are either severely (and usually badly) edited and/or of extremely poor quality, having been duped from second- or third-generation (or more) copies of the film.

A Study in Scarlet (1933 in film) is a drama film directed by Edwin L. Marin and starring Reginald Owen as Sherlock Holmes and Anna May Wong as Mrs. Pyke. The title comes from Arthur Conan Doyle's novel A Study in Scarlet, the first in the Canon of Sherlock Holmes, but the screenplay by Robert Florey was original.
Despite her billing, Anna May Wong only appears on screen for less than ten minutes. Reginald Owen had played John Watson (Sherlock Holmes) in Sherlock Holmes (1932 film) the previous year; Owen was one of only four actors to play both Holmes and Watson (Jeremy Brett played Watson on stage in the United States prior to adopting the mantle of Holmes on British television, Carleton Hobbs played both roles in British radio adaptations while Patrick Macnee played both roles in US television movies). Warburton Gamble, the actor cast as Watson in this film, physically more closely resembles Doyle's description of Holmes, fueling speculation that the actors might have switched roles prior to production, especially since Owen had played Watson the year before in the series' previous film.

Cast

Reginald Owen - Sherlock Holmes
Anna May Wong - Mrs. Pyke
June Clyde - Eileen Forrester
Alan Dinehart - Thaddeus Merrydew
Alan Mowbray - Lestrade
Warburton Gamble - John Watson (Sherlock Holmes)
Wyndham Standing - Captain Pyke
Halliwell Hobbes - Malcolm Dearing
Doris Lloyd - Mrs. Murphy

Category:1933 films
Category:1930s drama films
Category:American drama films
Category:English-language films
Category:Sherlock Holmes films based on works by Arthur Conan Doyle
Category:Films directed by Edwin L. Marin

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