Arthur Wontner (21 January 1875 – 10 July 1960) was a British

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

best known for playing Sir

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

's master detective

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

in five films from 1931 to 1937.

Career

Wontner's acting career began on the stage where he played such roles as

Tybalt Tybalt () is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet''. He is the son of Lady Capulet's brother, Juliet's short-tempered first cousin, and Romeo's rival. Tybalt shares the same name as the character Tibert / Tybalt ''"the ...

in ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

'', Bassanio in ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

'',

Bunny Manders Harry Manders (almost exclusively known as Bunny Manders) is a fictional character in the popular series of Raffles stories by E. W. Hornung. He is the companion of A. J. Raffles, a cricketer and gentleman thief, who makes a living robbing the r ...

in '' Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman'' and

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...

in ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...

'' (1930, West End). In 1926, Wontner appeared in '' The Captive'' alongside

Basil Rathbone Philip St. John Basil Rathbone MC (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967) was a South African-born English actor. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in more than 70 films, primarily costume ...

, both of whom went on to play Sherlock Holmes on film.

Sherlock Holmes

The Sign of 4 - The Film Daily, Jul-Dec 1932 (page 266 crop)

Wontner landed the role of Sherlock Holmes thanks to his performance of Holmes imitation Sexton Blake in a 1930 stage production. He played the famed sleuth in five films from 1931 to 1937. *'' The Sleeping Cardinal'' (1931) (US title: ''Sherlock Holmes' Fatal Hour''), based on Doyle's two stories, "

The Final Problem "The Final Problem" is a short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring his detective character Sherlock Holmes. It was first published in ''The Strand Magazine'' in the United Kingdom, and '' McClure's'' in the United States, under the title ...

" and "

The Adventure of the Empty House "The Adventure of the Empty House", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 13 stories in the cycle collected as ''The Return of Sherlock Holmes''. It was first published in ''Collier's'' in the ...

"Detective-Mystery Films
/ref> *'' 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 ''The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes'' is a 1935 British mystery film directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and starring Arthur Wontner. It was based on the 1915 Sherlock Holmes novel '' The Valley of Fear'' by Arthur Conan Doyle. It is the fourth film ...

'' (1935), based on '' The Valley of Fear'' *'' Silver Blaze'' (1937) (US title: ''Murder at the Baskervilles'', release 1941), based on " The Adventure of Silver Blaze" Of the five films in which Wontner portrayed Sherlock Holmes, ''The Missing Rembrandt'' is no longer available. It is officially a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy ...

. ''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

's version of ''

The Hound of the Baskervilles ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' is the third of the four crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in ''The Strand Magazine'' from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set ...

''. After seeing ''The Sleeping Cardinal'', Vincent Starrett said "Surely no better Sherlock Holmes than Arthur Wontner is likely to be seen and heard in pictures, in our time."

Personal life

Wontner's son became the well-known hotelier and

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...

Sir

Hugh Wontner Sir Hugh Walter Kingwell Wontner (22 October 1908 – 25 November 1992) was an English hotelier and politician. He was managing director of the Savoy hotel group from 1941 to 1979 and its chairman from 1948 to 1984, continuing as president unti ...

Selected filmography

* ''Temptation's Hour'' (1916) * ''

Lady Windermere's Fan ''Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman'' is a four-act comedy by Oscar Wilde, first performed on Saturday, 20 February 1892, at the St James's Theatre in London. The story concerns Lady Windermere, who suspects that her husband is ...

'' (1916) - Lord Darlington * ''The Bigamist'' (1916) - Tony Henderson * ''

Bonnie Prince Charlie Bonnie, is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean. It comes from the Scots language word "bonnie" (pretty, attractive), or the French bonne (good). That ...

'' (1923) - Lord Kingsburgh * ''

Eugene Aram Eugene Aram (170416 August 1759) was an English philologist, but also infamous as the murderer celebrated by Thomas Hood in his ballad ''The Dream of Eugene Aram'', and by Edward Bulwer-Lytton in his 1832 novel '' Eugene Aram''. Early life Ar ...

'' (1924) - Eugene Aram * ''

The Diamond Man ''The Diamond Man'' is a 1924 British crime film directed by Arthur Rooke and starring Arthur Wontner, Mary Odette and Reginald Fox. It was based on a novel by Edgar Wallace. The movie is silent and black and white. Distributed by Butcher's f ...

'' (1924) - Lady Marshalt * ''

The Infamous Lady ''The Infamous Lady'' is a 1928 British silent drama film directed by Geoffrey Barkas and Michael Barringer and starring Arthur Wontner, Ruby Miller and Walter Tennyson. It was made at Twickenham Studios. It is also known by the alternative t ...

'' (1928) - The K.C. * '' The Sleeping Cardinal'' (1931) - Sherlock Holmes * '' A Gentleman of Paris'' (1931) - Judge Le Fevre * '' Condemned to Death'' (1932) - Sir Charles Wallington * '' The Missing Rembrandt'' (1932) - Sherlock Holmes * ''

The Sign of Four ''The Sign of the Four'' (1890), also called ''The Sign of Four'', is the second novel featuring Sherlock Holmes by British writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle wrote four novels and 56 short stories featuring the fictional detective. Pl ...

'' (1932) - Sherlock Holmes * ''

'' (1935) - Sherlock Holmes * ''

Royal Cavalcade ''Royal Cavalcade'', also known as ''Regal Cavalcade'', is a 1935 British, black-and-white, drama film directed by six separate directors: Thomas Bentley (Supervising Director), Herbert Brenon, Norman Lee, Walter Summers, W. P. Kellino and Mar ...

'' (1935) - Minor Role (uncredited) * ''

Line Engaged ''Line Engaged'' is a 1935 British, black-and-white, thriller directed by Bernard Mainwaring and starring Bramwell Fletcher, Jane Baxter and Arthur Wontner. It was produced by British Lion Film Corporation. Plot Eva Rutland (played by Jane ...

'' (1935) - Insp. Morland * ''

Dishonour Bright ''Dishonour Bright'' is a 1936 British comedy film directed by and starring Tom Walls. It also featured Eugene Pallette, Betty Stockfeld and Diana Churchill and was based on a story by Ben Travers. It was made at Denham Studios. The film's art ...

'' (1936) - Judge * '' Second Bureau'' (1936) - Col. Gueraud * '' Thunder in the City'' (1937) - Sir Peter * ''

Storm in a Teacup Tempest in a teapot (American English), or storm in a teacup (British English), is an idiom meaning a small event that has been exaggerated out of proportion. There are also lesser known or earlier variants, such as ''tempest in a teacup'', ''stor ...

'' (1937) - Fiscal * '' Silver Blaze'' (1937) - Sherlock Holmes * '' The Live Wire'' (1937) - Montell * ''

Just like a Woman "Just Like a Woman" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan first released on his seventh studio album, ''Blonde on Blonde'' on June 20, 1966. It was written by Dylan and produced by Bob Johnston. A shorter edit was released as a sin ...

'' (1938) - Escubar * ''

The Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...

'' (1938) - Col. Redmayne * ''

13 Men and a Gun ''13 Men and a Gun'' is a 1938 British-Italian war film directed by Mario Zampi and starring Arthur Wontner, Clifford Evans and Howard Marion-Crawford. It is an English-language version of the Italian film ''Tredici uomini e un cannone''. Premi ...

'' (1938) - Captain * '' Kate Plus Ten'' (1938) - Colonel Westhanger * ''

Old Iron ''Old Iron'' is a 1938 British drama film directed by Tom Walls and starring Richard Ainley, Henry Hewitt, Eva Moore and Cecil Parker. It was made at Shepperton Studios.Wood p.99 Cast * Tom Walls as Sir Henry Woodstock * Eva Moore as Lad ...

'' (1938) - Judge * '' The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'' (1943) - Embassy Counsellor * ''

Blanche Fury ''Blanche Fury'' is a 1948 British Technicolor drama film directed by Marc Allégret and starring Valerie Hobson, Stewart Granger and Michael Gough. It was adapted from a 1939 novel of the same title by Joseph Shearing. In Victorian era Englan ...

'' (1948) - Lord Rudford * '' The Elusive Pimpernel'' (1950) - Lord Grenville * ''

Brandy for the Parson ''Brandy for the Parson'' is a 1952 British comedy film directed by John Eldridge and starring Kenneth More, Charles Hawtrey, James Donald and Jean Lodge. It was based on a short story by Geoffrey Household from ''Tales of Adventurers'' (195 ...

'' (1952) - Major Glockleigh * ''

Genevieve Genevieve (french: link=no, Sainte Geneviève; la, Sancta Genovefa, Genoveva; 419/422 AD – 502/512 AD) is the patroness saint of Paris in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Her feast is on 3 January. Genevieve was born in Nanterre a ...

'' (1953) - Old Gentleman * '' Sea Devils'' (1953) - Baron de Baudrec * ''

Three Cases of Murder ''Three Cases of Murder'' is a 1955 British horror omnibus film comprising three stories: "The Picture," "You Killed Elizabeth," and "Lord Mountdrago." Eamonn Andrews introduces each. Alan Badel appears in all three.John Hamilton, ''The Britis ...

'' (1955) - Leader of the House (segment "Lord Mountdrago") (uncredited) (final film role)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wontner, Arthur 1875 births 1960 deaths English male film actors English male silent film actors Male actors from London 20th-century English male actors