Silent Sherlock: Three Classic Cases

Three classic 1920s silent short films selected to showcase a major restoration project by the BFI Archive of the Stoll Pictures collection of Sherlock Holmes stories. What’s striking about these films is how well they distil the essence of Conan Doyle’s stories into twenty-odd minutes of screen time, efficiently setting up the mystery, deduction and solution, and inserting flashbacks to reveal key details. Directed by the reliable hands of Maurice Elvey and George Ridgewell, the witty and involving productions move at a snappy pace towards satisfying endings. The Final Problem’s literal cliffhanger is dramatically staged, and it drew a pleasing gasp from some audience members.

The series stars Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's favourite Sherlock, Eille Norwood, an authoritative presence and largely understated performer who has more Holmes screen credits than anyone else. He greatly impressed Conan Doyle who said of his work “he has that rare quality, which can only be described as glamour, which compels you to watch an actor eagerly even when he is doing nothing. The three episodes are A Scandal in Bohemia, The Golden Pince-Nez and The Final Problem. This film series will give modern audiences the opportunity to discover the man who set the standard for all screen Sherlocks to come.

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