Arthur Wontner

Wontner's acting career began on the stage where he played such roles as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice, Bunny Manders in Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman and Cardinal Richelieu in The Three Musketeers (1930, West End).{{cite book|last=Kabatchnik|first=Amnon|title=Blood on the Stage, 1925-1950: Milestone Plays of Crime, Mystery, and Detection : an Annotated Repertoire|publisher=Scarecrow Press|year=2010|page=399|isbn=9780810869639}}[http://www.thelooniverse.com/books/plum/plumplays.html The Complete Plays of P.G. Wodehouse] thelooniverse.com[http://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/london_shows_chronology/1930.htm "Chronology, 1930"] guidetomusicaltheatre.com, accessed February 13, 2011[http://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/shows_t/three_musketeers.htm "'The Three Musketeers' Productions, Musical Numbers and Synopsis of Scenes"] guidetomusicaltheatre.com, accessed February 13, 2011 In 1926, Wontner appeared in The Captive alongside Basil Rathbone; both went on to play Sherlock Holmes on film.

File:The Sign of 4 - The Film Daily, Jul-Dec 1932 (page 266 crop).jpg, 1932]]

Wontner landed the role of Sherlock Holmes thanks to his performance of Holmes imitation Sexton Blake in a 1930 stage production.{{cite book |author=Alan Barnes |title=Sherlock Holmes on Screen |year=2002 |publisher=Reynolds & Hearn Ltd |pages=193–194 |isbn=1-903111-04-8 }} 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" and "The Adventure of the Empty House"[http://www.filmsite.org/mysteryfilms.html Detective-Mystery Films]{{cite book |author=Allen Eyles |title=Sherlock Holmes: A Centenary Celebration |year=1986 |publisher=Harper & Row |pages=[https://archive.org/details/sherlockholmesce0000eyle/page/81 81–83] |isbn=0-06-015620-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/sherlockholmesce0000eyle/page/81 }}
• 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{{cite book |author=Allen Eyles |title=Sherlock Holmes: A Centenary Celebration |year=1986 |publisher=Harper & Row |pages=[https://archive.org/details/sherlockholmesce0000eyle/page/86 86–88] |isbn=0-06-015620-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/sherlockholmesce0000eyle/page/86 }}
• Silver Blaze (1937) (US title: Murder at the Baskervilles, release 1941),[https://archive.org/details/Murder_At_The_Baskervilles Murder At The Baskervilles (1937)] 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.{{cite book |author=Alan Barnes |title=Sherlock Holmes on Screen |year=2002 |publisher=Reynolds & Hearn Ltd |page=94 |isbn=1-903111-04-8 }}

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.{{cite book |last=Barnes|first=Alan|authorlink=Alan Barnes (writer) |title=Sherlock Holmes on Screen |year=2002 |publisher=Reynolds & Hearn Ltd |pages=178 |isbn=1-903111-04-8 }}

Wontner was considered to have a strong resemblance to Sidney Paget's drawings of Holmes featured in The Strand Magazine.{{cite web |last=Byrne |first=Bob |date=29 December 2014 |title=The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes: Arthur Wontner, The Third Great Holmes |url=https://www.blackgate.com/2014/12/29/the-public-life-of-sherlock-holmes-arthur-wontner-the-third-great-holmes/ |access-date=22 September 2023 |website=Black Gate}} 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."{{cite book|last=Starrett|first=Vincent|authorlink=Vincent Starrett|title=The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes|year=1993|publisher=Otto Penzler Books|page=158|isbn=1-883402-05-0}}

Wontner's son became the well-known hotelier and Lord Mayor of London Sir Hugh Wontner.{{cn|date=September 2023}}

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• Temptation's Hour (1916)
• Lady Windermere's Fan (1916) - Lord Darlington
• The Bigamist (1916) - Tony Henderson
• Bonnie Prince Charlie (1923) - Lord Kingsburgh
• Eugene Aram (1924) - Eugene Aram
• The Diamond Man (1924) - Lady Marshalt
• The Infamous Lady (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 (1932) - Sherlock Holmes
• The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes (1935) - Sherlock Holmes
• Royal Cavalcade (1935) - Minor Role (uncredited)
• Line Engaged (1935) - Insp. Morland
• Dishonour Bright (1936) - Judge
• Second Bureau (1936) - Col. Gueraud
• Thunder in the City (1937) - Sir Peter
• Storm in a Teacup (1937) - Fiscal
• Silver Blaze (1937) - Sherlock Holmes
• The Live Wire (1937) - Montell
• Just like a Woman (1938) - Escubar
• The Terror (1938) - Col. Redmayne
• 13 Men and a Gun (1938) - Captain
• Kate Plus Ten (1938) - Colonel Westhanger
• Old Iron (1938) - Judge
• The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) - Embassy Counsellor
• Blanche Fury (1948) - Lord Rudford
• The Elusive Pimpernel (1950) - Lord Grenville
• Brandy for the Parson (1952) - Major Glockleigh
• Genevieve (1953) - Old Gentleman
• Sea Devils (1953) - Baron de Baudrec
• Three Cases of Murder (1955) - Leader of the House (segment "Lord Mountdrago") (uncredited) (final film role)

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• {{IMDb name|0939454|Arthur Wontner}}

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Category:1875 births

Category:1960 deaths

Category:English male film actors

Category:English male silent film actors

Category:Male actors from London

Category:20th-century English male actors