The Valley of Fear (film)
| The Valley of Fear | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | G.B. Samuelson Productions |
| Distributed by | Moss Pictures |
Release date | May 1916 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Valley of Fear is a British silent adventure film of 1916 directed by Alexander Butler and starring Harry Arthur Saintsbury, Daisy Burrell and Booth Conway.[1] The film is an adaptation of the 1915 novel, The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle featuring Sherlock Holmes. This is now considered a lost film.[2]
Production
After the success of A Study in Scarlet in 1914, producer G. B. Samuelson decided to make another feature-length adaptation of Sherlock Holmes.[3] French company Eclair owned the cinematic rights to Conan Doyle's stories up to 1912 which left only one full length story available, The Valley of Fear[3]
While James Bragington was considered a virtual doppelgänger of Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Scarlet, the role in The Valley of Fear required more from an actor so H.A. Saintsbury was cast instead.[3] Saintsbury had played the role onstage more than any other actor,[3] over 1,000 times in both William Gillette's Sherlock Holmes as well as Conan Doyle's The Speckled Band.[4] Arthur Cullin was cast as Watson, a role he would repeat seven years later in 1923's The Sign of the Four opposite Eille Norwood as Holmes.[5]
Cast
- Harry Arthur Saintsbury - Sherlock Holmes
- Daisy Burrell - Ettie Shafter
- Booth Conway - Professor Moriarty
- Jack McCauley - McGinty
- Cecil Mannering - John McMurdo
- Doctor Watson
- Lionel d'Aragon - Captain Marvin
- Bernard Vaughan - Shafter
- Jack Clare - Ted Baldwin
See also
References
- ^ BFI Database entry
- ^ "The Valley of Fear". silentera.com. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8021-2789-1.
- ISBN 0-06-015620-1.
- ISBN 9780857687760.
