Triumph of Sherlock Holmes

The fourth of Arthur Wonter's quintet of Sherlock Holmes films, Triumph of Sherlock Holmes was a fairly faithful adaptation of Conan Doyle's The Valley of Fear. This time, Holmes (Wontner) and Dr. Watson (Ian Fleming -- not the James Bond author!) investigate a mysterious murder at Birlstone Castle. The killings seem to be tied in with a secret American society of coal-miners called the Scowlers. The architect of all this skullduggery is that "Napoleon of Crime," Professor Moriarty (the magnificent Lyn Harding), who has conspired with an American gangster (Ben Welden) to assassinate the Pinkerton agent responsible for breaking the back of the Scowlers. There's very little in the way of mystery in Triumph of Sherlock Holmes, but it scores on its full quotient of thrills and chills. Originally 84 minutes, the film was cut to 75 for its American release.