The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes: It’s fine, if you like the classics

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, only if you’re a die-hard fan of 1930s British mystery or you have a weird soft spot for Arthur Wontner’s version of Holmes. If you need modern pacing or high-stakes action, you’re going to be bored out of your mind. But for a rainy afternoon? It works well enough.

The film starts with Holmes living in the countryside, looking like he’d rather be doing literally anything else. Wontner has this strange, weary energy that actually fits a retired detective pretty well. He doesn’t have the flashy intensity of some other actors, but he’s got a solid, grounded vibe that I kind of dug.

Then Moriarty enters the frame and things get… loud. Well, as loud as 1930s cinema gets. The plot about John Douglas and the American gang is a bit of a scramble. Sometimes I lost track of who was double-crossing who, but maybe that was just me losing focus for a second.

Some random notes

• That one scene in the library goes on for about 40 seconds too long. It’s just people standing there.
• The lighting in the basement sequence is surprisingly moody. Someone actually tried there.
• I swear the background music loops every three minutes. It gets a bit catchy after a while, in a bad way.

It’s nowhere near as experimental or raw as something like Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness, but it isn't trying to be. It’s a stage play trapped in a movie frame. You can tell they were working with a shoestring budget when the 'mysterious' gang members look more like they just walked off a local theater set.

There is this one moment where Holmes explains the entire case in a monologue that feels like it lasts for an entire season of television. I started cleaning my desk while he was talking. When I looked back, he was still going. It was honestly kind of impressive.

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s not even a particularly great adaptation of the books. But it’s got that specific, slightly dusty charm that old British films have in spades. It feels like someone made it because they had to, not because they wanted to change the world. Sometimes, that’s enough.

I wouldn’t watch it twice. But I also didn’t regret watching it once. Sometimes you just need a bit of black-and-white comfort food, even if the plot makes your head spin a little bit too much. 🕵️‍♂️