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Arthur Wontner

Arthur Wontner

Actor · Died July 10, 1960, aged 85 · London, England, UK

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Arthur Wontner (21 January 1875 – 10 July 1960) was a British actor best known for playing Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's master detective Sherlock Holmes in five films from 1931 to 1937. These films are:     The Sleeping Cardinal (1931) (US title: Sherlock Holmes' Fatal Hour) based on Doyle's two stories, "The Adventure of the Empty House" and "The Final Problem"     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     Silver Blaze (1937) (US title:Murder at the Baskervilles, release 1941) based on "Silver Blaze" Reportedly, Wontner landed the role of Sherlock Holmes thanks to his performance of Holmes imitation Sexton Blake in a 1930 stage production. Of all Wontner's films as Sherlock Holmes, The Missing Rembrandt is no longer available. It is officially a lost film. It is possible to obtain all of the others. 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. In many respects Wontner's film can be seen as a sequel as it is set twenty years after the events of the more famous story. Wontner's son became the well-known hotelier and Lord Mayor of London Sir Hugh Wontner. Description above from the Wikipedia article Arthur Wontner,licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 21, 1875
Died
July 10, 1960 (aged 85)
From
London, England, UK
Works as
Actor
Titles
8 on MovieCove · 30 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 39 days to Oct 28Down 30% in 30 days

What are Arthur Wontner's films like?

Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.

Genres

Comedy2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 37th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Comedy movies
Crime2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 30th percentile
: browse their Crime movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
50%
Bonds
24%
Society
12%
Ideas
8%
Power
3%
Survival
3%
Justice3 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception3 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 7 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 4 · Serious 3 · Dark 0

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 6 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0

Gentle: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their gentle movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 4 · Charged 3 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 5 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 1

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 4 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 7 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

3 analyzed roles

Usually the Hero: 2 of 3 analyzed roles.

Hero
2 of 3
Shadow
1 of 3

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Contemplative
3
Tense
3
Warm
3
Melancholic
2
Elegiac
2
Other
5

How their films linger

Fun3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteCozy2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 2 with a twist

  • Happy4
  • Bittersweet3

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Arthur Wontner's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 7 of their 8 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (6).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Arthur Wontner's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

30 credits, 8 with a MovieCove page.

  • The Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes(1985)

    as Sherlock Holmes (archive footage)

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Genevieve (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)

    as Old Gentleman

  • Sea Devils(1953)

    as Baron de Baudrec

    Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films

  • Brandy for the Parson (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1952)

    as Major Glockleigh

  • The Warden (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)

    Show 4 episodes · as Bishop of Barchester

  • The Elusive Pimpernel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)

    as Lord Grenville

  • Ten Little Indians (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)

    as General Mackenzie

  • Blanche Fury(1948)

    as Lord Rudford

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Pygmalion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1948)

    as Colonel Pickering

  • The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp(1943)

    as Embassy Counsellor

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Old Iron (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    as Judge

  • The Live Wire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    as Montell

  • The Terror (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    as Colonel Redmayne

  • Kate Plus Ten (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    as Colonel Westhanger

  • Murder at the Baskervilles(1937)

    as Sherlock Holmes

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films

  • Thunder in the City (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)

    as Sir Peter

  • Storm in a Teacup(1937)

    as Fiscal

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films

  • Dishonour Bright (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)

    as Judge

  • The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes(1935)

    as Sherlock Holmes

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films

  • The Sign of Four: Sherlock Holmes' Greatest Case (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)

    as Sherlock Holmes

  • The Missing Rembrandt (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)

    as Sherlock Holmes

  • Condemned to Death (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)

    as Sir Charles Wallington

  • A Gentleman of Paris (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    as Judge Le Fevre

  • The Sleeping Cardinal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    as Sherlock Holmes

  • The Diamond Man (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)

    as Lady Marshalt

  • Eugene Aram (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)

    as Eugene Aram

  • Bonnie Prince Charlie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1923)

    as Lord Kingsburgh

  • The Bigamist (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    as Tony Henderson

  • Lady Windermere's Fan(1916)

    as Lord Darlington

    Midcredits score: 10th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Temptation's Hour (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Actor

Career shape

Star power in the 83rd percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 30 titles, 29 of them dated from 1916 to 1985.

Biggest box office

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)

$90K worldwide

Highest rated

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)

Midcredits 97th

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting30 of 30: 30 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score43rd

By decade

1910s2 · acting1920s3 · acting1930s14 · acting1940s4 · acting1950s5 · acting1980s1 · acting

Billing

usually 7th · top billed in 17% of 6 roles

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.

How do Arthur Wontner's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 43rd percentile, the median of all 8; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 42nd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

42ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Approval · how many liked their films

23rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Reach · how many have seen their films

33rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Midcredits score across 8 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up1
  • 50th to 74th3
  • 25th to 49th2
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

None of their 8 titles divides audiences: 3 are Broadly Agreed.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Crowd Pleaser2
  • Broadly Agreed3
  • Mixed2

Most loved · actor

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)

Midcredits 97th · 85% liked

Reviewers score the acting 65/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles; fans 77, detractors 50. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Arthur Wontner work with?

People who share at least 2 of Arthur Wontner's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Arthur Conan Doyle shares the most, 2.

Writers

Actors

Cinematographers and editors

Producers