A STUDY IN SCARLET (1933) Reginald Owen, Anna May Wong & June Clyde | Mystery, Thriller | B&W

A Study in Scarlet is a 1933 American Pre-Code mystery thriller film directed by Edwin L. Marin and starring Reginald Owen as Sherlock Holmes and Anna May Wong as Mrs. Pyke. The title comes from Arthur Conan Doyle's 1887 novel of the same name, the first in the Holmes series, but the screenplay by Robert Florey was original.

SYNOPSIS
Members of a secret "trust" that meets in Limehouse are being murdered, and a victim's widow enlists Sherlock Holmes' help. The atmospheric doings involve coded messages, a pretty heiress, sinister villains, and a country mansion with a secret passage. The story bears no relation to the novel of the same name.

n London, a secret society led by lawyer Thaddeus Merrydew collects the assets of any of its deceased members and divides them among the remaining members. Society members start dropping like flies. Sherlock Holmes is approached by member James Murphy's widow, who is miffed at being left penniless by her husband. When Captain Pyke is shot, Holmes keys in on his mysterious Chinese widow as well as the shady Merrydew. Other members keep dying--Malcom Dearing first, then Mr. Baker. There is also an attempt on the life of young Eileen Forrester, who became a reluctant society member upon her father's death. Holmes' uncanny observations and insights are put to the test.

CAST & CREW
Reginald Owen as Sherlock Holmes
Anna May Wong as Mrs. Pyke
June Clyde as Eileen Forrester
Alan Dinehart as Thaddeus Merrydew
John Warburton as John Stanford
Alan Mowbray as Lestrade
Warburton Gamble as Dr. Watson
J. M. Kerrigan as Jabez Wilson
Wyndham Standing as Captain Pyke
Billy Bevan as Will Swallow
Leila Bennett as Daffy Dolly
Halliwell Hobbes as Malcolm Dearing
Doris Lloyd as Mrs. Murphy
Tetsu Komai as Ah Yet
Tempe Pigott as Mrs. Hudson
Cecil Reynolds as William Baker

Directed by Edwin L. Marin
Screenplay by Robert Florey
Based on A Study in Scarlet 1888 novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Produced by Samuel Bischoff
Cinematography Arthur Edeson
Edited by Rose Loewinger
Production company KBS Productions
Distributed by Sono Art-World Wide Pictures Fox Film Corporation
Release date May 14, 1933 (United States)
Running time 71 minutes
Country United States
Language English

NOTES
Despite her billing, Anna May Wong only appears on screen for less than ten minutes. Reginald Owen had played Dr. Watson in Sherlock Holmes the previous year; Owen was one of a small number of actors to play both Holmes and Watson. Some of the other actors who played both roles are Jeremy Brett, who played Watson on stage in the United States prior to adopting the mantle of Holmes on British television, Howard Marion-Crawford, who played Holmes on British radio and Watson on American television, Carleton Hobbs, who played both roles in British radio adaptations, and Patrick Macnee, who played both roles in US television movies.

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