The Speckled Band / Silver Blaze AKA Murder at the Baskervilles / Blake of Scotland Yard - 3 classic crime films / Directed by Jack Raymond, Thomas Bentley, Robert F. Hill / Starring: Raymnod Massey, Arthur Wontner, Ralph Byrd

UPC 5060036891145

MADE IN EU

REGION 0 PAL DVD (black & white)

Audio: ENGLISH MONO

Runtime: 66+70+70 minutes

English Summary:

The Speckled Band is a 1931 British film directed by Jack Raymond and an adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's original 1892 story "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" and the 1910 play he adapted from it, The Speckled Band.

The film begins on the Rylott estate with gypsies camping on the grounds. Inside the mansion, Violet Stonor screams in her bedroom and then collapses in the hallway. She is discovered by her sister, Helen (Angela Baddeley). Violet's dying words are "the band, speckled." She then dies and their stepfather, Dr. Grimesby Rylott (Lyn Harding), arrives.

Soon there is an inquest into the mysterious death, and Rylott plots with the housekeeper and his Indian servant, Ali. Watson attends the inquest as an old friend of the Stonor family in India. He acts protectively to Helen and advises her to consult Holmes if she ever feels in danger. At Baker Street later, Watson summarises the inquest to Holmes, describing the various witnesses and evidence. Holmes files it away in his system—he operates a modern office with female secretaries and a voice recording device.

One year later, Helen Stonor is engaged, and her fiancé must leave for a plantation in Rangoon for a year. Helen is afraid and suggests that they marry sooner, so that she may go with him to Rangoon. Dr. Rylott is upset by these plans and decides to murder her to prevent the loss of her inheritance. Rylott forces Helen to move from her room into Violet's old room. The next day, Helen meets with Holmes and Watson in Baker Street they describe her case. Her sister Violet had been engaged to be married before she dies, and Helen remembers hearing mysterious music that night. Now Helen is engaged and is also hearing the mysterious music again. Holmes questions her and sends her out of the room through a separate entrance when her stepfather arrives. Dr. Rylott barges in and threatens Holmes, but he is not deterred.

Cast:

• Lyn Harding as Dr. Grimesby Rylott
• Raymond Massey as Sherlock Holmes
• Angela Baddeley as Helen Stonor
• Nancy Price as Mrs. Staunton
• Athole Stewart as Dr. John Watson
• Marie Ault as Mrs Hudson
• Stanley Lathbury as Rodgers
• Charles Paton as Builder
• Joyce Moore as Violet
• Ivan Brandt as Curtis

Silver Blaze is a 1937 British, black-and-white crime and mystery film, based loosely on Arthur Conan Doyle's 1892 short story "The Adventure of Silver Blaze". It was directed by Thomas Bentley, and was produced by Twickenham Film Studios Productions. It stars Arthur Wontner as Sherlock Holmes, and Ian Fleming as Dr. Watson. In the United States the film was released in 1941 by Astor Pictures, where it was also known as Murder at the Baskervilles, retitled by distributors to capitalize on the success of the Basil Rathbone Holmes film, The Hound of the Baskervilles.

In the 1930s, Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Wontner) takes a holiday by visiting his old friend, Sir Henry Baskerville (Lawrence Grossmith). Holmes' vacation ends when he and Watson suddenly find themselves in the middle of a double-murder mystery; they must find Professor Robert Moriarty (Lyn Harding) and Silver Blaze before the horse race, and bring the criminals to justice.

Cast:

• Arthur Wontner as Sherlock Holmes
• Ian Fleming as Dr. Watson
• Lyn Harding as Professor Moriarty
• John Turnbull as Inspector Lestrade
• Robert Horton as Col. Ross
• Lawrence Grossmith as Sir Henry Baskerville
• Judy Gunn as Diana Baskerville
• Arthur Macrae as Jack Trevor
• Arthur Goullet as Col. Sebastian Moran
• Martin Walker as James Straker
• Eve Gray as Mrs. Mary Straker
• Gilbert Davis as Miles Stanford
• Minnie Rayner as Mrs. Hudson
• D. J. Williams as Silas Brown
• Ralph Truman as Bert Prince
• Ronald Shiner as Simpson the Stable Boy / Jockey (uncredited)

Blake of Scotland Yard is a 1937 Victory Pictures American film serial directed by Robert F. Hill. The serial was also edited down into a feature film version.

Sir James Blake, a leading figure in crime fighting, has retired from Scotland Yard in order to assist his niece Hope and her friend Jerry in developing an apparatus they have invented. Sir James believes that their invention has the potential to prevent wars, and plans to donate it to the League of Nations. However, a gang of criminals led by the elusive "Scorpion" steals the device, and Blake and his associates must recover the invention and determine the true identity of the "Scorpion".

Cast:

• Ralph Byrd as Jerry Sheehan
• Herbert Rawlinson as Sir James Blake
• Joan Barclay as Hope Mason
• Lloyd Hughes as Dr. Marshall
• Dickie Jones as Bobby Mason
• Lucille Lund as The Duchess, a Gang Moll
• Nick Stuart as Julot, Male Apache Dancer
• Sam Flint as Chief Inspector Henderson
• Gail Newbury as Mimi, policewoman posing as dancer
• Jimmy Aubrey as Baron Polinka
• Theodore Lorch as Daggett, the butler
• George DeNormand as Gang Member posing as Newshawker
• Bob Terry as Peyton, lead thug
• William Farrel as Count Basil Zagaloff
• Frank Wayne as Charles
• Dick Curtis as Nicky, a Gang Member