The Sleeping Cardinal (review 11 march 1931)
This review was published in the article Plays written by Lionel Collier in The Bystander on 11 march 1931.
Review
There is too much talk and not enough thrill in Leslie Hiscott's adaptation of two Sherlock Holmes stories under the generic title of "The Sleeping Cardinal." The fact is that, as a rule, Conan Doyle reads much better than he dramatises. It is a pleasure to see such a lifelike representation of Holmes as that given by Arthur Wontner, and such a sinister figure as Norman McKinnell makes of Moriarty, but one would have liked to see a little more action. Deduction is interesting in a book, but when it is pictured it needs turning into action. I am afraid "The Sleeping Cardinal made me a little sleepy, too, in spite of the fact that I was interested in the development of the plot. There should be more action in "The Speckled Band," which is shortly to be shown, and in "The Hound of the Baskervilles," which is still in pro-duction. I doubt, however, if a better Sherlock Holmes than Arthur Wontner will be found.
L. C.
