(Maurice Elvey, 1923 UK, 80 min.)

This adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s second Sherlock Holmes novel revolves around a young woman (Isobel Elsom) who, stalked by an escaped convict, turns to the elusive Holmes (Eille Norwood) for protection. Maurice Elvey, one of Britain’s leading directors of the era, delivers a film that is equal parts pulp and pedigree. Sixty-two years old at the time of filming (compared with a fortysomething Robert Downey Jr.), Norwood delivers one of cinema’s most haunting and undeniable incarnations of the literary hero. Live piano by Philip C. Carli.

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