The Pearl of Death The Pearl of Death The Pearl of Death is a 1944 Sherlock Holmes film starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson, the ninth of fourteen such films the pair made. The story is loosely based on Conan Doyle's short story "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons" but features some additions, such as Evelyn Ankers as an accomplice of the villain, played by Miles Mander, and Rondo Hatton as a brutal killer. Master criminal Giles Conover (Miles Mander) steals the famous "Borgia Pearl" from the Royal Regent Museum under the very nose of Holmes and Watson, but
Sherlock Holmes (1931 film series) no better Sherlock Holmes than Arthur Wontner is likely to be seen and heard in pictures, in our time." Wontner's final performance as Sherlock Holmes was in a 1943 BBC adaptation of "The Boscombe Valley Mystery" with Carleton Hobbs as Dr. Watson. Hobbs himself later went on to play Holmes in a radio series. Sherlock Holmes (1931 film series) Sherlock Holmes is a film series running from 1931 to 1937. Arthur Wontner portrayed Sherlock Holmes in five films. Having been told he resembled Doyle's creation for years, Wontner was finally cast in the role for "The Sleeping Cardinal" in 1931.