The Sleeping Cardinal
U.S. trade ad in Moving Picture Daily
Directed by	Leslie S. Hiscott
Written by	Arthur Conan Doyle (stories) Leslie S. Hiscott H. Fowler Mear Cyril Twyford
Produced by	Julius Hagen
Starring	Arthur Wontner Ian Fleming Philip Hewland Jane Welsh
Cinematography	Sydney Blythe William Luff
Edited by	Jack Harris
Music by	John Greenwood
Production company	Twickenham Studios
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. (UK) First Division Pictures (US)
Release date	February 1931 (1931-02)
Running time	84 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

The Sleeping Cardinal, also known as Sherlock Holmes' Fatal Hour in the United States, is a 1931 British mystery film directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and starring Arthur Wontner and Ian Fleming.^[1] The film is an adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. Although it is not based on any one particular story, the film draws inspiration from "The Empty House" and "The Final Problem".^[2] The film is the first in the 1931–1937 film series starring Wontner as Sherlock Holmes. It is unrelated to the Basil Rathbone series of Sherlock Holmes films that began in the late 1930s.

The film was produced at Twickenham Studios in London with sets designed by art director James A. Carter.

Plot

In London, young diplomatic attaché Ronnie Adair, is playing bridge when he is called to a meeting with Professor Moriarty and blackmailed into transporting counterfeit money to Paris in his diplomatic pouch. Adair's concerned sister calls for the assistance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to investigate the reasons for her brother's gambling excesses and depressed moods. After Adair dies from an apparent suicide, Holmes deduces Moriarty's involvement from a trail of clues.

Cast

• Arthur Wontner as Sherlock Holmes
• Ian Fleming as Dr. Watson
• Philip Hewland as Inspector Lestrade
• Jane Welsh as Kathleen Adair
• Norman McKinnel as Prof. Moriarty, alias Col. Henslowe
• Minnie Rayner as Mrs. Hudson
• Leslie Perrins as Ronald Adair
• Gordon Begg as Marston, the butler
• William Fazan as Thomas Fisher
• Sydney King as Tony Rutherford
• Louis Goodrich as Colonel Sebastian Moran
• Harry Terry as No. 16
• Charles Paton as J.J. Godfrey

Reception

In a contemporary review, The New York Times wrote: "There are secret doors leading into strange compartments and rooms, and there are scufflings and caterwaulings in dark corridors. All the characters express their contempt for one another by that sinister laugh—the 'ha, ha' which preceded the 'yeah' of modern gangdom. Detective Holmes barely escapes with his life, and the dear Dr. Watson is drawn away by innumerable red herrings."^[3]