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Tall, commanding British actor Arthur Wontner made his first stage appearance in 1897 and his first film 18 years later. Wontner is best known today for his characterization of Sherlock Holmes in five films produced between 1931 and 1938. Some Holmes aficionados prefers Wontner's studious interpretation of "the master" to the more aggressive, energetic portrayals of Basil Rathbone. Ironically, Wontner landed the role on the strength of his performance in the 1930 stage production Sexton Blake, based on a pulp fiction character who'd been created as a Sherlock Holmes imitation. In later years, Arthur Wontner played several small but memorable character roles, most poignantly as the elderly automobile fancier in Genevieve (1953).