The 1932 adaptation of the classic Sherlock Holmes mystery, The Sign of Four, is overall only adequate, but it's worth seeing if for no other reason than to get Arthur Wontner's take on the lead character. Wontner is not as satisfying as such later interpreters as Basil Rathbone and Jeremy Brett, but his is a fine and worthy one that makes for a nice change. He's appropriately shrewd and clever and displays a surprising amount of energy, as well as a nice touch of smugness. On the debit side, he's a bit too snide with Watson, although scenarist W.P. Lipscomb paints the character as such a slow witted fellow that it's easy to sympathize. The screenplay untangles the storytelling of the novel, thus reducing the tension and the suspense a bit, but it is otherwise pretty faithful. The sound is quite poor, which will be a problem for many viewers. Director Graham Cutts handles some sequences rather well, such as the warehouse scene, but he muddies others. Ian Hunter is fine as Watson, ditto Isla Bevan as the lady of the story.