A Study in Scarlet (1933 film)

A Study in Scarlet
A Study in Scarlet
Directed by	Edwin L. Marin
Written by	Robert Florey; (screenplay); Arthur Conan Doyle; (novel's title)
Produced by	Samuel Bischoff
Starring	Reginald Owen; Anna May Wong
Cinematography	Arthur Edeson
Edited by	Rose Loewinger
Distributed by	Sono Art-World Wide Pictures
Release date	May 14, 1933;
Running time	71 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

A Study in Scarlet is a 1933 American Pre-Code drama film directed by Edwin L. Marin and starring Reginald Owen as Sherlock Holmes and Anna May Wong as Mrs. Pyke. The title comes from Arthur Conan Doyle's novel of the same name, the first in the Holmes series, but the screenplay by Robert Florey was original.^[1]

Despite her billing, Anna May Wong only appears on screen for less than ten minutes. Reginald Owen had played Dr. Watson in Sherlock Holmes the previous year; Owen was one of only five actors to play both Holmes and Watson (Jeremy Brett played Watson on stage in the United States prior to adopting the mantle of Holmes on British television, and Howard Marion-Crawford played Holmes on British radio and Watson on American television; Carleton Hobbs played both roles in British radio adaptations; while Patrick Macnee played both roles in US television movies). Warburton Gamble, the actor cast as Watson in this film, physically more closely resembles Doyle's description of Holmes, fueling speculation that the actors might have switched roles prior to production, especially since Owen had played Watson the year before in the series' previous film.