The 29 year old Basil Rathbone made his screen debut in this silent film that robbed him of his South African voice. His face is very animated, which means that you can read his emotions and inner life quite easily. His youth made him far more flexible in his range of emotions rather than the stiff he ended up in his talking pictures of the 30s and 40s. He certainly learned his trade in this film even if he didn't have presence. Without a doubt he is a professional actor with enough experience to bring to the later Sherlock Holmes films, but his projects do rely on dialogue which is why he wasn't noted in this film. Without dialogue, Rathbone is just a rank and file actor.
