The Sign of Four is a British 1923 B&W detective movie, loosely based on the famous novel by Arthur Conan Doyle. It is directed by Maurice Elvey and stars Eille Norwood as Sherlock Holmes and Arthur M. Cullin as Dr. Watson. This is the final installment in a series of forty-seven silent films (45 shorts and 2 features), starring Eille Norwood as Holmes.
The following weapons were used in the film The Sign of Four:
Dr. Sholto (Humberston Wright) carries a compact top-break revolver; Smith & Wesson Model 2 Double Action seems to be a good guess. Dr. Watson (Arthur M. Cullin) takes the gun from Sholto and uses it to break a door lock.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingSmith & Wesson Model 2 Double Action, 3.25" barrel - .38 S&WError creating thumbnail: File missingSholto, not trusting Miss Morston's companions and demanding that they not deceive him, draws a revolver.Error creating thumbnail: File missingA closer view of Sholto's revolver.Error creating thumbnail: File missingWatson aims the Smith & Wesson at Sholto; a Webley revolver is in his left hand. In previous moment Watson took a revolver from Sholto's pocket but it was his own Webley (a clear continuity error).Error creating thumbnail: File missingError creating thumbnail: File missingA good view of the revolver when Watson fires at a door lock. The shape of the trigger guard matches Model 2 rather than later Smith & Wesson models of same size that have more rounded trigger guards. In this moment the Webley is in Holmes' hands, and in next moment Watson again holds a Webley instead of Smith & Wesson (see above).
Pocket revolver
During the boat chase Prince Abdullah Khan (Fred Raynham) holds a pocket top-break revolver of unclear model.
During the confrontation with Jonathan Small and his pygmy accomplice, Sherlock Holmes (Eille Norwood) uses a Webley & Scott Metropolitan Police pistol.
After Holmes shot the pygmy, he aims his pistol at Jonathan Small, and the gun switches from full-size Webley to a pocket model (and later back to Metropolitan Police model). It is hard to say if it has exposed hammer or is hammerless, making it impossible to identify the exact model of the pistol used.
