When Sir Charles Baskerville is found dead, apparently of fright, and his nephew is sent for to take charge of Baskerville Hall in Dartmoor, Sherlock Holmes is asked to investigate the circumstances of the death and the Baskerville curse of a hideous hound said to have stalked the family for centuries.
This is a smashing adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous story, with Cushing on fine form as Holmes, bristling with energy, intellectually brilliant, but also impatient and hard-edged, just the way the character is written. The script makes some unnecessary changes - Beryl Stapleton is turned into a strange revenge-seeking senorita called Cecile, Mrs Lyons is absent and Malleson's character is a fabrication, but the film is pretty faithful to the book. As ever with Hammer Films, the quality of the production is first-rate, with gloriously evocative sets by Bernard Robinson, dripping in brown, green and black. The supporting cast too is terrific, especially Lee as Sir Henry Baskerville, Morrell as a finely-judged Dr Watson, and Le Mesurier as the butler Barrymore. This was and always will be a classic mystery tale to chill the blood, and Cushing's tremendous (and sadly only) performance as Sherlock Holmes is a treat to savour.
This is a smashing adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous story, with Cushing on fine form as Holmes, bristling with energy, intellectually brilliant, but also impatient and hard-edged, just the way the character is written. The script makes some unnecessary changes - Beryl Stapleton is turned into a strange revenge-seeking senorita called Cecile, Mrs Lyons is absent and Malleson's character is a fabrication, but the film is pretty faithful to the book. As ever with Hammer Films, the quality of the production is first-rate, with gloriously evocative sets by Bernard Robinson, dripping in brown, green and black. The supporting cast too is terrific, especially Lee as Sir Henry Baskerville, Morrell as a finely-judged Dr Watson, and Le Mesurier as the butler Barrymore. This was and always will be a classic mystery tale to chill the blood, and Cushing's tremendous (and sadly only) performance as Sherlock Holmes is a treat to savour.