Devonshire GP Dr Mortimer (FRANCIS DE WOLFE) consults Sherlock Holmes (PETER CUSHING) after his long term friend and patient Sir Charles Baskerville was found dead near his home on Dartmoor. Sir Charles suffered from a chronic heart condition for many years and when the body was discovered, there was a terrible look of fear on his face, which suggested that he was frightened to death. The circumstances lead Mortimer to believe that it was a ghostly hound, which according to legend is cursed to bring misery and misfortune upon the Baskerville family that brought about Sir Charles's death. The curse was started after Sir Hugo Baskerville (DAVID OXLEY), an evil ancestor of the family, murdered a farm girl on the moor and was then brutally attacked and killed by a huge hound. On the death of Sir Charles, the family fortune and Baskerville Hall go to the only living relative, the deceased's nephew Henry Baskerville (CHRISTOPHER LEE) who is arriving from South Africa the following day to claim his inheritance. Dr Mortimer is gravely concerned that the heir to the fortune may meet the same fate. This leaves Holmes and Dr Watson (ANDRE MORELL) with a taxing question. Is there really a curse upon the Baskervilles or has someone come up with a scheme in order to get the Baskerville fortune for themselves?
Hammer films made the first Frankenstein and Dracula films in colour and this admirable version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective story was the first Sherlock Holmes movie filmed in colour. The film was intended to be the first in a series of Hammer-Sherlock Holmes pictures, but the lukewarm reception it got from cinema audiences at the time sadly meant that these plans were shelved. However, in the sixties, Cushing reprised his role in a popular BBC television series in which he remade THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES although that version is nowhere near as good as this one and he also turned up as the Baker Street sleuth again in THE MASKS OF DEATH (1986), a TV movie made by Tyburn. Meanwhile, Christopher Lee would later don the famous deerstalker in the 1962 production SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE DEADLY NECKLACE. But despite a good cast and director Terence Fisher at the helm, the picture proved to be a completely wasted opportunity due to poor production values and the fact that Lee's voice was dubbed by another actor didn't help matters either.
THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES is now rightly regarded as one of Hammer's greatest movies. Peter Cushing is exemplary as Holmes, portraying the character as incredibly intelligent, resourceful and at the same time very arrogant when he needs to be. Although when he is arrogant he usually has good reason to be. His performance not only makes him the definitive screen Holmes, but it is another addition to his impressive portfolio of fine performances up there with Dr Van Helsing in Dracula (1958) and his many incarnations as Baron Frankenstein. Andre Morell is also on top form as Dr Watson who wisely chooses not to play the part as a bumbling muddle head, which so many actors have made the mistake of doing in the past. Christopher Lee is also excellent as Sir Henry Baskerville and he makes the best of what appears to be an undemanding role. Terence Fisher's direction is outstanding as he invests the proceedings with a genuine sense of evil and menace that has never been equaled in any other Sherlock Holmes film before or since. Fisher is most ably assisted by cameraman Jack Asher and composer James Bernard who turns in a wonderfully haunting and occasionally romantic score. Today, this picture is considered by some to be the best ever Sherlock Holmes film and it is certainly a strong contender for that title.
Hammer films made the first Frankenstein and Dracula films in colour and this admirable version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective story was the first Sherlock Holmes movie filmed in colour. The film was intended to be the first in a series of Hammer-Sherlock Holmes pictures, but the lukewarm reception it got from cinema audiences at the time sadly meant that these plans were shelved. However, in the sixties, Cushing reprised his role in a popular BBC television series in which he remade THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES although that version is nowhere near as good as this one and he also turned up as the Baker Street sleuth again in THE MASKS OF DEATH (1986), a TV movie made by Tyburn. Meanwhile, Christopher Lee would later don the famous deerstalker in the 1962 production SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE DEADLY NECKLACE. But despite a good cast and director Terence Fisher at the helm, the picture proved to be a completely wasted opportunity due to poor production values and the fact that Lee's voice was dubbed by another actor didn't help matters either.
THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES is now rightly regarded as one of Hammer's greatest movies. Peter Cushing is exemplary as Holmes, portraying the character as incredibly intelligent, resourceful and at the same time very arrogant when he needs to be. Although when he is arrogant he usually has good reason to be. His performance not only makes him the definitive screen Holmes, but it is another addition to his impressive portfolio of fine performances up there with Dr Van Helsing in Dracula (1958) and his many incarnations as Baron Frankenstein. Andre Morell is also on top form as Dr Watson who wisely chooses not to play the part as a bumbling muddle head, which so many actors have made the mistake of doing in the past. Christopher Lee is also excellent as Sir Henry Baskerville and he makes the best of what appears to be an undemanding role. Terence Fisher's direction is outstanding as he invests the proceedings with a genuine sense of evil and menace that has never been equaled in any other Sherlock Holmes film before or since. Fisher is most ably assisted by cameraman Jack Asher and composer James Bernard who turns in a wonderfully haunting and occasionally romantic score. Today, this picture is considered by some to be the best ever Sherlock Holmes film and it is certainly a strong contender for that title.