The Hound of the Baskervilles starts in the mid 18th Century as Sir Hugo Baskerville (David Oxley) is enraged after a peasant girl escapes his lecherous clutches, Hugo chases after her & murders her but ends up with his throat torn out by a Hound from Hell that has been said to terrorise the Baskerville family ever since... The most recent Baskerville, Sir Charles, has also been found dead with a look of terror on his face although it has been officially put down as a heart condition, however Sir Charles best friend Dr. Richard Mortimer (Francis De Wolff) thinks other forces may be at work & asks the worlds foremost detective Sherlock Holmes (Peter Cushing) & his trusty assistant Dr. John Watson (Andre Morell) for help in discovering the true nature of Sir Charles death. The last of the Baskervilles Sir Henry (Christopher Lee) is set to inherit the entire Baskerville estate & fortune, after an attempt is made on his life Holmes is convinced that he is facing great evil & that Sir Henry is in grave danger. Sir Henry, Watson & Dr. Mortimer travel down to Devonshire where the town of Grimpen & Baskerville Hall are located, as Sir Henry introduces himself to the locals & Watson starts to investigate it seem almost everyone has a strong motive for murder...
This British made Holmes mystery was directed by Terence Fisher & produced by Hammer who are perhaps both better know for their Dracula & Frankenstein series of films & a fine adaptation it is too with plenty of Hammer horror overtones & aspects. Maybe this version is not for the purists though, the script by Peter Bryan based on the novel by Arthur Conan Doyle changes quite a few things in an attempt to add a bit of tension, a few dramatics & quicken the pace up considerably. The film opens with flashback to the Sir Hugo incident unlike every other version I've seen which opens with Sir Charles Death & subsequently Dr. Mortimer tells Holmes about the legend later. While Watson & Sir Henry travel to Baskerville Hall on their own Holmes absence is probably only a few minutes as he turns up almost immediately again unlike other versions where he virtually disappears for the majority of the film, I think the idea behind this was to have Holmes on screen as Hammer thought audiences wanted to see him rather than Watson. Sir Henry is no longer American, the relationship between him & Cecile Stapelton (Marla Landi) develops in a different way & is barely touched upon, there is a scene in a mine shaft in which someone tries to kill Holmes & the ending is slightly different to any version I've seen. None of this makes it a bad film, far from it in fact as I rather enjoyed seeing Hammer taking the basic story & trying to make a commercial film out of it that the paying punters would flock to. This version still retains the strong story elements that make this such a timeless & entertaining tale but tries to spruce things up a bit. Director Fisher presents the typical image of Holmes complete with deerstalker cap, cape & pipe, I'm not sure what happened to the Hound in this version as it only gets about 2 minutes worth of screen time right at the end. Technically The Hound of the Baskervilles is solid, this was the first Sherlock Holmes film to be filmed in colour & it looks a little garish at times, the sets are great & the Hammer horror influence shines through with fog enshrouded ruins, dark Gothic type castle interiors & creaky old mines & as a whole it's well made throughout. The acting is good with Hammer regulars Cushing & Lee always fun to watch with the rest of the experienced cast doing a good job. Not the best version of The Hound of the Baskervilles but by no means the worst & if your familiar with the story then this may throw a few surprises & those without the patience to sit through a 2 plus hour adaptation then this is the one to go for as it runs for less than 90 minutes & considerably condenses things yet still manages to retain the ingredients that make the story such a success. Definitely worth a watch for mystery & Hammer fans.
This British made Holmes mystery was directed by Terence Fisher & produced by Hammer who are perhaps both better know for their Dracula & Frankenstein series of films & a fine adaptation it is too with plenty of Hammer horror overtones & aspects. Maybe this version is not for the purists though, the script by Peter Bryan based on the novel by Arthur Conan Doyle changes quite a few things in an attempt to add a bit of tension, a few dramatics & quicken the pace up considerably. The film opens with flashback to the Sir Hugo incident unlike every other version I've seen which opens with Sir Charles Death & subsequently Dr. Mortimer tells Holmes about the legend later. While Watson & Sir Henry travel to Baskerville Hall on their own Holmes absence is probably only a few minutes as he turns up almost immediately again unlike other versions where he virtually disappears for the majority of the film, I think the idea behind this was to have Holmes on screen as Hammer thought audiences wanted to see him rather than Watson. Sir Henry is no longer American, the relationship between him & Cecile Stapelton (Marla Landi) develops in a different way & is barely touched upon, there is a scene in a mine shaft in which someone tries to kill Holmes & the ending is slightly different to any version I've seen. None of this makes it a bad film, far from it in fact as I rather enjoyed seeing Hammer taking the basic story & trying to make a commercial film out of it that the paying punters would flock to. This version still retains the strong story elements that make this such a timeless & entertaining tale but tries to spruce things up a bit. Director Fisher presents the typical image of Holmes complete with deerstalker cap, cape & pipe, I'm not sure what happened to the Hound in this version as it only gets about 2 minutes worth of screen time right at the end. Technically The Hound of the Baskervilles is solid, this was the first Sherlock Holmes film to be filmed in colour & it looks a little garish at times, the sets are great & the Hammer horror influence shines through with fog enshrouded ruins, dark Gothic type castle interiors & creaky old mines & as a whole it's well made throughout. The acting is good with Hammer regulars Cushing & Lee always fun to watch with the rest of the experienced cast doing a good job. Not the best version of The Hound of the Baskervilles but by no means the worst & if your familiar with the story then this may throw a few surprises & those without the patience to sit through a 2 plus hour adaptation then this is the one to go for as it runs for less than 90 minutes & considerably condenses things yet still manages to retain the ingredients that make the story such a success. Definitely worth a watch for mystery & Hammer fans.