User Reviews

As a fan of Holmes, I quite enjoyed this film and I'm sure Hammer fans will enjoy it too... but this really messes around with the story a lot , often for no good reason. can anyone explain to me the significance of the knife holmes found on the stone and said that it had been used "in some disgusting ritual..". It was never explained why that was done? To get rid of the evidence that the hound had killed the convict? And the hound looked AWFUL! really unscary ! The only film version that ever had a truly frightening hound was the 1939 Rathbone film - that prolonged and realistic attack was amazing. This is just -- mehhh.

It does have some good points - a brilliantly overdone Hammer musical score and an exciting prologue. And I loved the painful tension during the tarantula sequence... brilliant!

An above-average spinning of Conan-Doyle's familiar tale. Sherlock Holmes (Peter Cushing) and Dr. Watson (Andre Morell) are called in on the case of an enormously wealthy squire who has died of fright, the death perhaps being connected in some way with the legend of a gigantic hound that has plagued the family for generations.

Holmes and Watson travel to the swampy moors and gloomy Arthurian ruins of Dartmoor to visit and advise the new squire, Sir Henry (Christopher Lee), recently arrived from South Africa.

Neighbors are few in this desolate wasteland but all of them are quirky and suspicious. There is a mad murderer at large on the moor. A dreadful howling is sometimes heard at night. The two servants are of no help. In the end, the legendary hound DOES appear and attacks Sir Henry. I won't spoil the ending, even though I figure that anybody who purports to be literate or into pop culture to any degree must know the bare bones of the story. Remakes and parodies abound, a sure sign of iconogenesis.

Well, Peter Cushing is a splendid actor. He had a small role in Olivier's "Hamlet", and in interviews he comes across as a thoughtful, somewhat sentimental, thoroughly grand guy. The problem is that he's too short for Sherlock. Now, Basil Rathbone was just right, and, here, Cushing is too often shot next to Christopher Lee, who is SO tall that he makes everyone around him look short. If it weren't for that, Cushing's bony features and crisp diction would be just about right.

As Watson, Andre Morell rescues the figure from the comic buffoonery of Nigel Bruce. Lee himself is a commanding enough character that he would make a good Holmes. (He played Sherlock's brother, Mycroft, in "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes".) Supporting players turn in seasoned performances, but it's not difficult to guess who the villain is. Even Solon is one of those unfortunates who's features have a default setting resembling a sneer. He no doubt scowls in his sleep. And it was a big mistake to cast Marla Landi as the femme fatal. Her Italian accent mutilates the phones of English, and the writers have fecklessly made her of Spanish descent. I mean, really, she's not the respectable and ultimately moral young Englishwoman that would appeal to Sir Henry. She's a veritable gypsy.

The plot of the novella has been been transmogrified. There is the exploration of an abandoned tin mine, not in the original story, whose timbers must collapse so that the roof falls on Holmes and he must dig his way out. There are other twists whose points I couldn't make out, but none are deadly.

A plus: the hound is the scariest one I've seen in any of the versions of this tale. Oh -- and it's nice to have real outdoor shots of the great Grimpen mire. The Rathbone/Bruce version was studio bound and you could hear the echoes ringing among the paper-mache rocks.

It has its weaknesses but it's not at all a terrible movie.

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.

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.

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.

An absolutely brilliant film which is deservedly regarded as one of the jewels in Hammer's crown. Peter Cushing and André Morell are perfectly cast as Holmes and Watson while Christopher Lee is as wonderful as ever as Sir Henry Baskerville. The film has an extremely strong supporting cast including Francis de Wolff, John Le Mesurier, Marla Landi, Ewen Solon and Miles Malleson. From what I can gather (having never read the novel), it takes some liberties but the storyline is essentially the same.

This was originally to have been the first in a series of Hammer Sherlock Holmes films but apparently the idea was dropped because the audience didn't want a Hammer series without monsters. That's a terrible shame as I'd have loved more films of this calibre starring Cushing and Morell. However, I'm glad that they chose the best known and one of the most popular stories to adapt for their only Holmesian outing. While this was the only time that he ever played Holmes on film, Cushing reprised his role on television in 1968 and 1984. I also liked the fact that Christopher Lee played a good guy and that he and Cushing were on the same side for once. This is the first film that I've seen them both in which neither of them tried to kill the other even once!