Too bad 1959′s THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES marked Peter Cushing’s one and only time to play Sherlock Holmes on the big screen, because he does a great job at it. And too bad HOUND is the only Holmes adaptation undertaken by Hammer Films, because this had franchise potential written all over it.
After a 10-minute prologue that doesn’t even involve Holmes or Dr. Watson, detailing the curse of the well-to-do Baskerville family, the movie gets going with the plot, as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle originally presented it: With Sir Charles Baskerville dead of fright, his nephew, Henry (Christopher Lee), inherits his estate on the moors, and Holmes and Watson (André Morell) suspect he may suffer the same fate as his uncle.
They have good reason to suspect as much, because out of his boot pops a big ol’ tarantula that immediately starts making its way toward a frozen-in-shock Henry’s face. Watson accompanies Henry to Baskerville Hall, where the sounds of the hound — a beast rumored to have killed many a man over the decades — pervade the night sky.
Not a believer in the supernatural, Holmes aims to get to the bottom of it, and naturally, he does. Only this time, Doyle’s story comes infused with spiders, scorpions, sacrifices and a suspenseful Act III descent into a dangerous mine shaft. Although the film is overly talky at times, it’s well-made in the Hammer tradition, brimming with color and Gothic atmosphere, even on obvious sets.
The DVD looks so good, Cushing’s pancake makeup looks bad. With the actor long gone, it’s left to Lee to discuss the project on the special features, which he does in a 12-minute featurette. As a further bonus, Lee reads excerpts from Doyle’s novel as Sidney Paget’s original illustrations from THE STRAND grace the screen — a fine tribute to Holmes’ start.
Hammer’s HOUND has been available on the shiny disc for years, but the current revival of the character has spurred MGM to reissue it as part of THE SHERLOCK HOLMES COLLECTION, which also houses Billy Wilder’s near-epic THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES from 1970 and Thom Eberhardt’s 1988 comedy WITHOUT A CLUE, which remained the last time Holmes graced theaters until Robert Downey Jr. made the great detective relevant again.
In other words, you get three full feature films for the price of one. You’ll hate me for saying it, but that makes a purchase — yes — elementary, my dear reader. —Rod Lott
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Thoroughly enjoyed your review and comments . . . enough so that I’m going to seek it out and purchase. This is one of my favorite Sherlock Holmes’ stories.
And the best was at the end . . . elementary, of course.
Best wishes,
Pat Harrington, Author
Death Stalks the Khmer, Bridget O’Hern whodunit
What Price Retribution, Seattle Noir Anthology
Just to let you know, I scotted over from GADetection.
I like the Hammer version, too, although I remained baffled as to why it omitted possibly the most famous line in the entire book:
“Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of an enormous hound.”
Huh? That’s like remaking CASABLANCA and leaving out “Here’s looking at you, kid.”