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The
Hound of the Baskervilles
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This was the first of the 14 Sherlock Holmes movies made with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.
Dr. Mortimer, a friend of the recently murdered Sir Charles Baskerville
seeks help from Sherlock Holmes to protect young Sir Henry Baskerville,
who has just arrived on a ship from Canada. Mortimer tells Holmes and
Watson of the legend of the Hound of the Baskervilles, which has cursed
every member of the family since 1650. Holmes pretends to scoff at the
supposed danger and he tells Sir Henry not to worry about an old legend.
In reality he knows Sir Henry's life is in danger and he goes to the moor
near the Baskerville estate in disguise, in order to investigate in
anonymity. 
Holmes appears as a peddler before Watson, Sir Henry and Miss
Stapleton, and completely fools them. When Holmes has almost figured out
the mystery, he removes his disguise, revealing himself to Watson. Watson
is indignant when he realizes that Holmes has been there all the time, and
didn't trust him enough to tell him! (Of course Watson has made a fool of
himself by claiming to be the great detective Sherlock Holmes!) Holmes
returns with Watson to Baskerville Hall to fill in some missing pieces to
the puzzle. Even when Holmes has figured out who the murderer is, he
cannot arrest him without evidence. Holmes says, "The only way is to
catch him red-handed, to catch him in such a way that there's no escape,
no alibi. And that means gambling with Sir Henry's life." Once
again Holmes tells Sir Henry that he has nothing to fear, his troubles are
over, and Holmes and Watson board a train headed for London. At the next
stop, they disembark, take a train back and arrive at the moor just in the
nick of time to save Sir Henry from being killed by the Hound. Holmes and
Watson shoot the Hound dead. In the final scene, with nearly everyone
present, Holmes explains how he figured out who the murderer and hound
owner was. Feeling trapped, Stapleton pulls on gun on everyone, then runs
out of the house. Holmes does not give chase, explaining that the police
are out in force on the roads, and the only other means of escape is
across the deadly Grimpen Mire. 
"The Hound of the Baskervilles" follows the original story
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle pretty closely. There are, however, some small differences. The novel opens at 221B Baker Street with Holmes and Watson examining the walking stick left by Dr. Mortimer (Lionel
Atwill), whom they haven't met yet. The film opens with the death of Sir Charles Baskerville and the neighbors discussing the circumstances of Sir Charles' death. In the novel, Mrs. Laura Lyons
(Frankland's daughter) is a fairly important character, having arranged to meet Sir Charles on the night of his death. She is not mentioned in the film. In the novel Beryl Stapleton turns out to be married to Mr. Stapleton and only pretending to be his sister. There is no talk of an engagement to Sir Henry
Baskerville. In the film Miss Stapleton (Wendy Barrie) really is the sister--step-sister, in fact, so there is a happy ending for Sir Henry (Richard
Greene) and Beryl Stapleton. The seance scene with Mrs. Mortimer does not occur in the novel. In fact there is no Mrs. Mortimer in the novel. Mrs. Hudson isn't mentioned in the novel either. One difference that really bothers me is in the trap that Holmes lays to catch the Hound. In the novel
Holmes, Watson and Lestrade are on the
moor, waiting for Sir Henry to leave the Stapleton's house and walk home. They are ready and shoot the Hound before it has even scratched Sir Henry. In the film Holmes and Watson (minus
Lestrade) are late getting to the moor because the carriage broke down and they don't reach Sir Henry and shoot the Hound before Sir Henry has been horribly mauled, almost to death. This is typical Hollywood: try to build up the suspense--"Will he get there in time to save Sir Henry?" It is out of character for Holmes to not have all the details worked out. Another dumb thing that Holmes does in the film which is not in the novel is allowing himself to get locked in the pit where the hound had been kept. It made me wonder how Holmes could be so stupid when he's supposed to be so brilliant. And at the end of the film Holmes says, "Oh, Watson -- the needle!" This line is not in the novel, but
Holmes' use of morphine is documented in other stories. I just didn't see the purpose of this line.
It added nothing to the story, and it's amazing that the censors allowed
it.
In spite of all the above complaints, "The Hound of the Baskervilles" remains one of my favorite Sherlock Holmes
films, and it of course established Basil Rathbone as the definitive
Sherlock Holmes. Rathbone states in his autobiography that "The Hound of the Baskervilles" was always his favorite Sherlock Holmes film.
I especially like the first scene with Holmes and Watson in Baker Street. The dialogue is almost word for word the same as in the novel, and the chemistry between Rathbone and Nigel Bruce is perfect.
I usually cringe at Nigel Bruce's interpretation of Watson as a bumbling
idiot (apparent in the later Universal films), which is so different from
the character appearing in Conan Doyle's stories, but in this film Bruce
is much less bumbling, and actually appears to be a capable friend and
physician. 
Cast |
Credits |
|
| Basil
Rathbone...........Sherlock Holmes Nigel Bruce..........................Dr. Watson Richard Greene....Sir Henry Baskerville Wendy Barrie................Beryl Stapleton Lionel Atwill...........Dr. James Mortimer John Carradine........................Barryman Barlowe Borland.....................Frankland Beryl Mercer...................Mrs. Mortimer Morton Lowry...............John Stapleton Ralph Forbes.........Sir Hugo Baskerville E.E. Clive........................................Cabby Eily Malyon.....................Mrs. Barryman Nigel de Brulier...........................Convict Mary Gordon.....................Mrs. Hudson Peter Willis................................Roderick Ivan Simpson..........................Shepherd Ian MacLaren....Sir Charles Baskerville John Burton....................................Bruce Denis Green........................................Jon Evan Thomas.................................Edwin Chief......................................The Hound |
Production
Co. ..........20th Century Fox Producer.............................Gene Markey Director..........................Sidney Lanfield Screenplay.........................Ernest Pascal Cinematographer...........Peverell Marley Editor..............................Robert Simpson Music Director..............Cyril Mockridge Art Directors........................Richard Day ................................................Hans Peters Costume Design............Gwen Wakeling |
Images on this page and Page 2 are from "The Hound of the Baskervilles," copyright 20th Century Fox.
Go
to Page 2 to see MORE pictures from
"The Hound of the Baskervilles"
Interesting online reviews of "The Hound of the Baskervilles" can be found here:
"Rathbone's Finest Hour" -- an article by Pat Ward, member of The Illustrious Clients of Indianapolis scion society
