Rating: NR
Genre:
Mystery
Release Date: 04/27/2004
Run Time: 80 Minutes
Flags: Suitable for Children
Distributor/Studio: MPI Home Video
Though it takes a few liberties with the
Arthur Conan Doyle original -- not the least of which is turning
Sherlock Holmes into the second lead --
The Hound of the Baskervilles ranks as one of the best screen versions of this oft-told tale. After learning the history of the Baskerville curse from the hirsute
Dr. Mortimer (
Lionel Atwill),
Sherlock Holmes (
Basil Rathbone) takes upon himself the responsibility of protecting sole heir
Henry Baskerville (top-billed
Richard Greene) from suffering the same fate as his ancestors: a horrible death at the fangs of the huge hound of Grimpen Moor. Unable to head to Baskerville mansion immediately,
Holmes sends his colleague
Dr. Watson (
Nigel Bruce) to act as his surrogate. What
Watson doesn't know is that
Holmes, donning several clever disguises, is closely monitoring the activities of everyone in and around the estate. Meanwhile, young
Henry falls in love with
Beryl Stapleton (
Wendy Barrie), sister of the effusively friendly
John Stapleton (
Morton Lowry).
Holmes and
Watson compare notes, a red herring character (
John Carradine) is eliminated,
Henry Baskerville is nearly torn to shreds by a huge hound, and the man behind the plot to kill
Henry and claim the Baskerville riches for himself is revealed at the very last moment.
The Hound of the Baskervilles "improves" upon the original with such embellishments as turning the villain's wife into his sister, and by interpolating a spooky séance sequence involving mystic
Beryl Mercer. In other respects, it is doggedly (sorry!) faithful to
Doyle, even allowing
Holmes to bait the censor by asking
Dr. Watson for "the needle" at fadeout time. A big hit in a year of big hits,
The Hound of the Baskervilles firmly established
Basil Rathbone and
Nigel Bruce as moviedom's definitive
Sherlock Holmes and
Dr. Watson.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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