Priklyucheniya Sherloka Kholmsa i doktora Vatsona: Sobaka Baskerviley (1981) (TV)

Director:

Igor Maslennikov

Writers:

Arthur Conan Doyle (novel)
Igor Maslennikov (writer)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery

Plot Keywords:

Haunting | Marsh | Doctor | Englishman | Love

Cast

Vasili Livanov	...	Sherlock Holmes
Vitali Solomin	...	Dr. Watson
Rina Zelyonaya	...	Mrs. Hudson
Irina Kupchenko	...	Beryl Stapleton
Nikita Mikhalkov	...	Sir Henry Baskerville
Alla Demidova	...	Laura Lyons
Svetlana Kryuchkova	...	Mrs. Barrymore
Aleksandr Adabashyan	...	Barrymore
Borislav Brondukov	...	Inspector Lestrade
Sergei Martinson	...	Mr. Frankland
Yevgeni Steblov	...	Dr. Mortimer
Oleg Yankovskiy	...	Stapleton
Oleg Belov		(as O. Belov)
Dmitri Bessonov		(as D. Bessonov)
Oleg Palmov		(as O. Palmov)

Also Known As:

Собака Баскервилей (Soviet Union: Russian title)
Sobaka Baskerviley (Soviet Union: Russian title)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Hound of the Baskervilles (International: English title) (informal literal title)
The Hound of the Baskervilles

Runtime:

Soviet Union:154 min (2 parts)

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Riga, Latvia

Company:

Gosteleradio

Movie Connections:

Version of The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978)

After a series of great movies, this sixth entry in the Soviet Sherlock Holmes saga tackles the classic, quintessential Holmes mystery.

I don't know exactly how it came to be that The Hound of the Baskervilles would be the most frequently adapted of A.C. Doyle's stories. But it is so, and after Rathbone, Cushing and Peter Cook, and two years before Ian Richardson, it is Vasili Livanov's turn to don the deerskin cap and disappear for one third of the movie.

One of the reasons I find it peculiar that The Hound became the most popular filmic Holmes adaptation is that Holmes is absent for a good chunk of the running time. And while it's an engrossing murder mystery on its own, it so happens that in franchises of this sort people generally come to see the hero being a hero. And one of the flaws of this Russian adaptation is that, unlike Nigel Bruce, Vitali Solomin doesn't have the charismatic presence and weight to carry the movie while Livanov is away.

Still, like its predecessors, this sixth entry in the Soviet Sherlock Holmes saga with Vasili Livanov in the titular role, is every bit as stylish, entertaining and endlessly watchable. Exchanging the baroque opulence of London for the rural atmosphere of Devonshire and benefitting from the natural beauty of real locations, The Hound builds and sustains its mystery and suspense even though the novelty of the story has been worn out by now.

Excluding the natural flaw of a Sherlock Holmes movie with not enough Sherlock Holmes, the movie has been wisely split up in two parts making the 2.5 hour duration a manageable task. The murder mystery of a demonic hound terrorizing the last heir of the Baskerville family is great and from a technical perspective the movie, even though made for TV, has a lavish cinematic feel.

Definitely among the handful best adaptations of The Hound of the Baskervilles.