The Hound of the Baskervilles (1983) (TV)

Director:

Douglas Hickox

Writer:

Charles Edward Pogue (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 November 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Horror

Plot:

Sherlock Holmes comes to the aid of his friend Henry Baskerville, who is under a family curse and menaced by a demonic dog that prowls the bogs near his estate and murders people. |

Plot Keywords:

Curse | Dog | Murder | Sherlock Holmes | Investigation

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Ian Richardson	...	Sherlock Holmes
Donald Churchill	...	Dr. John Watson
Denholm Elliott	...	Dr. Mortimer
Glynis Barber	...	Beryl Stapleton
Brian Blessed	...	Geoffrey Lyons
Eleanor Bron	...	Mrs. Barrymore
Edward Judd	...	Barrymore
Ronald Lacey	...	Inspector Lestrade
Martin Shaw	...	Sir Henry Baskerville
Connie Booth	...	Laura Lyons
Eric Richard	...	Cabbie
Michael Burrell	...	Shop Owner
Cindy O'Callaghan	...	Maid
Peter Rutherford	...	Selden
Francesca Gonshaw	...	Young Girl in Mire

Also Known As:

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles (UK) (complete title)

Runtime:

USA:101 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Knightshayes Court, Bolham, Tiverton, Devon, England, UK

Company:

Lorindy Productions

Trivia:

En route to Baskerville Hall, Watson meets Lestrade who is curious as to why he is in town. Watson replies he is there for "the sailing" and when Lestrade tells him there is none, Watson replies "I must have been misinformed." This is similar to Bogart's reply to Claude Rains when the latter tells him there are no waters in Casablanca (1942).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Watson and Sir Henry arrive at Baskerville Hall and Watson and Holmes leave the place, the surface of the driveway to Baskerville Hall is made of tarmac or asphalt.

Quotes:

Sherlock Holmes: But without the imagination Watson, there would be no horror.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Hound of the Baskervilles (1932)

Lightweight and shallow

This film obviously takes its casting from the portrayals of Holmes and Watson by Rathbone and Bruce, rather than from the book. Richardson is smarmy, jovial and cheery, with none of Rathbone's cold precision and sharpness. Churchill is more idiotic as Watson than even Nigel Bruce could manage. An insipid and clueless Inspector LeStrade is added for no other reason, apparently, than the writer's feeling that a Holmes story needed him.

The sets looked good. Some of the additional characters are quite well done (with the exception of the butler and his wife, who sleepwalk through their lines.)

This film pales next to almost any of the other film adaptations of Hound. The best is the Rathbone/Bruce version. The Hammer films version gives us Peter Cushing as an excellent Holmes surrounded by those lovely Hammer sets.

The 1988 Jeremy Brett TV film suffers from being filmed on a TV budget, but gives us what is probably the most faithful rendition of Holmes and Watson, with Watson coming off as Holmes' strong right hand, rather than as a buffoon. Watch any and/or all of these, but only watch this version if you have run out of other versions to watch.