The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)

When a nobleman is threatened by a family curse on his newly inherited estate, detective Sherlock Holmes is hired to investigate.

Director:

Terence Fisher

Writers:

Arthur Conan Doyle (based on the novel by) (as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle), Peter Bryan (screenplay)

Stars:

Peter Cushing, André Morell, Christopher Lee

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Peter Cushing	...	Sherlock Holmes
André Morell	...	Doctor Watson (as Andre Morell)
Christopher Lee	...	Sir Henry
Marla Landi	...	Cecile
David Oxley	...	Sir Hugo
Francis De Wolff	...	Doctor Mortimer
Miles Malleson	...	Bishop
Ewen Solon	...	Stapleton
John Le Mesurier	...	Barrymore
Helen Goss	...	Mrs. Barrymore
Sam Kydd	...	Perkins
Michael Hawkins	...	Lord Caphill
Judi Moyens	...	Servant Girl
Michael Mulcaster	...	Convict
David Birks	...	Servant

Storyline

Returning to his family's manor house on the lonely moors after his father dies under mysterious circumstances, Sir Henry Baskerville is confronted with the mystery of the supernatural hound that supposedly takes revenge upon the Baskerville family. The famous detective Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Dr. Watson are brought in to investigate.

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Plot Keywords:

killed by a dog | tricycle | cycle | horse | eyeglasses | 

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Taglines:

Sherlock Holmes' Most Terrifying Adventure!

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

For the climactic scene between Sir Henry and the hound, Margaret Robinson revealed that "they duplicated the part of the set in miniature where the dog was to leap onto Sir Henry. A small boy named Robert was dressed to duplicate Sir Christopher Lee. The dog couldn't bear the sound of crumpled paper, and the idea was he would go straight for a prop man as he crumpled it. What we didn't know is that Colonel hated small boys, too. The prop man caught the dog in mid-air before he got to Robert."

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Goofs

The chessboard is set up incorrectly (the rightmost square on the first rank is supposed to be white, not black).

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Quotes

Sherlock Holmes: Sir Henry, keep perfectly still...
[Pointing to him]
Sherlock Holmes: if you value your life.

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Connections

Version of The Hound of the Baskervilles (2002)

User Reviews

Cushing was born to play Holmes

Ah, you can't go wrong with Hammer. On the back of the DVD, Newsweek proudly proclaims "The Best of the Sherlocks!", and I have to agree. This is the role that Peter Cushing was born to play, it's a shame he didn't play it as often as he did Van Helsing. His mannerisms, his delivery, even his looks, everything about him is perfect Holmes. The rest of the cast are pretty good too, don't get me wrong, but Cushing puts them to shame. Though he is rather ominous in some scenes, it's nice to see Christopher Lee opposite Cushing as a good guy for a change. I really liked the classic plot, full of surprises, great characters, humor and lots of chances for Cushing to shine. The atmosphere is great, foggy and dark like many Hammer films. Perfect for horror. All in all this is a really fun film, though it does have a few pretty cheesy moments. Good film overall though.

7.5/10

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

3 July 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Filming Locations:

Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hammer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min 64 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor) (uncredited)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1