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The Hound of the BaskervillesRating:
Release Date: 07 May, 2002 Retail Price: $14.95 OUR Price: $13.46 You SAVE: $1.49! Cast: Complete Cast (7 total) |
The Hound of the Baskervilles Reviews
Well done and worthwhile horror/mystery drama.
Sunday, March 06, 2005 / 4 of 5 / Well done and worthwhile horror/mystery drama.
Excellent Hammer rendition of the Sherlock Holmes story. It was a bit weird seeing Peter Cushing as Holmes after his stint as Van Helsing and Dr. Frankenstein. I still think Basil Rathbone was the definitive, but Cushing held his own. Even odder was the presence of Lee as the `doomed' heir to the Baskerville fortunes. Seeing Lee try to play anything but a heavy, or the Count for that matter was a stretch. Even when attempting a smile, it comes off as a malevolent smirk with the hint of physical violence to follow. At any rate, the colors are vibrant and the moors are given decent treatment as Holmes and Watson must `guard' Lee from succumbing to the old legend that the Baskervilles are cursed for a blood crime of their 17th century predecessor. Worthwhile horror/mystery drama.
Hammer's Lavish Version Of The Famous Sherlock Holmes Story
Over the years since there have been many memorable versions of this immortal Sherlock Holmes story put onto film. The 1939 Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce version springs to mind as still one of the most loved versions despite criticism being often leveled at Bruce's almost comical interpretation of Holmes' off sider Dr. Watson. With Basil Rathbone for many being the definitve Sherlock Holmes it is a great pleasure to view this lavish 1959 Hammer realisation of the famous story so as to see another actor, in this case the legendary hammer stalwart Peter Cushing, make this well known role his own. Hammer Studios were a natural to film this story and their version is a truly beautiful production blessed with fine performances that also captures all the rich visual splendour of the stories setting without for one moment sacrificing any of the intriguing mystery and suspense that has made this probably the most famous story to involve the interid investigator from Baker Street London.
The famous novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is well known to all mystery lovers and the main criticism of this version is the alterations that it made to that basic story however there is much of interest in Hammer's attempt at telling the story here. Peter Cushing stars as the intrepid Sherlock Holmes who along with his assistant Dr. Watson (Andre Morell), are drawn into the strange case of a family curse, a landed gentry family called the Baskervilles, that goes back many generations and sees each of the male heirs to the Baskerville title come to a terrible end supposedly as the result of being attacked by a mysterious hound, a "hound from hell", as the locals call it. The prologue of the story shows us the much earlier Sir Hugo Baskerville (David Oxley), who rapes and kills a local girl but pays dearly fo rhis crimes when he is attacked by th emysterious hound in th emoors on the mist shrouded Baskerville estate. The story then jumps ahead to the recent death of Sir Charles Baskerville from the same mysterious circumstances which results in the only remaining Baskerville Sir Henry (Christopher Lee), returning to Yorkshire to claim the title. Alerted to the danger Sir. Henry faces from these unknown forces by a concerned local Dr. Mortimer (Frances De Wolff),Holmes decides to take the case and gets Watson to travel with Sir Henry back to the Baskerville estate. Once arrived at Baskerville Hall a number of strange occurences happen with mysterious lights being seen in the distance and horrifying growling sounds being heard in the night. Sir Henry makes the acquaintance of his tenants including the mysterious Stapleton (Ewen Solon), and his fiery daughter Cecile (Marla Landi), who are hiding their own dark secrets as well. Sir Henry begins an affair with Cecile unaware of her own motives for wanting contact with him. Meanwhile Holmes continues his investigations into the supposed Baskerville curse and uncovers that the strange light in the distance is from an escaped convict who happens to be the unfortunate brother of Mrs Barrymore (Helen Goss), the wife of Baskerville Hall's head butler (John Le Mesurier). Sir Henry meanwhile has got himself into more trouble than he bargained for when Cecile reveals her plan of revenge on the Baskervilles to him. In a fiery confrontation he narrowly escapes losing his life when all is revealed in the mist shrouded ruins on the moors where all those years ago Sir Hugo murdered the innocent local girl. Holmes intervenes just in the nick of time and the legend of the savage hound from hell is once and for all laid to rest.
As with all of the top flight Hammer productions their version of "The Hound of the Baskervilles", is a richly constructed production with atmospheric sets and many fine performances. Peter Cushing was born to play the role of the famous Baker Street detective and is a worthy successor to the legendary Basil Rathbone in the role. He turns Holmes into the fussy , slightly pedantic character that Doyle depicted him as and he certainly as a performer fits comfortably into the rich Victorian period flavour of the film as he did in many other Hammer productions. Andre Morell, another Hammer veteran provides the character of Dr. Watson with an interesting different slant to the very famous but not true to the original novel, interpretation by Nigel Bruce in the original film. Morell's Watson is a far more assured character that is definately capable of taking his own initative in the mystery unfolding before him on the moors. Christopher Lee fresh from his triumph in his signature role as Count Dracula in "Horror of Dracula", many believe was miscast in the romantic lead role of Sir Henry however I feel he brings alot of interesting elements to his character that while not perhaps fitting the romantic leading man image nevertheless makes Sir Henry more than just a standard cardboard romantic male lead. Other supporting performances also add strength to the story , in particular Francis de Wolff as the suspicious Dr. Mortimer around who a real mystery hovers and Ewen Solon and Marla Landi as the Stapleton's who are much more than they first appear to be. There is even a comic element in this otherwise very serious story provided by Miles Malleson in a very amusing role as the sherry loving Bishop Frankland. Production standards are well and truly up to what you would expect from top flight Hammer at this time. The standard elements of rich colour, day for night photography and a meticulous recreation of Victorian England and the chilly moors add wonderful visual elements that greatly enhance the atmosphere of the story. The "shock elements", of the story introduced at various intervals are a mixed bag with the tarantula that mysteriously turns up in Sir Henry's London hotel room providing great suspense while the mysterious "hound", when finally seen does unfortunately lack quite alot of the expected terror we have been anticipating.
Beatifully directed by Terence Fisher who helmed a large proportion of Hammer's greatest classics such as "Horror of dracual", and "The Mummy", this version of "The Hound of the Baskervilles", is also a great favourite of mine from that studio's stable. Despite its altering of some essential elements in the famous novel which I'm sure Holmes purists will object to it is still in my belief a worthy edition to any Sherlock Holmes lovers film library. I highly recommend you try and see Baker Street's most famous detective do battle with the terrifying hound from hell in Hammer's 1959 version of the famous story "The Hound of the Baskervilles", soon.
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