Production Year: 1939 - Drama - Director: Sidney Lanfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring: John Carradine, Beryl Mercer, Basil Rathbone, Richard Greene, Wendy Barrie, Nigel Bruce, Lionel Atwill more
The first of 14 films pairing Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as the definitive Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, this version of THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES remains the most... more
classic novel. Tailor-make an all-time classic just for you!Substitute the name of the leading character with your name Create your own cast list choose yourself, family and friends to play six leading characters Write your own personalised dedication Make your choices with the help of the cast list then simply register You will receive your own Personalised Classic - first edition! The full range of Personalised Classics includes:-For horror fans: Dracula and Frankenstein For the adventurers: The Hound of the Baskervilles and Robin Hood For the romantics: Pride and Prejudice and Romeo and Juliet For everyone: Alices Adventures in Wonderland and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz! Collect and star in them all!The Hound of the BaskervillesBecome the famous detective!How this gift works ...Don your deerstalker and become Sherlock Holmes himself! Choose yourself, family and friends to play six leading characters. Simply substitute your chosen names with those of the characters using the enclosed cast list to help you. Write your own personalised dedication to appear in your book. Then register: online or by post. Your Personalised Classic will then be sent to you.Inside the gift box ...Welcome letter Your Gift explained About Arthur Conan Doyle and the novel Registration booklet including an activation code should you wish to register online After registration ...You will be sent your Personalised Classic - first edition. This is dispatched within 28 days of registration.
Sherlock Holmes himself! Choose yourself, family and friends to play six leading characters. Simply substitute the names of the leading characters with your chosen names, using the enclosed cast list to help you. Write your own personalised dedication to appear in the front of your book. Then register: online or by post. Your Personalised Classic will then be sent to you. What's in the box: Personalised Classics: The Hound of the Baskervilles Specifications: Brand:Gift Republic Welcome letter Your Gift Explained Cast List About Arthur Conan Doyle and the novel Registration booklet including an activation code should you wish to register online A Word from the Manufacturer: Experience more than a gift with Gift Republic exciting ranges of diverse products. Gift Republic is a leader in offering unique gift ideas for people who are looking for something a little bit different. We offer an ever expanding range of Gift Republic innovative and quality products.
classic novel. Tailor-make an all-time classic just for you!Substitute the name of the leading character with your name Create your own cast list choose yourself, family and friends to play six leading characters Write your own personalised dedication Make your choices with the help of the cast list then simply register You will receive your own Personalised Classic - first edition! The full range of Personalised Classics includes:-For horror fans: Dracula and Frankenstein For the adventurers: The Hound of the Baskervilles and Robin Hood For the romantics: Pride and Prejudice and Romeo and Juliet For everyone: Alices Adventures in Wonderland and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz! Collect and star in them all!The Hound of the BaskervillesBecome the famous detective!How this gift works ...Don your deerstalker and become Sherlock Holmes himself! Choose yourself, family and friends to play six leading characters. Simply substitute your chosen names with those of the characters using the enclosed cast list to help you. Write your own personalised dedication to appear in your book. Then register: online or by post. Your Personalised Classic will then be sent to you.Inside the gift box ...Welcome letter Your Gift explained About Arthur Conan Doyle and the novel Registration booklet including an activation code should you wish to register online After registration ...You will be sent your Personalised Classic - first edition. This is dispatched within 28 days of registration.
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 1981 - Drama - Director: Franco Zeffirelli - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Brooke Shields, Martin Hewitt, Shirley Knight, Don Murray, Richard Kiley, Penelope Milford, Beatrice Straight
Production Year: 1995 - Drama - Director: Ang Lee - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Greg Wise, Hugh Laurie, Robert Hardy
A review by sunmeilan on The Hound Of The Baskervilles (DVD) December 28th, 2005
Author's product rating:
Did you enjoy it?
Loved it
Story
Outstanding
Characters / Performances
Outstanding
Special Effects
Good
How does it compare to similar films?
Good
Advantages:
Spooky atmosphere of the moors
Disadvantages:
The dog
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Introduction The Hound of the Baskervilles is probably Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous work featuring Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes is probably the most famous detective in the English-speaking world, if not further afield - certainly in China if you say you're English, Sherlock Holmes is one of the most common replies (after Beckham and Owen!). Not much pressure then for a film-maker or the actors that star in it. I've seen at least three 'Hound' films, this 1939 one starring Basil Rathbone, one starring Peter Cushing and a more recent version starring Jeremy Brett. The Peter Cushing version didn't particularly stick in my mind, but the other two are both classics, perhaps with the Jeremy Brett version slightly edging ahead.
The director The director, Sidney Lanfield, was born in 1898, dying in 1972 in California. The other film for which he is most famous is My Favourite Blonde, starring Bob Hope.
The actors Basil Rathbone plays this portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, which is the first Holmes film he starred in, although he went on to star in many more. He did an exceptionally good job in this particular film, although I am quite critical of his portrayal in future films, such as Dressed to Kill, where he seems to take Holmes to a more comic level (possibly because the director is different).
Nigel Bruce plays Doctor Watson, Holmes' sidekick. I really enjoyed him in the role, although he is far more bumbling and stupid than he is supposed to be and has been much criticised for this. However, again, in this film, he is not as much of a caricature as he is in future films, where the stories are turned into little more than spoofs.
Richard Greene, who plays the young Sir Henry Baskerville, is also worth a brief mention. Although much over-shadowed by Holmes and Watson, he does bring a certain amount of class to the film and acted very convincingly.
The plot For those of you that don't know the story, Sir Hugo Baskerville, some hundred years before the story begins, made use of the local peasants for his own purposes, including the death of a young girl, and eventually was attacked and killed by a giant dog. Fast-forward a hundred years, and the latest head of the Baskervilles is found dead in suspicious circumstances, seemingly killed by a giant dog. This brings Sir Henry Baskerville back from overseas to claim his title.
A local doctor, a friend of the Baskervilles, contacts Sherlock Holmes, claiming to be afraid that the curse of the Baskervilles will hit again. Holmes stays behind in London, but sends his friend, Dr Watson, to the Baskerville home to keep an eye on the young Sir Henry. All seems to be going well, and Sir Henry meets and falls in love with the sister of a neighbour…then another death occurs. The dead man is an escaped criminal, hiding out on the moors near his sister and her husband; more importantly, he was wearing an overcoat of Sir Henry's at the time and it seems that the dog had been trained to kill whoever smelt of Sir Henry. Sherlock Holmes is called upon to solve the mystery before Sir Henry really is killed.
Conclusion Despite knowing the story inside out, I was hooked from beginning to end. The fact that the film is in black and white only adds to the spooky atmosphere as the characters roam across the moor at all hours of the night, hearing the distant howl of a dog. There is a constant feeling of suspense, knowing that the dog could appear at any time and claim its next death. And the ending, although I knew exactly what was going to happen, made my heart pound. The sign of a good film, I think.
My only real criticism is that the dog was not particularly large or scary. However, I can imagine that out of the ordinary enormous dogs are difficult to find, and at the time, special effects were probably out of the question.
In general, though, the director and the actors made an exceptionally good job of portraying this well-known story. Basil Rathbone is in his element in the role of Sherlock - it's just a shame it couldn't have stayed that way. However, without a doubt, despite the many actors who have portrayed Holmes, such as Tom Baker, Christopher Plummer, Michael Caine and the aforementioned Jeremy Brett and Peter Cushing, my top two actors have to be Brett and Rathbone. The others pale into insignificance. Highly recommended.
I watched the film version only and so cannot comment on any extras. In any case, I've only been able to find a video version of this film on Amazon and Ebay for about £11.99 - if there is a DVD version, I haven't been able to find it.
Advantages: A full blooded technicolour romp, good lead performances Disadvantages: A rather docile and unconvincing hound
...On proposing this film, I was deliberately vague with the description, as I am sure everyone will have their own favourite version of this oft filmed Sherlock Holmes outing.
Other than Dracula, Sherlock Holmes is the most depicted fictional character in screen history, with 'Hound of the Baskervilles' the most filmed tale. In 1959, and sniffing a potential franchise, Hammer became the first studio to mount a colour Sherlock Holmes production, and chose the potentially chilling 'Hound' as their starting point.
Following hot on the heels of their succesful gothic horrors, Hammer chose to approach the material with a little more sublety, if not with their marketing campaign. With Peter Bryan freely adapting Conan Doyles original, they upped the suspense, but downplayed the horror in favour of a more literate take on the story...
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Advantages: The story Disadvantages: So-so acting, strange accents
...Sir Charles Baskerville dies on the moors, supposedly killed by the curse that has affected the Baskerville family for a couple of centuries, which is thought to be in the form of a giant dog - the hound of the title. When the new Baskerville, Sir Henry, inherits, his friends are eager that he does not fall foul to the curse, and so approach famous detective Sherlock Holmes to help them. Holmes agrees to let his assistant, Dr Watson, accompany Sir Henry to the Baskervilles ancestral home, claiming to be too busy himself. He does, however, receive letters from Dr Watson with a detailed summary of goings-on, both on the part of Sir Henry and his neighbours, the Stapletons. Can Dr Watson save Sir Henry from the curse? Or is it fate?
There have been so many versions of this story, based on the original novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle...
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Advantages: Entertaining Disadvantages: Not a Conan Doyle plot
...it is apparently possible to get it in colour as well.
Conclusion
If you like Basil Rathbone in the role of Sherlock Holmes as I do, then you'll probably enjoy this. But you're unlikely to think it's the best film you've ever seen. I personally much preferred Rathbone in The Hound of the Baskervilles, his first film in the role, which stuck quite closely to Conan Doyle's original story. This DVD, and many of the others directed by Roy William Neil, is only loosely based on Conan Doyle's work and characters. This particular one, for example, is based during the Second World War, whereas as anyone with any knowledge of the original work will know that they were written during the late19th century. The clue of the dancing men does come from a Conan Doyle story, but the rest of it, apart from the characters (and that depends on your...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Plot: The first of 14 films pairing Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as the definitive Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, this version of THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES remains the most celebrated adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic mystery. When his uncle is found murdered on the grounds of the family estate, Sir Henry Baskerville (Richard Greene) arrives from abroad to claim his ancestral home on the fog-shrouded Devonshire moors. But family friend Dr. Mortimer (Lionel Atwill) brings Sir Henry to master sleuth Sherlock Holmes with fears for the young heir's life and tales of a family curse placed upon the Baskerville clan. Together they travel to the desolate Baskerville Hall and encounter a slew of mysterious goings-on, including a suspicious butler (John Carradine) and the ghost of a hound haunting the moors. Dripping with atmosphere, this suspenseful and absorbing film is one of the true gems of the Holmes adaptations.
Release details
DVD Region: DVD
Studio(s): Orbit Media Ltd.; Blackhorse Entertainment
Release date: 10/05/2004
No of Discs: 1
Catalogue No: HSC 10083
Barcode: 5024166058656
Author: Arthur Conan Doyle
Writer: Arthur Conan Doyle
DVD Description
The first of 14 films pairing Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as the definitive Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, this version of THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES remains the most celebrated adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic mystery. When his uncle is found murdered on the grounds of the family estate, Sir Henry Baskerville (Richard Greene) arrives from abroad to claim his ancestral home on the fog-shrouded Devonshire moors. But family friend Dr. Mortimer (Lionel Atwill) brings Sir Henry to master sleuth Sherlock Holmes with fears for the young heir's life and tales of a family curse placed upon the Baskerville clan. Together they travel to the desolate Baskerville Hall and encounter a slew of mysterious goings-on, including a suspicious butler (John Carradine) and the ghost of a hound haunting the moors. Dripping with atmosphere, this suspenseful and absorbing film is one of the true gems of the Holmes adaptations.
Languages
Main Language: English
Dubbed Language: None
Subtitle Language: None
Hearing Impaired Language: None
Technical information
Special Features: Chapter Selection
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Sound: Stereo
Dubbing Sound: Stereo English
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Listed on Ciao since : 28/12/2005
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