The Hound of the Baskervilles is a 1939 mystery thriller set on the moors of Dartmoor where a supernatural beast seemingly lurks.
Directed by Sidney Lanfield from a screenplay by Ernest Pascal (Destiny), based on the 1902 novel of the same name by Arthur Conan Doyle, the movie stars Richard Greene, Basil Rathbone, Wendy Barrie, Nigel Bruce, Lionel Atwill and John Carradine. Produced by Gene Markey and Darryl F. Zanuck.
Plot [includes spoilers]:
In 1889, Sherlock Holmes and Dr John H. Watson receive a visit from Doctor James Mortimer, who wishes to consult them before the arrival of Sir Henry Baskerville, the last of the Baskervilles, heir to the Baskerville estate in Devonshire. Doctor Mortimer is anxious about letting Sir Henry go to Baskerville Hall, and talks about the events of the recent death of his best friend, Sir Charles Baskerville, Sir Henry’s uncle. Although he was found dead in his garden from heart failure, Mortimer noticed the footprints of a gigantic hound.
He tells the story of a supposed family curse, the legend of the Hound of the Baskervilles, a demonic dog that first killed Sir Hugo Baskerville several hundred years ago and is said to have caused the death of many Baskervilles in the region of Devonshire. Though Holmes dismisses the curse, he agrees to meet Sir Henry, who receives a message warning him to stay away from the moor. Holmes witnesses someone attempt to shoot Sir Henry. Holmes asks Watson to go to Baskerville Hall along with Sir Henry, claiming that he is too busy to accompany them himself.
The first night, Sir Henry and Watson discover Barryman, the butler, signalling from a window with a candle to someone on the moor. After unsuccessfully catching a man fleeing across the moor, Watson and Sir Henry are startled by hound-like howls. The next day, Watson is suspicious of the neighbour Jack Stapleton, a local naturalist, while Sir Henry becomes attracted to Beryl Stapleton, the step-sister of Jack Stapleton.
Watson and Sir Henry attend a séance held by Mrs. Mortimer. In a trance, she asks, “What happened that night on the moor, Sir Charles?” They are troubled by hound-like howls. Watson meets a crippled peddler, limping on each of his legs, and receives a message to come see him. The peddler reveals himself to be Holmes, having been on the moor all the time making his own investigation. The hound kills a man on the moor whom Holmes and Watson fear is Sir Henry but turns out to be the man Barryman was signaling to; Holmes explains that it was a convicted murderer, who escaped from Dartmoor Prison, and was Mrs. Barryman’s brother, who had given him Sir Henry’s clothes.
Stapleton kept a huge, half-starved, vicious dog trained to attack individual members of the Baskervilles after prolonged exposure to their scent. When the hound is finally sent to kill Sir Henry Baskerville, Holmes and Watson arrive to save him just in time, killing the hound. Stapleton traps Holmes down in the hound’s underground kennel, and sends Watson on an errand to meet Holmes.
Holmes cuts his way out of the kennel and returns to the hall and destroys the poison that Stapleton had just given to Sir Henry as a medication for his wounds. Holmes surmises that Stapleton is a Baskerville, who hopes to claim their vast fortune himself after removing all other members of the bloodline. Stapleton pulls a gun and flees. Holmes says ominously to Watson, “He won’t get very far. I’ve posted constables along the roads and the only other way is across the Grimpen Mire.” Holmes is praised for his work on the case, and he turns in.
Film facts:
Alfred L. Werker (director of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes) worked on this film as the uncredited assistant director.
Fox was unsure of the potential of a film about Sherlock Holmes, so top billing went to Richard Greene and not to Rathbone.
This was the first Sherlock Holmes film to feature the famous detective in the correct Victorian setting. Previous Holmes’ movies were all set in contemporary times. However, Holmes and Watson would return to the “present” in 1942 when Universal Pictures picked up the rights.
The final line of the film is a rather blatant drugs reference and was censored in 1939. However, in 1975 a print was discovered that contained Holmes saying: “Oh Watson, the needle!”
Cast and characters:
Richard Greene … Sir Henry Baskerville
Basil Rathbone … Sherlock Holmes
Wendy Barrie … Beryl Stapleton
Nigel Bruce … Doctor Watson
Lionel Atwill … James Mortimer M.D.
John Carradine … Barryman
Barlowe Borland … Frankland
Beryl Mercer … Mrs Jennifer Mortimer
Morton Lowry … John Stapleton
Ralph Forbes … Sir Hugo Baskerville
E.E. Clive … Cabby
Eily Malyon … Mrs Barryman
Lionel Pape … Coroner
Nigel De Brulier … Convict
Mary Gordon … Mrs Hudson
Ian Maclaren … Sir Charles
Filming locations:
20th Century Fox Studios – 10201 Pico Boulevard, Century City, Los Angeles, California
Technical specs:
1 hour and 20 minutes
Black and white
Aspect ratio: 1.37: 1
Audio: Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)
Release:
Released in the USA by 20th Century Fox on March 31st 1939.
4K b/w and colour trailer:
Free to watch online on YouTube [1080p Premium HD]:
Free to watch online on YouTube [720p]:
Free to watch online on YouTube in 4K:
Free to watch online on YouTube in colour and 4K:
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