Sherlock Holmes - The Hound of the Baskervilles

It's perhaps surprising that "Hound of the Baskervilles" has become the single most well-known Sherlock Holmes story. True, like many of the short stories, it takes Holmes and Watson away from their digs in London and out to an ancient familial estate. But it has two elements that make it distinct from nearly every other of the original stories: it has a distinct supernatural element, and Holmes himself is absent for a sizeable portion of the narrative.No doubt Fox chose to adapt this story for its popularity as much as anything else, but the supernatural element was certainly a factor in its favor. One of the great selling points of the film is its recreation of the ghostly moors, even with studio sets. And it's only natural that Fox wanted to cover up Holmes' absence as much as possible, by creating what really hadn't been seen before on film: a convincing and engaging Holmes/Watson dichotomy.Rathbone and Bruce make this film. Whether you like or dislike their individual interpretations, you've got to admit they work well together. And it's a testament to Nigel Bruce's ability as an actor, bumbler or no, that he can carry the film for those twenty or thirty minutes when Sherlock Holmes is completely absent. Richard Greene gets top billing, sure, but this is the first time a Holmes and Watson team completely outshine everything else in the production.Some reviews take great pains to point out what Fox changed about this story. But in reality, this is probably the most straightforward "Hound" ever made. Most of the changes are made for simple brevity, stripping away the subplots and leaving the core. This is probably to keep the film both within budget, and from shifting too far from the Holmes/Watson focus; in other adaptations, Holmes might be off the screen for up to an hour. A couple changes are obviously made to please the studio (changing Barrymore to Barryman, so as not to insult the famous acting family) or the morals of the day (the complications concerning Stapleton's sister have been removed), but the only one that's really strange is the decision not to make the hound itself glow! It reduces the effectiveness of the climax, particularly after all the supernatural lead-up, and it's the one flaw I can really find with the film.MPI presents this film in a very nice package that compliments its earlier "Sherlock Holmes Collection" releases of the later Universal films. Although the film, unlike the later ones, hasn't been restored by the UCLA, you'll hardly notice it; there's a few spots on certain scenes late in the action, but they are very fleeting indeed. This is a lovely, clean picture, very sharp, with great greys and blacks. Similarly, the mono audio is crisp and clear. You won't be unhappy.The extras are a little more of a mixed bag. Richard Valley's booklet of production notes (should you purchase the disc) are, as usual, very insightful and well worth your time. Unfortunately, David Stuart Davies' commentary is rather dry and simplistic. If you're a Sherlock Holmes fan, you probably already know most of the information he relates, and may want skip it. Casual viewers, however, might find interest in skimming it with the chapter search buttons. A photo gallery is included, although it's constantly animated with zooms and pans (something which personally bothers me), and three trailers are included in a 'trailer gallery.' None of them, however, are for "The Hound of the Baskervilles." They are all re-release trailers, in pretty poor condition, for later films in the Universal series: "Dressed to Kill" (film #14), "House of Fear" (film #10), and "Terror by Night" (film #13). Why these particular trailers were chosen, I'm not sure.If you're a fan of Sherlock Holmes, you'll not only want to see this film, you'll want to own it; at the $15-$20 price point, it's well worth it. This is the essential version of "The Hound of the Baskervilles," and even more so, the quintessential Sherlock Holmes film. Highly recommended.

Great value, good vintage film selection for us fans of the great detective genre. Whether you are a collector or just curious, this vintage movie is fun to watch. Suspenseful, atmospheric and my favorite Sherlock Holmes.

With the release of this feature and "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," all 14 classic films by Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce will have finally been released in a quality DVD format. The UCLA Theatre Archives has done an outstanding job in restoring and thus preserving these great films from 35mm master copies into the digital format, sometimes literally being forced to piece together the celluloid remnants they found. It took the archivists years to complete the entire project, but is well worth the wait. The result is that the black and white images seem as fresh today as when the films were released to theatres more than 40 years ago. The archivists deserve a hearty thanks from all movie fans concerned with preserving America's classic cinema heritage for future generations to enjoy.Atmospherically, "The Hound of the Baskervilles" is arguably the best of the 14 Holmes films, and the only one based specifically on a Conan Doyle story. It, and "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," are the only two "period" films in the series and run longer, the remainder taking place in then modern-day England and America of the late 30s and early 40s and run about 90 minutes each. In both "Hound" and "Adventures," Holmes dons his deerstalker cap, popularized by original Strand Magazine illustrator Sidney Paget who made the image synonymous with the great detective. It is interesting to note that in the first of the non-period films in the series, Holmes reaches for his handy deerstalker, but is stopped by Watson. "Holmes," Watson said, "you promised." Leaving the deerstalker on the peg, Holmes grabs a "modern" hat instead.Rathbone is especially sharp in "Hound of the Baskervilles," and is partnered by Bruce, who plays a bumbling Watson throughout the 14 films that was not Conan Doyle's vision of the greatsleuth's biographical "Boswell." Nonetheless, the pairing is hugely entertaining and satisfying.The creation of the moor, the sinister grimpen mire and truly terrifying hound remains fantastic and does much to engender this story as one of Conan Doyle's most popular with modern-dayreaders and viewers alike.The final scene represents the only reference any of the 14 films made to Holmes' "seven-percent" cocaine habit as Rathbone asks Bruce to retrieve "the needle." The scene, criticized as too risque by 1939 audiences, caused the film's producers to make a conscious decision to omit any additional mention of Holmes' recreational drug use in future outings.I only wish that Rathbone and Bruce had lived to see their great work released to new audiences in this pristine DVD condition.

Very good mystery