The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)
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- Release Date: May 4, 1959
- Directed by: Terence Fisher
- Written by: Peter Bryan
- Runtime: 1 hour 26 minutes
Not too long after Hammer breathed new life into some classic monsters with The Curse of Frankenstein and Dracula (aka Horror of Dracula), the company decided to try their hand at adapting a Sherlock Holmes story for the big screen. Much like how their monster films revitalized the characters for a new generation of moviegoers, The Hound of the Baskervilles was an all-new, bigger-budget adaptation following several Holmes films that were made throughout the 1930s-40s. It took me a while to get around to watching this movie, since it tends to get overshadowed by all of the company's horror films that were released around the same time. Even though it's not really a straightforward horror film, it's a great little mystery movie that delivers all of the goods that the company did best when it came to giving new life to a classic tale.
I've never read a Sherlock Holmes book, so I can't really compare how this movie holds up in terms of being a good adaptation of the original novel. However, I can say that its production value is on par with the gothic Frankenstein and Dracula films that the company had released a year before. Fresh off of those recent hits, Terence Fisher returned to the director's chair for this one, and Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee returned to star alongside each other as protagonists. This was the first Holmes adaptation to be shot in color, and it really helps to show off some of the beautiful sets that were used here. In classic Hammer fashion, the stylish manor is filled with luxurious furniture, dozens of candles, lamps, paintings, and other furnishings that make every location gorgeous to look at. The same attention to detail is given to the characters' wardrobe choices as well. For example, Peter Cushing developed his costume by looking at how Holmes was illustrated in the original issues of The Strand Magazine where the stories were published. The level of care that went into Hammer's films is what makes them so much fun to watch, and this movie is yet another example of how the company never slacked off when it came to making a production look and feel bold and new.
You can't have a good mystery without a compelling cast of characters, and in that area this movie delivers in spades. Peter Cushing heads up the cast as Sherlock Holmes, and he's just as good as you'd expect him to be in a part like this. He's very witty and sharp, and he has a lot of sarcastic moments when he's thinking a couple of steps ahead of everyone else. You get the feeling that even though he's a genius, none of the characters want to be around him for very long because he's just so over-analytical and a little obnoxious. Andre Morell plays Dr. Watson, and he's a pretty good counterbalance to Holmes' eccentricities. His deadpan delivery leads to a lot of funny moments, especially when they're in response to some sarcastic remark from Holmes. It's really amusing to see these two acting as allies, since a villainous Morell would go on to make Cushing's work day a living hell in Cash on Demand. Finally, Christopher Lee rounds out the lead roles as Henry Baskerville. This was the first Hammer production in which he didn't play the villain, and after two monster roles the left him with little to no dialogue, it's really nice to see him get to flex his acting chops. He gets to express a wide range of emotions with his character - the arrogant aristocrat, the fearful mortal man, the curious investigator, and even the romantic in a few scenes. There's even a chunk of the movie where Cushing drops out of the storyline for a while, and it's up to Lee and Morell to pick up the slack in his absence. All three of these actors play so well off of each other, and it really makes me wish that Lee got to play more heroes during his time with Hammer. He had a very suave charm that was sadly overshadowed by his ability to play a fantastic villain, and it would have been nice to see him get to branch out more when it came to his lead roles with the studio.
The Hound of the Baskervilles has everything that makes the best Hammer films icons of their era: beautiful sets, very talented actors, tense but funny writing, and bloodshed that was shot in popping color. It's just as strong as the monster movies that put the studio on the map, and it really surprises me that they never made any follow-ups to it. If you want to see more of what British genre films did best, don't skip this one!