Mark Turner Growing up in the sixties we didn't have access to things taken for granted today. No video recorders, no DVDs, no streaming services and for the most part no cable even. If we wanted to see something we watched it when it was on. It also meant that there was plenty of classic films to be found on select VHF stations, collections bought in packages that those stations ran. It was on one of these stations that I was able to watch all of the classic Universal horror films and the wonderful series of Sherlock Holmes movies starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. But one night I was able to see a different version of Holmes, a more recent one, and loved it as much as I did those in the series. It featured Peter Cushing in the lead role and was titled THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES.The film opens in the past with the story of Hugo Baskerville, an entitled rogue if there ever was one, and his demise due to the famed hound from hell that roamed the moors seeking revenge against him. Time has passed and we move forward to the present (in this case late 1800s, early 1900s). The new heir to Baskerville Hall is Sir Henry (Christopher Lee) and an attack on his life has already been made. Holmes is hired to protect him but instead send Watson (Andre Morell) to stay by his side while he finishes business in London.Watson obliges and does his best to protect Sir Henry but mysterious things are afoul in the area. A convict has escaped from Dartmoor Prison nearby and has yet to be captured. A woman is seen prowling the moors and Sir Henry finds himself attracted to her. Lights are lit in the hall where no one should be. And the baying of a hound is heard at night.Clues mount up, Holmes arrives in more ways than one and the mystery of the hound is sought out. It's a story with plenty of those clues giving hints as to what is going on but never quite revealed until the final scene. In other words, a great mystery.The movie succeeds in so many ways it's difficult to pinpoint just which should take credit. Produced by Hammer Films, the studio already responsible for pairing Lee and Cushing in their versions of Frankenstein and Dracula, made the smart move of pairing them here together again. Director Terence Fisher does an amazing job of bringing the best out of all his actors. The sets and locations are perfect. The story moves along at a pace that holds your interest and never releases it. In short it is a near perfect film and perhaps the best made revolving around Sherlock Holmes. So sad to think of how wonderful it would have been to see Cushing star in more films based on the character.Twilight Time is releasing this one and as always they've done a fantastic job. The quality of the transfer is wonderful to see. This time around they also offer more extras than usual. Those include an isolated music and effects track, audio commentary with film historians David Del Valle and Steven Peros, audio commentary with film historians Paul Scrabo, Lee Pfeiffer and Hank Reinke, ACTOR'S NOTEBOOK: CHRISTOPHER LEE, hound mask creator Margaret Robinson on the film, Christopher Lee reading excerpts from the book and the original theatrical trailer. Once again Twilight Time this is a limited edition and restricted to just 3,000 copies. If you love Cushing, Lee, Holmes or Hammer by all means jump on a copy of this right away. If you just love a good movie it's worth having as well.

Hitchcoc "The Hound of the Baskerville" is such a great story. Why do the producers of the several remakes of the story mess around with the plot. The Basil Rathbone one has seances and other silliness; even the Jeremy Brett one, which for other episodes remains true to the story plots, messes around with the conclusion. It isn't that this isn't somewhat enjoyable. It's just not "The Hound of the Baskerville." One thing I noted was that the character of Watson is treated with some respect. Nigel Bruce is a ding dong, incapable of writing his own name, let alone performing as a published author. There is good atmosphere and the usual Hammer film panache, so stay with it and enjoy it for what it is.

Shawn Watson Hound of the Baskervilles is probably the most filmed adaptation of Conan-Doyle's Sherlock Holmes lore. There are literally dozens of HOTB adaptations across movies, TV, plays, mini-series, and even video games. There's not much one can do with the material to keep it interesting and fresh, but Terence Fisher mixes up a few of the elements as best as he can, which might have some Holmes purists crying foul.Holmes and Watson are called away to the gloomy moors of Dartmoor where a giant hellhound has been tormenting the dwindling numbers of the Baskerville family. Sir Henry has recently moved in after a number of years living in Africa and his weak heart is about to pack in as the rumors intensify.Watson takes over for the beginning of the case as Holmes vanishes to sleuth on his own. For anyone who has read the novel or seen any of the previous movies all of this will be so far so familiar, as are the next two acts. What this Hammer production does offer is some nice production design and a few striking shots. Peter Cushing is good as Holmes while Andre Morell, displeased with Nigel Bruce's interpretation of Watson, brings a serious edge to the character.As the first Sherlock Holmes movie made in color it does look very slick and it's never boring. It just fails to bring anything truly new to the table. Though I would have like to see Hammer take this series further. Sadly, the movie underperformed and they did not.

tomgillespie2002 After successfully re-stimulating cinema audience's thirst for classic horror with re-tellings of the Dracula and Frankenstein legends, Hammer Films turned their attention to another piece of classic British literature, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. It seemed logical to adapt Doyle's arguably most popular story, The Hound of the Baskervilles, a tale translated to the screen countless times before and since 1959. This being Hammer however, the Gothic atmosphere and supernatural elements took centre stage, and with Terence Fisher in the director's chair and Peter Cushing donning the famous deerstalker, this is not only one of the finest Holmes adaptations but one of Hammer's most memorable works.Beginning centuries ago, the sadistic aristocrat Sir Hugo Baskerville (David Oxley) is enjoying a night of debauchery when a female prisoner escape and flees into the surrounding moors. Outraged, he pursues her with his pack of hounds, and eventually captures her and stabs her to death. Shortly after, Hugo is killed by an unseen entity that causes him to die with a look of terror on his face. Hundreds of years later, and Sir Charles Baskerville has been found dead under similar circumstances, leaving his only remaining heir Sir Henry (Christopher Lee) to take over Baskerville Hall. Now fearing that Sir Henry may become the next victim of the Baskerville curse, Dr. Richard Mortimer (Francis De Wolff) employs the talents of Sherlock Holmes and his trusted partner Dr. Watson (Andre Morell) to solve the mystery.The film has its problems, mainly with Holmes going missing for a large chunk of the running time and leaving Dr. Watson in charge of the investigation, but thankfully Morell proves to be suitably refined in the role and capable of carrying the movie for this period. The hound at the final reveal is also anti-climatic and rather silly, although this is understandable given that there are no true supernatural powers at work here. These quibbles are overshadowed by some sumptuous cinematography by Hammer stalwart Jack Asher, whose smoky moors really drum up a genuinely spooky atmosphere at times, especially during the surprisingly violent opening scene and the tense climax. This being Hammer, liberties are taken with the source material, but it's all for the sake of good old-fashioned entertainment. It's a shame Cushing and Hammer wouldn't adapt more Holmes stories than they did.