The Hound of the Baskervilles
Director: Terence Fisher
Release year: 1959
Renowned detective Sherlock Holmes sends his friend and helper Doctor Watson to Dartmoor to protect Sir Henry Baskerville, new owner of Baskerville Hall, after his uncle dies in mysterious circumstances. There is a convict on the loose, the villagers are not friendly, and there might be a monstrous hound prowling the moors.
This was a dose of good cheer after watching Dario Argento’s Giallo. A Hammer Studios production, Peter Cushing, André Morell and Christoper Lee, as well as a supporting cast of luminaries, play off each other beautifully. Fisher made this not long after Dracula, and the sets and costumes are similarly lush.
The opening is surprisingly vicious. I couldn’t remember the original Conan Doyle story well enough to recognise changes to it, but I was surprised at the working class anger driving the core of the story. Everything British has class in the mix, and as clearly evil as the plot to kill Sir Henry is, the ruling classes (from Sir Henry to the local Bishop and even Holmes) have a contemptuous streak, and I couldn’t help being a little on the side of the ones who had been stolen from and were seeking revenge.