The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)

The Hound of the Baskervilles is a British horror film first released in 1959, directed by Terence Fisher.  The film is based on a novel by Arthur Conan Doyle and stars Peter Cushing, André Morell, Christopher Lee, Marla Landi and David Oxley.  Our overall rating for this film is: very good.


When Sir Charles Baskerville dies in mysterious circumstances one evening, his friend Dr Mortimer is convinced that he is the latest victim of an old family curse.  Ever since Sir Hugo Baskerville murdered a young woman, some centuries ago, the Baskervilles have been haunted by a hound from Hell.   Concerned that Sir Charles’ heir, Sir Henry Baskerville, is to be the hound’s next victim, Dr Mortimer consults the world famous detective Sherlock Holmes.  The case intrigues Holmes, but he is convinced that Sir Charles’ death was the result of natural, not supernatural causes.  He instructs his colleague Dr Watson to travel down to Baskerville Hall in Devon and keep a watchful eye on his new client.  It soon becomes clear that someone intends to kill Sir Henry, but who, and for what reason...?

After their successful pairing in Hammer’s 1958 production of Dracula, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee are reunited in this enjoyable Gothic-style adaptation of Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles, the only Sherlock Holmes film which Hammer made, although others were planned.  Cushing is as good in the role of the deerstalker-wearing sleuth as he was as the vampire hunter Van Helsing, and his portrayal of Holmes as a cold man of intellect is somewhat closer to Conan Doyle’s creation than Basil Rathbone’s earlier film interpretation.  Cushing would reprise the role in a popular BBC television series in 1968, partnered with Nigel Stock as Dr Watson.  Christopher Lee would also get to play the famous detective in a Franco-German film, Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace (1962) which, incidentally, was co-directed by Terence Fisher, the Hammer stalwart who directed this film.  Here the part of Dr Watson is capably played by André Morell, who had just starred as Professor Quatermass in the now legendary BBC TV series, Quatermass and the Pit.

Not surprisingly, given that Hammer’s forte was horror not detective fiction, this version of The Hound of the Baskervilles puts much greater emphasis on the horror rather than the mystery elements of the story.  Although the horror content is pretty mild, even for a Hammer film of this period, the atmospheric sets and photography succeed in imbuing a spine-tingling sense of menace that suggests supernatural forces are at large.  The one horror scene that does leave a lasting impression is the one in which Christopher Lee is menaced by a tarantula; what makes this so frightening is the sheer terror the actor manages to convey, a touch of realism which is pretty rare for Hammer.  The film isn’t flawless (many of the deviations from the original story are unnecessary and merely muddle the plot) but, thanks mainly to the fine performances and some unexpected humour, it offers an entertaining and original take on a familiar story.

© James Travers 2009

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