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Dr. Mortimer relates the legend of the Baskervilles in which an evil ancestor, Hugo, kidnapped and caused the death of a neighbour's daughter. Hugo was then overtaken by a supernatural hound and himself killed, dooming the future line of Baskerville. Sherlock Holmes obliges Dr. Mortimer's request for protection for Sir Henry, the new heir arriving from Canada. He will send Dr. Watson to observe and report. The idea may be too fantastic for a modern man of science, yet Dr. Mortimer has kept secret something he saw on the grounds of Baskerville Hall near Sir Charles' body.
Watson recounts to Holmes the various people of the household and village in his daily reports to Holmes. This includes the news of an escaped convict evading capture on the moors. Sir Henry proves himself an amiable host, master, and friend. He even has hopes of romance. However, in the gloom and isolation, and mysterious actions among servants and acquaintances, it becomes very easy to believe in the legend of the hound.
"A hound it was, an enormous coal-black hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen. Fire burst from its open mouth, its eyes glowed with a smouldering glare, its muzzle and hackles and dewlap were outlined in flickering flame. Never in the delirious dream of a disordered brain could anything more savage, more appalling, more hellish be conceived than that dark form and savage face which broke upon us out of the wall of fog.
The instant popularity of Sherlock Holmes on the page naturally led to popularity and success on the stage and screen. Universally acknowledged as one of Hollywood's finest years, 1939 saw lasting movie magic. One piece of superlative casting occurred when Darryl F. Zanuck of Twentieth Century Fox had the idea that versatile Basil Rathbone would make a perfect Sherlock Holmes. The studio was noted for several worthy literary adaptations and historical dramas such as Kidnapped and Lloyds of London. It was time for The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Holmes was in place, and now they needed a Watson. In Nigel Bruce's unpublished memoir Games, Gossip and Greasepaint (found online), depressed when his 1938 gig in a Broadway play closed too quickly, a telegram from Mr. Rathbone cheered Mr. Bruce. "Do come back to Hollywood, Willie dear boy, and play Doctor Watson to my Sherlock Holmes. We'll have great fun together."
The outstanding cast surrounding this new team included Richard Greene as Sir Henry, Lionel Atwill and Beryl Mercer as Dr. and Mrs. Mortimer, and Wendy Barrie and Morton Lowery as the Stapletons. John Carradine and Eily Malyon play the Baskerville Hall servants whose names were changed from Barrymore to Barrowman. Barlow Borland is the contentious neighbour Frankland. E.E. Clive is a delight as a London cabbie. The doomed Sir Charles was played by Ian Maclaren, Seldon the convict by Nigel De Brulier, and the wicked Sir Hugo by Ralph Forbes in a flashback/storytelling sequence. Mary Gordon made the first of seven appearances as Mrs. Hudson with Rathbone and Bruce.
The movie clocks in at 80 minutes and with not one wasted moment. We are introduced to Holmes and Watson in their Baker Street abode and treated to some exciting and witty London scenes. When the action changes to Baskerville Hall the superb work of art directors Richard Day (Dead End) and Hans Peters (The Picture of Dorian Gray) truly comes to the fore with its Gothic nature. The set for the Dartmoor countryside and Baskerville Hall took up an entire soundstage and is filled with hills, caves, and the dangerous marshland. A persistent fog was created and pumped onto the set, adding to the atmosphere of suspense and dread. Cinematographer J. Peverell Marley (Suez) creates an inky palate keeping us off-guard and looking over our shoulders.
Richard Greene, at 21-years of age, was top-billed as Sir Henry, followed by Basil Rathbone as Holmes. Leading lady Wendy Barrie was next and then Nigel Bruce as Watson. Perhaps this indicates that the studio was not certain if the audience would take to this new team. Certainly, the audience would be more than aware that they were going to see a Sherlock Holmes story. The film proved to be such a great success both at home and internationally that before the year was out, an adaptation of William Gillette's play was underway, and we had Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as the stars of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles with illustrations by Sidney Paget was serialized in The Strand Magazine in 1901/1902 and published as a novel in 1902. The Sherlock Holmes mystery has been continually in print and is considered a favourite tale of that most favourite character.
On a brisk evening in October, consulting detective Sherlock Holmes and his friend Dr. John Watson are visited by a Dr. Mortimer of Devon. The recent death of Sir Charles Baskerville of Baskerville Hall has been blamed on heart failure, but was there something sinister behind that heart failure?
The Gothic setting and nature of this murder mystery tinged with the supernatural reach out from the pages as Dr. Watson recounts the unfathomably suspicious events and the gloomy atmosphere of Grimpen Mire and Baskerville Hall. The dread which weighs on our friend and storyteller makes every footstep in the dark, every flickering candle an object of suspense.
On a brisk evening in October, consulting detective Sherlock Holmes and his friend Dr. John Watson are visited by a Dr. Mortimer of Devon. The recent death of Sir Charles Baskerville of Baskerville Hall has been blamed on heart failure, but was there something sinister behind that heart failure?
Dr. Mortimer relates the legend of the Baskervilles in which an evil ancestor, Hugo, kidnapped and caused the death of a neighbour's daughter. Hugo was then overtaken by a supernatural hound and himself killed, dooming the future line of Baskerville. Sherlock Holmes obliges Dr. Mortimer's request for protection for Sir Henry, the new heir arriving from Canada. He will send Dr. Watson to observe and report. The idea may be too fantastic for a modern man of science, yet Dr. Mortimer has kept secret something he saw on the grounds of Baskerville Hall near Sir Charles' body.
"Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound."
- Dr. Mortimer
"A few minutes later we had reached the lodge-gates, a maze of fantastic tracery in wrought iron, with weather-bitten pillars on either side, blotched with lichens, and surmounted by the boars' heads of the Baskervilles."
- Dr. Watson
"The fellow is wary and cunning to the last degree. It is not what we know, but what we can prove. If we make some false move the villain may escape us yet."
- Sherlock Holmes
"A hound it was, an enormous coal-black hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen. Fire burst from its open mouth, its eyes glowed with a smouldering glare, its muzzle and hackles and dewlap were outlined in flickering flame. Never in the delirious dream of a disordered brain could anything more savage, more appalling, more hellish be conceived than that dark form and savage face which broke upon us out of the wall of fog.
- Dr. Watson
The story is perhaps overly familiar to many of us after all these years, but on a brisk October evening, such as the one on which Dr. Mortimer recited the legend, there is nothing better than to sit in a circle of light with your favourite beverage at your side as you travel with Dr. Watson to the treacherous Grimpen Mire.
Holmes was in place, and now they needed a Watson. In Nigel Bruce's unpublished memoir Games, Gossip and Greasepaint (found online), depressed when his 1938 gig in a Broadway play closed too quickly, a telegram from Mr. Rathbone cheered Mr. Bruce. "Do come back to Hollywood, Willie dear boy, and play Doctor Watson to my Sherlock Holmes. We'll have great fun together."
Nigel Bruce, Lionel Atwill, Basil Rathbone, Richard Greene
Nigel Bruce, Beryl Mercer, Richard Greene, Wendy Barrie, Barlowe Borland
Ernest Pascal (Lloyds of London) adapted the novel and Sidney Lanfield (Station West) directed. Gwen Wakeling (Samson and Delilah) designed the costumes. Each character looks appropriate for each scene and the gowns for the ladies are beautiful and detailed. Eerie music from 20th Century Fox stalwarts Cyril Mockridge, David Raksin, David Buttolph and Charles Maxwell contributed greatly to the evocative atmosphere of the film.
Baskerville Hall
Richard Greene, at 21-years of age, was top-billed as Sir Henry, followed by Basil Rathbone as Holmes. Leading lady Wendy Barrie was next and then Nigel Bruce as Watson. Perhaps this indicates that the studio was not certain if the audience would take to this new team. Certainly, the audience would be more than aware that they were going to see a Sherlock Holmes story. The film proved to be such a great success both at home and internationally that before the year was out, an adaptation of William Gillette's play was underway, and we had Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as the stars of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce
Sherlock Holmes: "Murder, my dear Watson, refined, cold-blooded murder. There's no doubt about it in my mind. Or, perhaps I should say in my imagination. That's where crimes are conceived, and where they're solved, in the imagination."
The team of Rathbone and Bruce would make 12 modern-day set Holmes films for Universal Studios between 1942 and 1946, also performing in a popular radio series. For many of us, these actors were our introduction to the world of Baker Street and the films from 20th Century Fox are a special treat for giving us the characters in their true Victorian/Edwardian setting.