The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)

Plot Outline: In the 1600s, Sir Hugo Baskerville murdered a peasant girl but was then found dead on the moors shortly afterwards, killed by a hound from hell. Since that fateful night, every Baskerville has suffered the same grisly fate, with the latest victim being Sir Charles Baskerville. So after his father dies under the same circumstances, Sir Henry Baskerville moves into his moors mansion and, in a bid to try and end the curse, he enlists the help of renowned detective Sherlock Holmes, to get to the bottom of it.

The Review: This is a rare treat in that it's a Hammer film with little horror, gore and nudity in and no real monster to speak of, yet stars Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. So for anyone who wants to watch the two men in action in a non-traditional horror film, then this is for you. Cushing is excellent as Holmes but like all of his roles, Cushing seems to have been born to play the detective. He has the right amount of wit, intelligence and ruthlessness about him to make him the ideal Holmes. Andre Morell is also excellent as Watson, no longer the ignorant poor man's version of Holmes. The two men aren't equals in this film but they play off each other well to make the perfect crime-solving machine. Christoper Lee is somewhat muted in a romantic lead role (to which he very rarely played) and you can just imagine him popping out some fangs when he is kissing the peasant girl. Sometimes playing against type doesn't work and this is one of those instances. The Hammer effect is clear to see in the opening scenes as the lavish sets come alive with a variety of vivid colours and there is a foreboding air of mystery and suspense about the proceedings. The gothic mood is evident one again - you can spot a Hammer film a mile away. But then that's it as far as Hammer goes and the film delves back to it's source material. This is the film's main problem. Hammer has a reputation of horror and blood to live up but the book itself isn't as graphic and gory - it was more of a mystery. Hammer was caught between the two when making this. It couldn't make the film too graphic because it wouldn't be true to it's source material and turn away fans of the novel but on the other hand, Hammer's fans wouldn't go to see it if they knew that the studio was cutting out the red stuff and easing back on the violence. So the film tries hard without the pushing the boat too much.

Final Verdict: The end result is a mixed bag - The Hound of the Baskervilles is not exactly faithful to the book and it's not a really traditional Hammer film. But it's enjoyable enough and if you have read the book then you'll no doubt enjoy this romp.

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