# Hound of the Baskervilles



## ravenus (Jul 15, 2004)

*Hound of the Baskervilles - Terence Fisher *  

Watched this one last night and while it won't stand up as a sterling example of Sherlock Holmes on screen it was good amusement. 

In the interests of glossing over what they consider the 'dull' parts of Doyle's manuscript Hammer cheerfully modify a good portion of it. Thus we have episodes like Holmes saving Henry Baskerville from a tarantula attack and Watson plunging into the Grimpen mire. Lots more where that came from. 

*Peter Cushing* although a dead ringer for Homes in his looks doesn't quite play it as well as I'd have liked him to. His Holmes is rather bluff and gung-ho even when curled up on a couch in his dressing gown, and often pointlessly rude. He also seems to have been tainted by leftovers of his Van Helsing dialog when at one point he pleads with the Bishop, "Can't you see I fight evil as you do?" (WHAT Bishop, I hear you say. Aha, that's one of the many surprises that Hammer's version of the story pulls on you). 

*Chrisopher Lee* makes a fine Henry Baskerville, although his statesque proportions and baritone make one think that he'd have made a fine Holmes as well. 

Fisher directs efficiently and there are some fine looking shots even if the backdrops look too prop-like. 

So long as you're not a Doyle puritan, this is a rather fun ride, with some hilarious detours from the original story.


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## ravenus (Jul 16, 2004)

Has anyone here seen the 2002 TV adaptation of HoTB with *Richard Roxburg* as Holmes? I should like to have opinions about it.


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## steve12553 (May 22, 2006)

I saw this version when I was maybe 12 or so. I had seen some of the Basil Rathbone movies and discovered some of the books so I wasn't picky and was just interested in more "Holmes" of any sort. I must have read the novel already because I remember wondering why Baskerville was from South Africa rather than the American West but all in all I agree it was entertaining in one way or another. The Rathbone-Bruce version was more true to the book and of course the Granada TV version with Jeremy Brett sets the standard but this was a fun movie.


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## CarlottaVonUberwald (May 28, 2006)

ive seen so many versions of Hotb i find it hard to get excited about any of them really


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## cornelius (May 28, 2006)

I saw one of the older versions lately, the hound was like from a Scooby-do cartoon, and Sherlock had a weird accent


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