The Hound of the Baskervilles

Review by Garnet Brooks

This two hour film is based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's story of the same name. It is one of a series starring Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes and Edward Hardwick as Dr. Watson. Several of Conan Doyle's stores starring this pair were produced as weekly television episodes by Granada Television.

The film begins with gloomy, gothic music that matches the dank and dark setting. The music gradually transforms itself into the Holmes' series theme. We see a castle in the fog and the dark then outside on the moors, the feet of a dog. The large hound's feet appear to be luminous, green and glowing. A man in a dinner jacket is smoking a cigar. He is outside the summer house near the gate and when he hears the hound, he runs in terror up the terrace trying to escape but he collapses, lying there alone.

The scene changes. It is London and the crowded streets are filled with activity. Inside Holmes' rooms in Baker Street, Holmes is sitting at a table set for tea. He has engaged Dr. Watson in a discussion about a man's cane he has found. The cane has a silver tip and a silver grip. It has indentations that Holmes tells Watson are the result of dog bites. As Holmes finishes telling Watson his idea of the description of the man who owns it, the man appears outside the window. It is Dr. Mortimer and he has come to ask for help with a mystery. He fills them in on the particulars. It seems that in the middle 1700's a man named Hugo Baskerville had kidnapped a girl. She escaped him and met her death on the moors. A massive hound appeared and hunted down Sir Hugo killing him. Since that time the local people have reported sightings of the hound which they think is demonic. Recently Sir Charles Baskerville had met his death and the circumstances strike Dr. Mortimer as suspicious.

Sir Charles is the man glimpsed running to the Baskerville summer house before he died apparently of a massive heart attack. Dr. Mortimer has made the acquaintance of Sir Charles' heir. Sir Henry Baskerville, the heir, arrives from America and immediately receives a strange letter. Constructed of newspaper print he is not sure if it is a warning or a threat. Holmes tells him it is a well-meant warning.

Dr. Watson agrees to go with Dr. Mortimer and Sir Henry to Baskerville Hall to investigate the strange occurrences. Holmes says he is detained in London. We see Baskerville Hall first in fog and at night. The setting invokes gothic images and sustains the air of suspense and fear. At the hall the three men are greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Barrymore long retainers of Sir Charles. They seem wary and afraid.

The mystery begins to play itself out. Nearby neighbors Mr. and Miss Stapelton are introduced. Sir Henry invites them and some other local residents to dinner. Among them is Mr. Franklin, a litigious astronomer. They discuss the rumors circulating. The local curate believes that the hound may be real. One of the things of concern to all is the supposed presence of an escaped convict in the neighborhood. The man Selden has been convicted of brutally slaying a family.

There are other curious and ominous occurrences. What is the reason Mr. Barrymore signals to someone on the moors at night? Why is Mr. Stapelton furious that Sir Henry seems to court his sister? Who is the mysterious man in a hat who roams the moors? And most important of all, is the hound a real mastiff or is it supernatural in origins?

The plot begins to unfold and this time Dr. Watson seems to have the full responsibility of solving the puzzle and protecting Sir Henry. The plot is intricately woven. It is an engaging and suspenseful story. Conan Doyle's detective Sherlock Holmes is a master of logic and scientific deduction. Yet later in his life Conan Doyle came to believe in the supernatural. This film is one in which either a scientific or a spiritual explanation could be true. It is not till the final scenes that the viewer finds the answer to this riddle.