![The Hound of the Baskervilles [DVD]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/913g4Fp5TzL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
It's perhaps surprising that "Hound of the Baskervilles" has become the single most well-known Sherlock Holmes story. True, like many of the short stories, it takes Holmes and Watson away from their digs in London and out to an ancient familial estate. But it has two elements that make it distinct from nearly every other of the original stories: it has a distinct supernatural element, and Holmes himself is absent for a sizeable portion of the narrative.No doubt Fox chose to adapt this story for its popularity as much as anything else, but the supernatural element was certainly a factor in its favor. One of the great selling points of the film is its recreation of the ghostly moors, even with studio sets. And it's only natural that Fox wanted to cover up Holmes' absence as much as possible, by creating what really hadn't been seen before on film: a convincing and engaging Holmes/Watson dichotomy.
Rathbone and Bruce make this film. Whether you like or dislike their individual interpretations, you've got to admit they work well together. And it's a testament to Nigel Bruce's ability as an actor, bumbler or no, that he can carry the film for those twenty or thirty minutes when Sherlock Holmes is completely absent. Richard Greene gets top billing, sure, but this is the first time a Holmes and Watson team completely outshine everything else in the production.
Some reviews take great pains to point out what Fox changed about this story. But in reality, this is probably the most straightforward "Hound" ever made. Most of the changes are made for simple brevity, stripping away the subplots and leaving the core. This is probably to keep the film both within budget, and from shifting too far from the Holmes/Watson focus; in other adaptations, Holmes might be off the screen for up to an hour. A couple changes are obviously made to please the studio (changing Barrymore to Barryman, so as not to insult the famous acting family) or the morals of the day (the complications concerning Stapleton's sister have been removed), but the only one that's really strange is the decision not to make the hound itself glow! It reduces the effectiveness of the climax, particularly after all the supernatural lead-up, and it's the one flaw I can really find with the film.
MPI presents this film in a very nice package that compliments its earlier "Sherlock Holmes Collection" releases of the later Universal films. Although the film, unlike the later ones, hasn't been restored by the UCLA, you'll hardly notice it; there's a few spots on certain scenes late in the action, but they are very fleeting indeed. This is a lovely, clean picture, very sharp, with great greys and blacks. Similarly, the mono audio is crisp and clear. You won't be unhappy.
The extras are a little more of a mixed bag. Richard Valley's booklet of production notes (should you purchase the disc) are, as usual, very insightful and well worth your time. Unfortunately, David Stuart Davies' commentary is rather dry and simplistic. If you're a Sherlock Holmes fan, you probably already know most of the information he relates, and may want skip it. Casual viewers, however, might find interest in skimming it with the chapter search buttons. A photo gallery is included, although it's constantly animated with zooms and pans (something which personally bothers me), and three trailers are included in a 'trailer gallery.' None of them, however, are for "The Hound of the Baskervilles." They are all re-release trailers, in pretty poor condition, for later films in the Universal series: "Dressed to Kill" (film #14), "House of Fear" (film #10), and "Terror by Night" (film #13). Why these particular trailers were chosen, I'm not sure.
If you're a fan of Sherlock Holmes, you'll not only want to see this film, you'll want to own it; at the $15-$20 price point, it's well worth it. This is the essential version of "The Hound of the Baskervilles," and even more so, the quintessential Sherlock Holmes film. Highly recommended.
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Reviews with images
A Classic Story For the Introduction to Rathbone as Holmes!
It is 1889, and Holmes and Watson receive a visit from the retired Dr. Mortimer. He has retired to the stark beauty of Dartmoor in western England. His good friend, Sir Charles Baskerville, just died of heart failure in the yew alley next to his manor house. Not just died, but left this mortal coil with his face contorted in horror. Sir Charles' heir, young Henry Baskerville, is emigrating from Canada to live at at the Hall and Sir Mortimer is afraid for the new heir's safety: "I have information that leads me to believe that for centuries past that every Baskerville who has inherited the estates has met with a sudden violent death."And the rest, as they say, is history, for "The Hound of the Baskervilles" is surely one of the most famous stories in history.This is the 1st movie where Basil Rathbone played Sherlock Holmes, with Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson. Though I enjoy it, I give it 4 stars instead of 5 because it unnecessarily deletes an area of dramatic tension in the original story and in other filmed versions of the story. I refer to having the Stapletons REALLY be brother & sister, instead of being married and PRETENDING to be siblings. I imagine that's because the sister is a potential romantic interest for young Henry. After all, Richard Greene, the actor who plays Henry, is the actor who got star billing in the movie!"The Hound of the Baskervilles" came out in 1939 and is 80 minutes long. If you buy it on disc, English subtitles are available on the movie. The subtitles are a little off once in a while. I actually laughed at one mistake, as it showed that the person making the subtitles had never read the story: Grimpen Mire is shown as "gimping mire"! Then there's Dr. Mortimer to Holmes and Watson: "I'm in mortal fear Sir Henry's life will be stuffed out."The disc also has three Bonus Features: A Photo Gallery, Trailers, and a Commentary Track. The Commentary Track is by David Stuart Davies, writer and editor of "Sherlock " magazine. I am a fan of commentaries and this one is interesting. At one point, he says, "It is fair to say that [Nigel] Bruce's [befuddled] Watson is far removed from the character conceived by Arthur Conan Doyle. But Watson has always caused a problem for scriptwriters, because he's an observer and a describer.""The Hound of the Baskervilles" is included in a collection of all 14 of the Sherlock films which Rathbone made with Bruce, The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection. The first two of the movies were placed in Holmes' "real" Victorian times. The last 12 were modernized to take place in the 1940s.I am a fan of many film and TV iterations of Sherlock Holmes, and that includes the Rathbone/Bruce Sherlock series.Happy Reader
