I Watch Films: The Hound Of The Baskervilles (1959)

The Hound Of The Baskervilles

I turned this on without checking the details and was pleasantly surprised to discover it was the 1959 Hammer version with Peter Cushing as Holmes. There’s a bit of blood and sex, especially in the period prologue. Sir Henry Baskerville is played by Christopher Lee.

It’s fairly true to the original, and in particular has some lesser Holmes details – him keeping his correspondence pinned to the mantelpiece by a jackknife. Watson is not the buffoon of the Bruce incarnation, but formidable in his own right, especially when it comes to medical details. As ever the Baskerville family is haunted by a spectral hound. However the solution requires Holmes to uncover a number of secrets out on the moor and in the history.

Watch This: For an excellent period Hammer thriller and a solid Holmes adaption
Don’t Watch This: If a detective chasing after a demon dog sounds ridiculous.