The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939 film)

1939 film by Sidney Lanfield

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Sidney Lanfield
Screenplay by| Ernest Pascal
Based on| The Hound of the Baskervilles
1902 novel
by Arthur Conan Doyle
Produced by| Gene Markey
Darryl F. Zanuck
Starring|

* Richard Greene
* Basil Rathbone
* Wendy Barrie
* Nigel Bruce

Cinematography| Peverell Marley
Edited by| Robert Simpson
Music by| David Buttolph
Charles Maxwell
Cyril J. Mockridge
David Raksin
Distributed by| 20th Century Fox

Release date

* March 31, 1939 (1939-03-31)

Running time

| 80 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English

The Hound of the Baskervilles is a 1939 American gothic mystery film[1] based on the 1902 Sherlock Holmes novel of the same name by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Directed by Sidney Lanfield, the film stars Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. John Watson. Released by 20th Century Fox,[2] it is the first of fourteen Sherlock Holmes films produced between 1939 and 1946 starring Rathbone and Bruce.

It is among the most well-known cinematic adaptations of the novel, and is often regarded as one of the best.[3] It co-stars Richard Greene as Henry Baskerville (who received top billing, as the studio was unsure of the potential of a film about Sherlock Holmes[3]) and Wendy Barrie as Beryl Stapleton.

The Hound of the Baskervilles is notable as the earliest known Sherlock Holmes film to be set in the Victorian period of the original stories. All known previous Holmes films, up to and including the 1930s British film series starring Arthur Wontner as Holmes, had been updated to a setting contemporaneous with the films' release.[4]

## Plot[edit]

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John H. Watson receive a visit from Dr. James Mortimer, who wishes to consult them before the arrival of Sir Henry Baskerville, the last of the Baskervilles, heir to the Baskerville estate in Devonshire.

Dr Mortimer is anxious about letting Sir Henry go to Baskerville Hall, owing to a supposed family curse. He tells Holmes and Watson the legend of the Hound of the Baskervilles, a demonic dog that first killed Sir Hugo Baskerville several hundred years ago (seen in flashback) and is believed to kill all Baskervilles in the region of Devonshire.

Holmes dismisses it as a fairy-tale, but Mortimer narrates the events of the recent death of his best friend, Sir Charles Baskerville, Sir Henry's uncle. Although he was found dead in his garden without any trace of physical damage, Sir Charles's face was distorted as if he died in utter terror, from heart failure. He alone had noticed footprints at some distance from the body when it was found; they were the paw marks of a gigantic hound.

Holmes decides to send Watson to Baskerville Hall along with Sir Henry, claiming that he is too busy to accompany them himself. Sir Henry quickly develops a romantic interest in Beryl Stapleton, the step-sister of his neighbour Jack Stapleton, a local naturalist. Meanwhile, a homicidal maniac named Selden, escaped from Dartmoor Prison, lurks on the moor.

Holmes eventually makes an appearance, having been hiding in the vicinity for some time making his own investigation. Watson and Sir Henry attend a seance held by Mrs. Mortimer. In a trance, she asks, "What happened that night on the moor, Sir Charles?". The only reply is a lone howl, possibly from a hound. After some clever deception by Holmes, he surmises that the true criminal is Stapleton, a long-lost cousin of the Baskervilles, who hopes to claim their vast fortune himself after removing all other members of the bloodline.

Stapleton kept a huge, half-starved, vicious dog trained to attack individual members of the Baskervilles after prolonged exposure to their scent. However, when the hound is finally sent to kill Sir Henry Baskerville, Holmes and Watson arrive to save him just in time. They kill the hound. Stapleton then traps Holmes down in the hound's underground kennel, and sends Watson into the moor to meet Holmes. Holmes cuts his way out of the kennel and returns to the house and destroys the poison that Stapleton had just given to the wounded Baskerville. Stapleton pulls a gun and flees. Holmes says ominously, "He won't get very far. I've posted constables along the roads and the only other way is across the Grimpen Mire."

Holmes is praised for his work on the case, and he turns in.

## Cast[edit]

* Richard Greene as Sir Henry Baskerville
* Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes
* Wendy Barrie as Beryl Stapleton
* Nigel Bruce as Dr John H. Watson
* Lionel Atwill as Dr James Mortimer
* John Carradine as Barryman, butler
* Morton Lowry as John (Jack) Stapleton
* Eily Malyon as Mrs Barryman
* Barlowe Borland as Frankland
* Beryl Mercer as Mrs Jenifer Mortimer
* Ralph Forbes as Sir Hugo Baskerville (in flashback sequence)
* E. E. Clive as Cabby in London
* Lionel Pape as Coroner
* Nigel De Brulier as Convict (as Nigel de Brulier)
* Mary Gordon as Mrs Hudson
* Ian Maclaren as Sir Charles

## Reception[edit]

In a contemporary review, the Monthly Film Bulletin described the film as an "excellent film version of the novel." noting that the film's elements "sustain the suspense until the exciting climax," and that "the atmosphere is extremely well contrived". Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce were praised for their roles, while "only Wendy Barrie seems lifeless as Beryl in a cast which is uniformly good."[5]

## Awards and honors[edit]

American Film Institute recognition

* 2001 - AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills \- Nominated
* 2003 - AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains:
* Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson - Nominated Heroes
* 2008 - AFI's 10 Top 10 \- Nominated Mystery Film

## References[edit]

1. ^ "The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)". AllMovie. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
2. ^ Barnes, Alan (2002). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. pp. 186–188. ISBN 1-903111-04-8.
3. ^ a b The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) at Turner Classic Movies
4. ^ Boström, Mattias (2018). From Holmes to Sherlock. Mysterious Press. p. 226\. ISBN 978-0-8021-2789-1.
5. ^ "Hound of the Baskervilles, The". Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 6, no. 61\. British Film Institute. 1939. p. 94.

## External links[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939 film).

* The Hound of the Baskervilles at IMDb
* The Hound of the Baskervilles at AllMovie
* The Hound of the Baskervilles at the TCM Movie Database
* The Hound of the Baskervilles at the American Film Institute Catalog

* v
* t
* e

Screen adaptations of Sherlock Holmes

Theatrical films|

| Silent|

* Sherlock Holmes Baffled (1900)
* Adventures of Sherlock Holmes; or, Held for Ransom (1905)
* Sherlock Holmes in the Great Murder Mystery (1908)
* Arsène Lupin contra Sherlock Holmes (1910)
* Éclair film series (1912–1913)
* Der Hund von Baskerville (1914)
* Detektiv Braun (1914)
* A Study in Scarlet (1914 British film)
* A Study in Scarlet (1914 US film)
* The Valley of Fear (1916)
* Sherlock Holmes (1916)
* Sherlock Holmes (1922)
* The Hound of the Baskervilles (1929)

| Stoll series|

* The Dying Detective (1921)
* The Devil's Foot (1921)
* The Man with the Twisted Lip (1921)
* The Hound of the Baskervilles (1921)
* The Sign of Four (1923)

|

Wontner series|

* The Sleeping Cardinal (1931)
* The Missing Rembrandt (1932)
* The Sign of Four (1932)
* The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes (1935)
* Silver Blaze (1937)

Rathbone–Bruce
series|

* The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)
* The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)
* Voice of Terror (1942)
* Secret Weapon (1942)
* Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943)
* Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943)
* The Spider Woman (1943)
* The Scarlet Claw (1944)
* The Pearl of Death (1944)
* The House of Fear (1945)
* The Woman in Green (1945)
* Pursuit to Algiers (1945)
* Terror by Night (1946)
* Dressed to Kill (1946)

Downey series|

* Sherlock Holmes (2009)
* A Game of Shadows (2011)

Other films|

* The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1929)
* The Limejuice Mystery (1930)
* The Speckled Band (1931)
* Lelíček ve službách Sherlocka Holmese (1932)
* The Hound of the Baskervilles (1932)
* Sherlock Holmes (1932)
* A Study in Scarlet (1933)
* The Hound of the Baskervilles (1937)
* The Grey Lady (1937)
* The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes (1937)
* Deduce, You Say! (1956)
* The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)
* The Deadly Necklace (1962)
* A Study in Terror (1965)
* The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)
* They Might Be Giants (1971)
* The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975)
* The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976)
* The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978)
* Murder by Decree (1979)
* The Case of Marcel Duchamp (1984)
* Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)
* The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
* Without a Clue (1988)
* Zero Effect (1998)
* A Samba for Sherlock (2001)
* Case Closed: The Phantom of Baker Street (2002)
* Holmes & Watson. Madrid Days (2012)
* Mr. Holmes (2015)
* The Empire of Corpses (2015)
* Sherlock Gnomes (2018)
* Holmes & Watson (2018)
* Sherlock Holmes and the Great Escape (2019)

Television/
Streaming/
Direct-to-video|

| Films|

| Ian Richardson|

* The Sign of Four (1983)
* The Hound of the Baskervilles (1983)

|

Peter O'Toole
(animated)|

* Sherlock Holmes and a Study in Scarlet (1983)
* Sherlock Holmes and the Baskerville Curse (1983)
* Sherlock Holmes and the Sign of Four (1983)
* Sherlock Holmes and the Valley of Fear (1983)

Vasily Livanov
series|

* Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (1979)
* The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (1980)
* The Hound of the Baskervilles (1981)
* The Treasures of Agra (1983)
* The Twentieth Century Approaches (1986)

Christopher Lee|

* The Leading Lady (1991)
* Incident at Victoria Falls (1992)

Matt Frewer|

* The Hound of the Baskervilles (2000)
* The Sign of Four (2001)
* The Royal Scandal (2001)
* The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire (2002)

Ian Hart
(as Watson)|

* The Hound of the Baskervilles (2002)
* The Case of the Silk Stocking (2004)

Millie Bobby Brown
(as Enola)|

* Enola Holmes (2020)
* soundtrack
* Enola Holmes 2 (2022)

Other films|

* The Three Garridebs (1937)
* The Man Who Disappeared (1951)
* The Hound of the Baskervilles (1972)
* The Longing of Sherlock Holmes (1972)
* Doctor Watson and the Darkwater Hall Mystery (1974)
* The Return of the World's Greatest Detective (1976)
* Sherlock Holmes in New York (1976)
* Silver Blaze (1977)
* The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It (1977)
* The Hound of the Baskervilles (1982)
* The Masks of Death (1984)
* The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1987)
* Hands of a Murderer (1990)
* The Crucifer of Blood (1991)
* 1994 Baker Street: Sherlock Holmes Returns (1993)
* The Hound of London (1993)
* Sherlock: Case of Evil (2002)
* Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars (2007)
* Sherlock Holmes (2010)
* Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes (2010)

Television series|

* Sherlock Holmes (1951)
* Sherlock Holmes (1954)
* Sherlock Holmes (1965–1968)
* Sherlock Holmes (1967–1968)
* Sherlock Holmes (1968)
* Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson (1979–1980)
* Young Sherlock: The Mystery of the Manor House (1982)
* The Baker Street Boys (1983)
* Sherlock Hound (1984–1985)
* Sherlock Holmes (1984–1994)
* episodes
* The Adventures of Shirley Holmes (1997–2000)
* Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century (1999–2001)
* Sherlock (2010–2017)
* Tantei Opera Milky Holmes (2010–2016)
* Aria the Scarlet Ammo (2011)
* Elementary (2012–2019)
* Sherlock Holmes (2013)
* Sherlock Holmes (2014–2015)
* Code:Realize − Guardian of Rebirth (2017)
* Miss Sherlock (2018)
* Sherlock: Untold Stories (2019)
* Case File nº221: Kabukicho (2019–2020)
* Moriarty the Patriot (2020–2021)
* Sherlock in Russia (2020)
* The Irregulars (2021)
* Lupin the 3rd Part 6 (2021–2022)
* The Tale of the Outcasts (2023)
* Undead Girl Murder Farce (2023)

Actors by role|

* Sherlock Holmes
* Dr. Watson
* Inspector Lestrade
* Mycroft Holmes
* Mrs. Hudson
* Professor Moriarty

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Sidney Lanfield

* Cheer Up and Smile (1930)
* Three Girls Lost (1931)
* Hush Money (1931)
* Dance Team (1932)
* Society Girl (1932)
* Hat Check Girl (1932)
* Broadway Bad (1933)
* Moulin Rouge (1934)
* The Last Gentleman (1934)
* Hold 'Em Yale (1935)
* Red Salute (1935)
* King of Burlesque (1936)
* Half Angel (1936)
* One in a Million (1936)
* Sing, Baby, Sing (1936)
* Wake Up and Live (1937)
* Love and Hisses (1937)
* Thin Ice (1937)
* Always Goodbye (1938)
* The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)
* Second Fiddle (1939)
* Swanee River (1939)
* You'll Never Get Rich (1941)
* The Lady Has Plans (1942)
* My Favorite Blonde (1942)
* The Meanest Man in the World (1943)
* Let's Face It (1943)
* Standing Room Only (1944)
* Bring on the Girls (1945)
* The Well Groomed Bride (1946)
* The Trouble with Women (1947)
* Where There's Life (1947)
* Station West (1948)
* Sorrowful Jones (1949)
* The Lemon Drop Kid (1951)
* Follow the Sun (1951)
* Skirts Ahoy! (1952)

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