The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)

Director:

Sidney Lanfield

Writers:

Arthur Conan Doyle (novel)
Ernest Pascal (screenplay)

Release Date:

31 March 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Sherlock Holmes ,aided by Dr Watson, investigates mysterious deaths apparently caused by a family curse.

Plot Keywords:

Investigation | Curse | Manor | Attack | Investigator

Cast

Richard Greene	...	Sir Henry Baskerville
Basil Rathbone	...	Sherlock Holmes
Wendy Barrie	...	Beryl Stapleton
Nigel Bruce	...	Dr. John H. Watson
Lionel Atwill	...	Dr. James Mortimer
John Carradine	...	Barryman
Barlowe Borland	...	Mr. Frankland
Beryl Mercer	...	Jenifer Mortimer
Morton Lowry	...	John Stapleton
Eily Malyon	...	Mrs. Barryman
E.E. Clive	...	John Clayton, cabby
Ralph Forbes	...	Sir Hugo Baskerville
Lionel Pape	...	Coroner
Nigel De Brulier	...	The Convict
Mary Gordon	...	Mrs. Hudson
Ian Maclaren	...	Sir Charles Baskerville
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Leonard Carey	...	Hugo's Servant (uncredited)
Kenneth Hunter	...	Ship's Officer (uncredited)
Vesey O'Davoren	...	Ship's Steward (uncredited)
Rita Page	...	Chambermaid (uncredited)
John Graham Spacey	...	Ship's Porter (uncredited)
Ruth Terry	...	Betsy Ann (uncredited)
David Thursby	...	Open Carriage Driver (uncredited)
Peter Willes	...	Roderick (uncredited)
Mary Young	...	Betsy Ann's Mother (uncredited)

Directed by
Sidney Lanfield

Writing credits
Arthur Conan Doyle		(novel "The Hound of the Baskervilles")
Ernest Pascal		(screenplay)

Produced by
Gene Markey	....	associate producer
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
David Buttolph		(uncredited)
Charles Maxwell		(uncredited)
Cyril J. Mockridge		(uncredited)
David Raksin		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
J. Peverell Marley		(as Peverell Marley)

Film Editing by
Robert L. Simpson		(as Robert Simpson)

Art Direction by
Richard Day
Hans Peters

Set Decoration by
Thomas Little

Costume Design by
Gwen Wakeling

Production Management
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	executive in charge of production

Sound Department
W.D. Flick	....	sound
Roger Heman Sr.	....	sound (as Roger Heman)

Music Department
Cyril J. Mockridge	....	musical director

Other crew
Harold Lloyd Morris	....	technical advisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1939) (USA) (theatrical)
• MPI Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• MPI Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• CBS Television (1976) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• CBS/Fox (????) (USA) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox (????) (USA) (VHS) (laserdisc)
• Optimum Releasing (2005) (UK) (DVD)

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Norway:16 | UK:PG | Finland:K-16

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

After being out of circulation for many years, partly because of the 1959 Hammer remake in Technicolor starring Peter Cushing, this film was restored and re-released to theaters in 1975 with great fanfare, to the point of having the national evening news do a story on it. The film was shown at its full 80-minute length, and newspaper and magazine articles commented on the fact that the line "Oh, Watson, the needle!", referring to Holmes' cocaine habit (and usually misquoted as "Quick, Watson, the needle!") was put back in after having been cut by the censors. As an added attraction, the studio added a rare sound film featurette which showed Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes books, talking about his creation.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Sherlock Holmes: Oh, Watson, the needle!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Magic Sword (#5.11)" (1992)

The classic adaptation

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's best loved Sherlock Holmes work, The Hound of the Baskervilles, gets a beautifully photographed presentation on the screen by director Sidney Lanfield. Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce team in their first Holmes film as the world's original reasoning detective Sherlock Holmes and his companion Dr. Watson. Sir Henry Baskerville (Richard Greene) returns from abroad to take up residence in the family estate on the eerie moors in west England. But the foggy landscape appears to be haunted by an invisible creature with demonic powers bent on destroying Sir Henry. Holmes must use all his powers of deduction to solve the case. Although other actors have played Holmes and Watson, Rathbone and Bruce are the undisputed kings. Rathbone brings his rapier profile and fiery intensity to Holmes and Bruce plays Watson like an adoring and faithful puppy dog. They made other adaptations of Holmes together but The Hound of the Baskervilles is the strongest Conan Doyle story and makes for the best movie in the Holmes series.