The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)

Director:

Terence Fisher

Writers:

Arthur Conan Doyle (novel)
Peter Bryan (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 July 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Sherlock Holmes' Most Terrifying Adventure! [UK]

Plot:

When a nobleman is threatened by a family curse on his newly inherited estate, detective Sherlock Holmes is hired to investigate.

Plot Keywords:

Curse | Sherlock Holmes | Detective | Hound | Family Curse

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Dec. 26

2:30 AM

TCM

Cast

Peter Cushing	...	Sherlock Holmes
André Morell	...	Doctor John Watson (as Andre Morell)
Christopher Lee	...	Sir Henry
Marla Landi	...	Cecile Stapleton
David Oxley	...	Sir Hugo Baskerville
Francis De Wolff	...	Doctor Richard Mortimer (as Francis de Wolff)
Miles Malleson	...	Bishop Frankland
Ewen Solon	...	Stapleton
John Le Mesurier	...	Barrymore
Helen Goss	...	Mrs. Barrymore
Sam Kydd	...	Perkins
Michael Hawkins	...	Lord Caphill
Judi Moyens	...	Servant Girl
Michael Mulcaster	...	Selden - the Convict
David Birks	...	Servant
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Elizabeth Gott	...	Mrs. Goodlippe (uncredited)
Ian Hewitson	...	Lord Kingsblood (uncredited)

Directed by
Terence Fisher

Writing credits
Arthur Conan Doyle		(novel "The Hound of the Baskervilles") (as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Peter Bryan		(screenplay)

Produced by
Michael Carreras	....	executive producer
Anthony Hinds	....	producer
Anthony Nelson Keys	....	associate producer
Kenneth Hyman	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
James Bernard

Cinematography by
Jack Asher		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Alfred Cox

Production Design by
Bernard Robinson

Makeup Department
Roy Ashton	....	makeup artist
Henry Montsash	....	hair stylist
Margaret Robinson	....	hound mask (uncredited)

Production Management
Don Weeks	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
John Peverall	....	assistant director
Hugh Harlow	....	third assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Arthur Banks	....	master plasterer (uncredited)
Charles Davis	....	master carpenter (uncredited)
Eric Hillier	....	props buyer (uncredited)
Mick Lyons	....	construction manager (uncredited)
Don Mingaye	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Tom Money	....	property master (uncredited)
Frank Pannicelli	....	model dog maker (uncredited)
Gilbert Wood	....	scenic artist (uncredited)
Lawrence Wren	....	master painter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Jock May	....	sound recordist
Jim Perry	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Sydney Pearson	....	special effects (as Sid Pearson)

Camera and Electrical Department
Len Harris	....	camera operator
Steve Birtles	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Teddy Catford	....	camera operator: second unit (uncredited)
Tom Edwards	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Harry Oakes	....	focus puller (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Molly Arbuthnot	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
James Needs	....	supervising editor

Music Department
John Hollingsworth	....	conductor

Other crew
Shirley Barnes	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Hammer Film Productions (present)

Distributors

• United Artists Corporation (1959) (UK) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1959) (USA) (theatrical)
• CBS/Fox (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1988) (UK) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (Europe) (2003) (UK) (DVD)
• C.B. Films (Spain)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (USA) (laserdisc)
• Magnetic Video (USA) (VHS)
• United Artists Video (UAV) (USA) (VHS)

Runtime:

87 min | Canada:64 min (Ontario)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Canada:PG | Norway:16 | USA:Approved (PCA #19213) | Finland:K-16 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) (1988) | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England, UK

Company:

Hammer Film Productions

Trivia:

This film was planned to be the first in a series of many Sherlock Holmes films starring Peter Cushing, produced by Hammer Films. The audience disapproved of a Hammer film without any monsters and failed to turn up. The planned franchise was then dropped.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After Stapleton is shot the dog starts to run passed him, Stapleton clearly pulls the dog onto him to make it look like he is being attacked.

Quotes:

[on meeting Dr. Watson]
Bishop Basil Frankland: I knew a Watson once, a white slaver...

Movie Connections:

Version of The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)

Sherlock Holmes meets Hammer Films!

Before England's Hammer Films went strictly horror, they produced this handsome second-version of what became an oft-filmed Sir Arthur Conan Doyle suspense yarn, previously made in 1939 with Basil Rathbone. Sherlock Holmes (a good--not great--Peter Cushing) unravels the mysterious case of an apparent curse placed upon a prestigious family near the Moors. When we do get to see the hellish hound of the title, it's strangely anti-climactic, and the pacing of the film is inert. The Technicolor photography and production design are very good however, and Christopher Lee gives a solid performance as a 'doomed' descendant (his run-in with a tarantula is a highlight). Apparently, this was meant by Hammer to be the first in a Holmes series, but Doyle's trust--and the public's indifference--scuttled those plans. ** from ****