People are voting emotionally.

A Disappointing Continuation

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Master sleuth Sherlock Holmes (Peter Cushing) and his aide Watson (Andre Morell) are engaged to investigate the strange death of Sir Charles Baskerville, the latest in a long line of victims of his family's terrible 'curse'. Watching over the last in the family's line, Sir Henry (Christopher Lee), Holmes ventures onto the forbidding Dartmoor moors to unravel the enigma of the demon hound.The first Holmes adventure in colour, Conan Doyle's most popular story gets the Hammer treatment: blood, boobage and atmosphere. The film very effectively creates a sinister atmosphere of dark mansions, foggy moors and the monstrous howl in the depths of night, while ramping up the violence from the original story (including maulings, burning, attempted rape and a cave in), though never to the point of cheap exploitation and tastelessness, but in fact enhancing the Gothic ambiance Hammer is known for.What classes up the production, first off, is the great cast: Cushing is a near pitch perfect Holmes from the page: mercurial, thorough and a touch arrogant but always aware of the bigger picture and the risks involved. Morrell, the first new screen Watson since Nigel Bruce, ditches the classic bumbling for a stout and reserved military man who, though not as bright as Holmes, is still capable and determined to the case. Lee is in a rare sympathetic role as the last Baskerville, and gives it a fitting aristocratic bearing while making him more down to earth and even a touch bolshy.The second key point is a mostly tight screenplay that effectively condenses Doyle's story without making it a less compelling mystery that straddles the line of the supernatural very well. It does a good job at keeping the Hound as a background menace, building up to it slowly, while taking us through the steps of Holmes' investigation and his methods as we see him piece the affair together. If there are gripes here, is that there are some strands that go really nowhere and are more there just for quick thrills (like an element of human sacrifice, or the dubious portrayal of a key character that is never brought up again), and well, when you finally see the Hound... don't get your hopes up. Even for the time, it's rather a damp squib. Regardless, if you like your Hammer or classic horror in general, and love a suspenseful adventure yarn, this is a good 'un.

After successfully re-stimulating cinema audience's thirst for classic horror with re-tellings of the Dracula and Frankenstein legends, Hammer Films turned their attention to another piece of classic British literature, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. It seemed logical to adapt Doyle's arguably most popular story, The Hound of the Baskervilles, a tale translated to the screen countless times before and since 1959. This being Hammer however, the Gothic atmosphere and supernatural elements took centre stage, and with Terence Fisher in the director's chair and Peter Cushing donning the famous deerstalker, this is not only one of the finest Holmes adaptations but one of Hammer's most memorable works.Beginning centuries ago, the sadistic aristocrat Sir Hugo Baskerville (David Oxley) is enjoying a night of debauchery when a female prisoner escape and flees into the surrounding moors. Outraged, he pursues her with his pack of hounds, and eventually captures her and stabs her to death. Shortly after, Hugo is killed by an unseen entity that causes him to die with a look of terror on his face. Hundreds of years later, and Sir Charles Baskerville has been found dead under similar circumstances, leaving his only remaining heir Sir Henry (Christopher Lee) to take over Baskerville Hall. Now fearing that Sir Henry may become the next victim of the Baskerville curse, Dr. Richard Mortimer (Francis De Wolff) employs the talents of Sherlock Holmes and his trusted partner Dr. Watson (Andre Morell) to solve the mystery.The film has its problems, mainly with Holmes going missing for a large chunk of the running time and leaving Dr. Watson in charge of the investigation, but thankfully Morell proves to be suitably refined in the role and capable of carrying the movie for this period. The hound at the final reveal is also anti-climatic and rather silly, although this is understandable given that there are no true supernatural powers at work here. These quibbles are overshadowed by some sumptuous cinematography by Hammer stalwart Jack Asher, whose smoky moors really drum up a genuinely spooky atmosphere at times, especially during the surprisingly violent opening scene and the tense climax. This being Hammer, liberties are taken with the source material, but it's all for the sake of good old-fashioned entertainment. It's a shame Cushing and Hammer wouldn't adapt more Holmes stories than they did.

Two great things that go great together: Sherlock Holmes and Hammer Films! This is the first Holmes film shot in color, and it has a lot to offer. First of all, Peter Cushing is a remarkably good Holmes and quite faithful to the Conan Doyle conception of the character. He was a huge fan of the original stories and knew them quite well; it certainly translates onto the screen. Equally important, Andre Morrell does a superb turn as Dr. Watson, probably the most faithful and accurate portrayal of the doctor up to this point. The supporting cast is peopled with various Hammer stalwarts, foremost among them none other than Christopher Lee as Sir Henry. There are a few changes made to fit the novel into the Hammer style of horror a bit more closely (Sir Henry is menaced by a tarantula!), but they don't detract from the overall effectiveness. The Hound looks suitably menacing, fitted with a demonic dog mask to increase the spookiness, Cushing has a fun scene flinging a dagger into a table top while interrogating a suspect, and, to their undying credit, the filmmakers mount a ripping re-enactment of the events that began the legend. In most productions of the THOTB, this is omitted entirely or scanted. Not so here, and David Oxley is a most unnerving Sir Hugo. You can see why the neighbors thought he was possessed. Recommended.

This adaptation was really good, on par with the Basil Rathbone and Jeremy Brett adaptations and marginally better than the Ian Richardson version, though that was decent. It doesn't have the slow pacing of the Jeremy Brett version though, or the rushed ending of the Basil Rathbone film and that is a good thing. Whatever minor flaws this film has, I felt the beginning wasn't quite as atmospheric as the rest of the adaptation, this is still a wonderful film with a great atmosphere and cast.It looks good, the sets are detailed, the cinematography is innovative and the costumes are great, painting a sort of romantic atmosphere in a dark way, while the hound is quite scary. The score is also suitably eerie, the story doesn't meander, the direction from Terence Fisher is excellent and the script is well written. And the acting is wonderful. Personally I thought Basil Rathbone and Jeremy Brett are better in the role, but Peter Cushing gives one of his finer performances regardless, and he is well supported by Andre Morell who is earnest and likable as Watson and the great Christopher Lee is on top form as Sir Henry.Overall, definitely one of the better adaptations of the book, if not THE best. 9/10 Bethany Cox