LE CHIEN DES BASKERVILLE

There’s a reason you’ve never heard of this Hammer flick with Cushing & Lee

Around the turn of the century, Sherlock Holmes (Peter Cushing) and Doctor Watson (André Morell) try to protect the heir of the Baskerville estate (Christopher Lee) in southwest England after the former owner was found dead, rumored to be victim of a curse going back to the time of the English Civil War in the mid-1600s.

"The Hound of the Baskervilles" (1959) is Hammer’s take on Arthur Conan Doyle’s oft-filmed tale. While there are some minor changes to the story, it doesn’t “wildly” deviate as some have criticized. It features the lush colors and Victorian ambiance that Hammer is known for, plus you can’t go wrong with Cushing and Lee. Meanwhile Marla Landi is sharp & spirited in the feminine department while winsome Judi Moyens is notable in a brief opening role.

If you like Hammer and the principles, it’s enjoyable to some degree, but there’s good reason it’s so obscure in the Hammer canon. It’s just not that compelling; the well-done opening is the best part.

The movie runs 1 hour, 27 minutes, and was shot at Bray Studios, which is just west of London, and two spots south of there in Surrey: Chobham Common and Frensham Ponds.

GRADE: C

André Morrell takes a more serious approach to his characterisation of "Dr. Watson" than Nigel Bruce did in his series of "Sherlock Holmes" stories with Basil Rathbone, and coupled with Peter Cushing as the fastidious super-sleuth, manages to create quite a solid drama here that mixes the scientific with the superstitious entertainingly. The detecting duo are recruited by the suspicious "Dr. Mortimer" (Francis De Wolff) following the death of the wealthy "Sir Charles Baskerville". His heir has arrived from South Africa and his new neighbour has fears for his safety. "Sir Henry" (Christopher Lee) heads to his remote Dartmoor estate where the creepy mire, dense fog, escaped convicts and lamps flashing in the distance create quite a menacing scene for the new owner of this near £1 million property. Though Lee's character proves largely peripheral, he does enough and the rest of the supporting cast - especially Miles Malleson's sherry-swilling bishop and John Le Mesurier as the butler - work well together, as does the James Bernard score, in augmenting the more traditional Hammer, slightly Gothic, look of the film. That all successfully frames a quickly paced investigation that allows Cushing and Morell to work complimentarily together as they begin to suspect that something is most definitely afoot - or is that a-paw? It's enjoyable, this film, though I wonder if it might have worked better in black and white?