Hound of the Baskervilles (1988)
It Nearly Equals the Basil Rathbone and Peter Cushing Hound Films
Showcasing Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes, this Granada Television production has its critics, but is still the most faithful version of the original Conan Doyle story.
Britain’s Grenada Television introduced its series of the Conan Doyle stories in 1984 with The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The series was soon televised in the U.S. and Canada, became immensely popular, and was followed by the equally well received The Return of Sherlock Holmes and The Sign of Four.
However, due to monetary restraints, Jeremy Brett’s illnesses, and later reliance upon weaker Holmes stories, the series reached its apex with the 1988 adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles, considered by many Sherlockians to be one of the best Doyle stories. It is a film which has both its strengths and weaknesses.
Reasons to Watch This Hound of the Baskervilles
This adaptation may be the most faithful of the fifteen movie versions that have been made to date and certainly, more so, than the 1939 and 1959 Hounds. The film faithly follows the novella and all the major characters, save Inspector Lestrade, make an appearance. This includes Laura Lyons who, although she has only a brief appearance in both the book and this film, is essential to the original plot.
The characters are nearer in age to Doyle's creations. Both Henry Baskerville and Doctor Mortimer are around thirty, but have often been portrayed by actors either too young or too old for the parts. Ironically, the exceptions are Jeremy Brett (Holmes) and Edward Hardwicke (Watson) who were older than their counterparts.
In the film, near the end when Henry is rescued from certain death, he is greeted with a smile from his romantic interest, Beryl Stapleton. He reacts with a cold stare, knowing that the woman has betrayed him in several ways. This is not the romantic ending often portrayed and actually reflects Doyle’s writing.
The greatest asset of the movie though is the acting of Brett and Hardwicke. The latter always played the good doctor as a dependable and trustworthy friend of Holmes, not as a doddering fool.
Jeremy Brett, who by this time was showing the effects of medication for his bipolar disorder and weakening heart, is still able to portray Holmes as a man of complex emotions through subtle gestures and facial expressions. For instance, in the scene where Watson first finds Holmes in his moor hideaway, the detective offers his friend some of his homemade “stew”. Watson looks at it with considerable disdain and then remarks that it is terrible. For an instant there is a hurt look on Brett’s face before admitting, “Yes. It is.”
Criticisms of the Film
The film is slow in several places, particularly in the restaurant scene when the camera wanders around showing the various aspects of Victorian dining. That’s fine for a documentary, but not for a mystery tale. There are also several occasions when the camera lingers too long on character pauses and reactions, when further editing would have quickened the pace.
Unlike the Rathbone and Cushing versions, there is no visual retelling of the origin of the Baskerville curse. Because of budget restraints, the legend is simply told through Holmes’ own words. And, the hound, itself, leaves a lot to be desired. Despite the use of green phosphorous and a robot for close-ups, the dog is not very frightening.
Unless a viewer is familiar with Doyle’s story, he or she may be confused by several elements of the plot. How the villain obtained his hound and where he kept it and the explanation for Henry’s missing shoes are never explained or quickly passed over. The escaped convict sub-plot is also sometimes hazy.
Even Brett was disappointed. Shortly before the actor’s death in 1995, author David Stuart Davies interviewed him and asked what Holmes story he would do over if he could. The actor said it would be The Hound. “I was terribly unwell…..It was under conceived. The script drifted…..”
Sources: Davies, David Stuart, Starring Sherlock Holmes (London: Titan Books, 2007) and Barnes, Alan, Sherlock Holmes on the Screen (London: Reynolds & Hearn, 2006).
