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The Hound of the Baskervilles

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91% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 83% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) is intrigued by a centuries-old legend in which every generation of the wealthy Baskerville family is eventually killed by a monstrous hound. Suspecting there is more to the story than meets the eye, he sends Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce) to the estate to investigate. Sir Henry (Richard Greene), the only Baskerville left, is grateful for his help. But when a crazed convict escapes and footprints from a beast are found, Baskerville wonders if Watson will be enough.
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The Hound of the Baskervilles

Critics Reviews

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Graham Greene The Spectator 05/09/2018
The cinema has never yet done justice to Sherlock Holmes. Go to Full Review Charles Cassady Common Sense Media 12/15/2010
4/5
Family-friendly Sherlock classic still a critical favorite. Go to Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews 01/02/2010
A-
It was the first in the long-running Basil Rathbone-Nigel Bruce teaming in the Sherlock Holmes series. Go to Full Review Mark Bourne DVDJournal.com 04/06/2006
Creative license aside, this film triumphs because it belongs enduringly to Basil Rathbone. Go to Full Review Mark R. Leeper rec.arts.movies.reviews 10/18/2005
3/5
Jake Euker F5 (Wichita, KS) 06/23/2005
3/5
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Audience Reviews

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Kalissa H @kali_416 May 1 My favorite of the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes films I’ve seen. Great casting of Sherlock and Watson. More of a Watson-forward edition. Quite an interesting movie. Poor dog though. On Tubi the quality was good which isn’t always the case with older Sherlock Holmes movies. See more acsdoug D @acsdoug 07/06/2023 Given the restraints of 1930s technology and an obviously limited budget they still managed to put together a decent film. And of course, Rathbone is terrific. See more Chris M 04/19/2023 Basil Rathbone was always of the best actors to play the legendary character. But for some reason this franchise decided to dumb down Dr. Watson and the series degenerates to every entry being Holmes vs. Moriarty. But thankfully this being one of the first ones, it's not that predictable. This is a very good version of the book. But I wish they had the technology to give the Hound more scary appearance like later versions do. Not the best version but a damn great version. See more Jelisije J @jjosifovic 03/13/2023 A nice slow paced classic original Sherlock Holmes film. See more Shadowman4710 12/18/2020 Easily the best of the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce "Sherlock Homes" films, this is also the one that sticks closest to the original Arthur Conan Doyle novel. Rathbone is excellent as Holmes in his first outing as the master sleuth and Nigel Bruce is at his least annoying (he became insuffrable as films went on). The film manages to capture the spooky atmosphere of the moors pretty well. See more 05/18/2020 While it features surprisingly little of Basil Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes, The Hound of the Baskervilles does have lots of dear old Watson (Nigel Bruce) as he pleasantly bumbles around the moor. When Sherlock does arrive, Rathbone cements his iconic portrayal of the character with quick deduction, clever disguises, and swift action. The sets of the moor are impressive and atmospheric even though the Neolithic stone structures are continually referred to as huts. The mystery is not too mysterious but the hound itself adds enough action at the end to make up for it. See more Read all reviews
The Hound of the Baskervilles

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Cast & Crew

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Sidney Lanfield

Director

Basil Rathbone

Sherlock Holmes

Nigel Bruce

Dr. Watson

Richard Greene

Sir Henry Baskerville

Wendy Barrie

Beryl Stapleton

Lionel Atwill

James Mortimer M.D.

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The Hound of the Baskervilles

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) is intrigued by a centuries-old legend in which every generation of the wealthy Baskerville family is eventually killed by a monstrous hound. Suspecting there is more to the story than meets the eye, he sends Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce) to the estate to investigate. Sir Henry (Richard Greene), the only Baskerville left, is grateful for his help. But when a crazed convict escapes and footprints from a beast are found, Baskerville wonders if Watson will be enough.
Director
Sidney Lanfield
Producer
Gene Markey
Screenwriter
Ernest Pascal
Production Co
20th Century Fox
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 24, 1939, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 8, 2020
Runtime
1h 20m
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