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The Hound of the Baskervilles

Play trailer Poster for The Hound of the Baskervilles 1939 1h 20m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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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 The cinema has never yet done justice to Sherlock Holmes. May 9, 2018 Full Review Charles Cassady Common Sense Media Family-friendly Sherlock classic still a critical favorite. Rated: 4/5 Dec 15, 2010 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews It was the first in the long-running Basil Rathbone-Nigel Bruce teaming in the Sherlock Holmes series. Rated: A- Jan 2, 2010 Full Review Mark Bourne DVDJournal.com Creative license aside, this film triumphs because it belongs enduringly to Basil Rathbone. Apr 6, 2006 Full Review Mark R. Leeper rec.arts.movies.reviews Rated: 3/5 Oct 18, 2005 Full Review Jake Euker F5 (Wichita, KS) Rated: 3/5 Jun 23, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Kalissa H 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. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/01/25 Full Review acsdoug D 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. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 07/06/23 Full Review Chris M 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. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 04/20/23 Full Review Jelisije J A nice slow paced classic original Sherlock Holmes film. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/13/23 Full Review Frances H The best version until the Jeremy Brett/Edward Hardwick one came along. Even with its flaws, the great cast made it work. I found it amusing that one critic on this page said it was "family friendly," when it ended with Sherlock saying, "Watson, the needle." Of course this was a direct reference to Sherlock's cocaine habit, which somehow escaped the censor, and shocked me the first time I heard it. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/19/22 Full Review Audience Member 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. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/04/24 Full Review 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) 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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