Directed by:
Douglas HickoxScreenplay:
Charles Edward PogueComposer:
Michael J. LewisCast:
Ian Richardson, Donald Churchill, Denholm Elliott, Glynis Barber, Brian Blessed, Eleanor Bron, Ronald Lacey, Martin Shaw, Connie Booth, Nicholas Clay (more)Plots(1)
Sherlock Holmes (Ian Richardson) faces a supernatural mystery when a distinguished but absent-minded doctor (Denholm Elliott) hires the legendary detective to investigate the murder of Sir Charles Baskerville. The doctor recounts the legend of Baskerville Hall, cursed for 350 years since Hugo Baskerville traded his soul to the devil. All Hugo's ancestors have met with unexplained deaths on the hall's moor. With Charles's heir, Sir Henry, due to arrive from America, Holmes sends Dr. Watson (Donald Churchill) to Baskerville to watch for danger. "The game's afoot," Holmes declares, as he sets upon the trail of the Baskerville killer in the sleuth's most heralded and baffling case. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (3)
"We'll catch him in the act. We'll get him, Watson! We'll get him! I swore long ago that he would flutter in our net like his poor, innocent butterflies. Then the pin, the box, and the tag to adorn our collection at Baker Street." A Dartmoor canine legend in a slightly outdated TV adaptation with subtle deviations from the literary source. I appreciate Holmes's sense of fair play, hiding away for a moment in the absence of Dempsey and Bodie to at least somewhat even the odds in the clash of investigative duos. The winner is clear in the end, but Arthur Conan Doyle, for once, enjoyed being pursued by a dog with glowing eyes, and it wasn't Cowley.
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For anyone who loves the book, this film is a faithful adaptation of Doyle's famous story, with superb scenes from foggy marshes, the original and idiosyncratic detective techniques of the brilliant Holmes, and an atmosphere that could be chopped up in places. Never mind that the ravages of time have done a bit of work, with the excellently portrayed and haunting spectre, this film is still impressive.
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The film only has one flaw - it's a TV film, which is a shame. For me, it was the best treatment of this story, deserving a much bigger budget. Without it, it obviously hasn't aged very well. Nevertheless, I enjoyed watching it again. It made me remember how I had always liked Makepeace. I was also pleased by the appearance of Martin Shaw and Connie Booth, and Brian "Cheswick! Fresh horses!" Blessed raged like a beast again.
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