HAMMER
FILM PRODUCTIONS
PRESENTS

PETER CUSHING | ANDRE MORELL | CHRISTOPHER LEE

in

THE HOUND
OF THE
BASKERVILLES
BASED ON THE NOVEL BY
SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE

ALSO STARRING
MARLA LANDI | DAVID OXLEY
with
FRANCIS DE WOLFF | MILES MALLESON | JOHN LE MESURIER | EWEN SOLON | HELEN GOSS | SAM KYDD

SCREENPLAY BY
PETER BRYAN

MUSIC COMPOSED BY
JAMES BERNARD

CONDUCTED BY
JOHN HOLLINGSWORTH

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY...JACK ASHER B.S.C
PRODUCTION DESIGNER...BERNARD ROBINSON
CAMERA OPERATOR...LEN HARRIS
SOUND RECORDER....JOCK MAY
PRODUCTION MANAGER...DON WEEKS
WARDROBE....MOLLY ARBUTHNOT
MAKE-UP....ROY ASHTON

SUPERVISING EDITOR...JAMES NEEDS
EDITOR.........ALFRED COX
SPECIAL EFFECTS...SID PEARSON
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR...JOHN PEVERALL
CONTINUITY...SHIRLEY BARNES
HAIRSTYLES...HENRY MONTSASH

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
ANTHONY NELSON KEYS

PRODUCED BY
ANTHONY HINDS

DIRECTED BY
TERENCE FISHER

CAST
SHERLOCK HOLMES. . . . . . . . . PETER CUSHING
DOCTOR WATSON. . . . . . . . . .. ANDRE MORELL
SIR HENRY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .CHRISTOPHER LEE
CECILE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .MARLA LANDI
SIR HUGO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DAVID OXLEY
DOCTOR MORTIMORE . . . FANCIS DE WOLFF
BISHOP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MILES MALLESON
STAPLETON. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .EWEN SALON
BARRYMORE. . . . . . . . . . . .JOHN LE MESURIER
MRS BARRYMORE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HELEN GOSS
PERKINS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SAM KYDD
LORD CAPHILL. . . . . . . . . MICHAEL HAWKINS
SERVANT GIRL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JUDI MOYENS
CONVICT . . . . . . . . . . . MICHAEL MULCASTER
SERVANT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DAVID BIRES

A
HAMMER FILM
PRODUCTION

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
MICHAEL CARRERAS
PRODUCED AT BRAY STUDIOS
copyright ©MCMLVIII by HAMMER FILMS

running time : 84 mins
shot in colour, at Bray Studios, Hampshire, 1958.

REVIEW: Hammer in the late 1950's was making good use of the pairing of Lee and Cushing along with director Terence Fisher, and Hound was no exception.
Lee is perhaps surprisingly cast as Sir Henry Baskerville, last of the Baskervilles, and is heartless and ruthless in the role. He oozes a snyde charm, very different from the Dracula charm which we today are so well accustomed.
Andre Morell is almost perfect as Watson. Certainly looking rather like the sketches from the Strand magazine, he is full of life, and character, with a striking presence.
The co-stars are something of a mixed baf, but on the whole, largely well brought-to-life, and well cast, particularly Miles Malleson as the bishop.
Peter Cushing though, is undoubtedly the star attraction. Yet again he is given the chance to play a vigourous role, complete with leaps and bounds.
This would be Cushing's first time in the role of Holmes, though by far not the last. He played the master detective in a BBC tv series in the 1960's and returned to the role again in the 1980's. Cushing was shorter than the Holmes we are used to, and in many ways seems miscast, and yet his portrayal is enticing and brilliant. He fills the screen with a lively persona, and despite the lack of continuity with the Conan Doyle novel, he keeps the plot moving well.
My personal preference is for Jeremy Brett, but Cushing does a damn fine job. Certainly a lot better than Basil Rathbone in my opinion.

The film at present is unavailable in the UK on VHS, though has been transmitted by the BBC on several occasions. The colours are rich and the film, everything one associates with a true Hammer horror. Even the hound is fairly good. Lay your hands on a copy if you can.

page posted Sunday 26th September 1999
all original text, and layout of the page © RJE Simpson 1999
mail me with corrections, comments etc to hammer@avalard.com

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