THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1939)

The Hound Of The Baskervilles / Sidney Lanfield. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. December 1893 was the last the British reading public had heard from Sherlock Holmes because Arthur Conan Doyle had sent the Consulting Detective to his death in that month’s issue of The Strand Magazine in a story titled “The Final Problem.” Seven years later, giving into public demand (and needing to earn some money), Doyle penned another Holmes story to be serialized in The Strand over nine monthly issues. The story would be set in an earlier time, before the events of “The Final Problem.” In the August 1901 issue, readers got their first taste of “The Hound of the Baskervilles.” Immediately, we are on familiar ground. Holmes and Watson banter over breakfast at their lodgings. Holmes makes some deductions about the client they expect any moment. When the client, Dr. Mortimer is amazed that Holmes knows so much already. Then Doyle sets up Strand subscribers to be thunderstruck by one of the most famous cliffhangers in literary history. Dr. Mortimer reads to Holmes and Watson the Legend Of The Baskervilles, how, in retaliation for the acts of a brutal ancestor, the Baskerville clan is said to be cursed by a Giant Hound From Hell. Mortimer then explains that the most recent Lord Baskerville was found dead one morning after a walk on the moors. His tracks seemed to indicate he was walking on his tip-toes. But there were other tracks, as well. For the issue’s last line Mortimer says, “Mr. Holmes, they were the tracks of a gigantic hound.” Readers were left hanging for a whole month. So, what does this have to do with this film which is almost universally considered to be the best Sherlock Holmes movie ever made? Well, for me, the movie goes “thud” for me early on because they have Dr. Mortimer (Lionel Atwell) say his “tracks of the hound” line BEFORE he reads the story of the legend. I have never gotten over that blunder.

The “Hound” was an American Hollywood production at 20th Century Fox studios with a mostly British cast (John Carradine is an exception). Baker Street outside of 221B was a back lot. The moors and the Great Grimpen Mire were a very large construct within a big sound stage. Basil Rathbone was given the role that would define the rest of his career. But after the initial extravagance, budgets seemed to get cut back. Characters have their character changed leaving loose ends (who sent the warning letter), one character is added (Mrs. Mortimer, to have an excuse for an inexcusable séance scene), another greatly expanded (Frankland), and another dropped entirely from Doyle’s story (Laura Lyons). Rathbone’s performance, the correct period setting, and the great set design are enough to carry the film (it was very successful upon its original release), but that initial gaffe with Dr. Mortimer’s presentation continues to spoil my experience of watching.