KYMM'S 365 DAY MOVIE CHALLENGE #5: THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1959, dir by Terence Fisher, UK)

As both a fan of Hammer horror films and a superfan of Sherlock Holmes (at least of the books and stories) I am entirely shocked that I've never seen this film. I was about to say, or any of the Hammer Sherlock Holmes films, but it seems that this is the only one, though good old Peter Cushing went on to play Holmes in a BBC TV series in the 1960s. So that explains why his Sherlock makes sense in my head.

The film starts in a place where other versions do not, with the terrible Sir Hugo upon whom the curse of the Baskervilles justly falls, doing his terrible deeds. But that all turns out to be a reading of the legend to Holmes and Watson (appearing for the first time in colour!) by Dr. Mortimer (aka the Spirit of Christmas Present from the Alistair Sim Christmas Carol). Mortimer is a friend to the latest Baskerville to die of the curse, here to beg Sherlock Holmes to protect Sir Henry, the newest Baskerville to become Lord of the Manor from possibly being ripped up by a hell hound.

As so often occurs, Watson accompanies Sir Henry to Dartmoor and Baskerville Hall, while Holmes disappears for far too long, this is not the Watson Show, but then he comes back and fixes everything up, spit spot, while various side characters lurk suspiciously around the moors. It's just swell.

Before and beyond anything else, I must state that both Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing were stunningly gorgeous in 1959. They are both very different, Lee huge and imposing, Cushing with his icy blue eyes and knife-edged cheekbones, there is something for everyone.If you are a Sherlock Holmes or a Hammer fan, you'll love it, and if you aren't, well, you might still love it, who can say?

Kymm Zuckert is an actor/writer/native Angelino. When Kymm was a child, her parents would take her to see anything, which means that sometimes she will see a film today and say, “I saw that when I was eight, I don’t remember any of that inappropriate sex stuff!” Check out her entire 365 day blog @ https://365filmsin365days.movie.blog