Starring Peter Cushing, Andre Morell, Christopher Lee, Marla Landi and David Oxley
Written by Peter Bryan, based on the novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Directed by Terence Fisher
I know what you're thinking: since when is a Sherlock Holmes story a horror story? Well, I don't know that I have a great answer for that except to say that Universal produced a bunch of them, as well (theirs starring Basil Rathbone) and classify several of them as horror films, so I reviewed them during the two Universal Horrorfests and will now review Hammer's only Holmes movie in turn.
Peter Cushing stars as Holmes and seems like a perfect choice, born to play the role. However, he's a little less laid back than your average Holmes, instead applying his logic enthusiastically and passionately. Andre Morell as Dr. Watson is less memorable, and that's a shame, because (spoilers) by the nature of BASKERVILLE's plot, lots of screen time is devoid of Holmes and devoted to Watson. I've read this Watson is closer to his literary counterpart than some others, so that's cool, I guess, but I'd rather have an inaccurate, interesting take than a bland accurate one.
Christopher Lee's also on hand as Baskerville himself, and while it's always nice to see Cushing and Lee together, this is one of their less memorable pairings, if only because they don't get to share much screen time.
Still, the movie is rife with the usual Hammer atmosphere and it's worth watching for Cushing as Holmes alone.
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