Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
When a nobleman is threatened by a family curse on his newly inherited estate, detective Sherlock Holmes is hired to investigate.
This Hammer Films adaptation of Doyle's classic tale benefits from solid production values and committed performances from Peter Cushing as Holmes and Christopher Lee as Sir Henry, but it remains a fairly straightforward retelling of a well-worn story. The Gothic atmosphere is competently rendered in Hammer's trademark vivid Technicolor, and Cushing brings genuine authority to Holmes, but the plotting follows the source material closely without adding much new dimension. The ending is conventional and the overall conception, while handsomely mounted, doesn't distinguish itself from the many other Baskervilles adaptations. Novelty suffers from being one of numerous screen versions of arguably Holmes's most-filmed adventure.