Sunday, October 17, 2010

#72. The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)

DVD Synopsis: A fiendish evil lurks beneath the mist-shrouded cliffs of England's fabled moors. In the form of a hellish hound, it feeds upon the trembling flesh of the heirs of Baskerville Hall. But before this savage beast can sink its teeth into the newest lord of the manor, it must pit its vicious fangs against the searing intellect of the most powerful foe it has ever encountered - the incomparable Sherlock Holmes.











In an effort to bring the appropriate atmosphere to Hammer Studio’s production of the classic Sherlock Holmes story, The Hound of the Baskervilles, the film’s central location, Baskerville Hall, was surrounded on all sides by the most sinister-looking moors I’ve ever seen. In fact, they’re so creepy that they even managed to give Holmes himself the willies (while standing in the middle of them he confessed to Watson, “There is more evil around us here than I have ever encountered before”). Production Designer Bernard Robinson did a wonderful job laying out this spine-chilling locale, complete with fog, mist, and a hell of a lot of atmosphere. Each new scene set in these moors proves more disturbing than the last, culminating in a finale that’ll have your nerves hanging by a thread.








 
 

2 comments:

Cal said...

Ahh one of Peter Cushings best! If your going to do more Hammer, I don't know if you have seen it or not but I realy must recomend Quatermass and the Pit (1967)-a beautifull thought provoking and incredbly haunting film, a good review from you as always!

DVD Infatuation said...

@Cal: Thanks for the recommendation! I've heard of Quatermass and the Pit, but have yet to check it out. I'll have to add it to the list. As for Hammer, I'll definitely be covering a few more titles.

Thanks again for stopping by...the comments are always appreciated.