Not the best of the Sherlock Holmes films Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce made, but definitely the most popular and best known, this is a retelling of the famous Holmes story about the haunted moor on which dwells the terrifying Hound. It haunts and kills off the members of the Baskerville family, and they are now down to their last descendant.
Rathbone was the perfect Holmes, with his debonair good looks and crisp, British tones. It is the most filmed character in history, but Rathbone played it better than all other, including television's Jeremy Brett and Peter Cushing, who played the role in some later films. Bruce was a great foil for Rathbone's Holmes, even though he was playing a very dim-witted Watson. Their chemistry was so great that they made 14 films and spent nearly a decade on the radio in the roles. The Hound was their first pairing, and has the best production values of the bunch, with a close second being the immediate follow up, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, the only two made by Twentieth Century Fox.
Set on the gloomy moor and creepy Baskerville Hall, the cinematography is beautiful and captures the mysterious vibe the film tries hard to give off. It is a wonderful period piece, with a fine, suspenseful ending, and a script that captures the novel's essence better than later versions.
The only serious drawback is that Rathbone isn't in the film all that much. Richard Greene (playing the last of the Baskervilles) is often listed as the lead, and rightfully so, considering how little Sherlock appears in the film. A good chunk of the middle act of the story deals with Baskerville falling in love and Watson watching over him. This part tends to drag a bit, which unbalances the film's pacing. It is also the primary difference between this and all the other entries in the series. It is unfortunate, and is the main reason I consider this film only the third best of the series, behind the previously mentioned Adventures and The Scarlet Claw, one of the later, smaller budgeted Universal Studios productions.
Incidentally, my title line is the last line of the film, an infamous instruction Holmes gives Watson, in reference to Sherlock's cocaine addiction, and the only mention of it in the Rathbone/Bruce films.
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