The Hound of the Baskervilles

The Hound of the Baskervilles is a 1959 British gothic mystery film directed by Terence Fisher and produced by Hammer Film Productions. It is based on the 1902 novel of the same title by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It stars Peter Cushing as Sherlock Holmes, Sir Christopher Lee as Sir Henry Baskerville and André Morell as Doctor Watson. It is the first film adaptation of the novel to be filmed in colour. Plot Dr. Richard Mortimer recounts to Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson in Baker Street the legend of the ghost hound that killed the devilish Sir Hugo Baskerville for his murder of the daughter of a servant. He asks Holmes to investigate the death of his friend Sir Charles Baskerville, in Dartmoor, from heart failure, in the moor surrounding his estate, Baskerville Hall, with a look of horror on his face. Mortimer fears for the life of Sir Henry, Sir Charles' nephew and heir, who's just come from South Africa to take possession of his inheritance and of Baskerville Hall. Although sceptical, Holmes and Watson agree to meet Sir Henry who complains that one of his boots is missing. Mortimer tells them that the Baskerville estate is worth about £1,000,000. A peculiar threat from a dangerous tarantula convinces Holmes that Sir Henry's life is in danger. Claiming that he cannot come to Baskerville Hall himself, Holmes dispatches Watson to Dartmoor with Mortimer and Sir Henry. Holmes tells Sir Henry not to go out onto the moor after dark. On their way to Baskerville Hall, the trio learns that Selden, a convicted murderer, has escaped Dartmoor Prison and is hiding on the moor. At Baskerville Hall, Mr. Barrymore, the butler, and Mrs. Barrymore, the housekeeper show them around the mansion. One of two portraits of Sir Hugo is missing, and the Barrymores say it was mysteriously stolen months before. The next day, Sir Henry and Watson meet Bishop Frankland, a pastor and keen entomologist. Watson gets trapped in a patch of mire in the Grimpen Mire and is saved by a farmer named Stapleton and his daughter Cecile, a girl who bewitches Sir Henry.