''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' is a 1921 British silent

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, i ...

directed by

Maurice Elvey Maurice Elvey (11 November 1887 – 28 August 1967) was one of the most prolific film directors in British history. He directed nearly 200 films between 1913 and 1957. During the silent film era he directed as many as twenty films per year. He a ...

and starring

Eille Norwood Eille Norwood (born Anthony Edward Brett; 11 October 1861 – 24 December 1948) was an English stage actor, director, and playwright best known today for playing Sherlock Holmes in a series of silent films. Early life He was born 11 October 18 ...

, Catina Campbell and Rex McDougall. It is based on the 1902 Sherlock Holmes novel ''

The Hound of the Baskervilles ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' is the third of the four crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in ''The Strand Magazine'' from August 1901 to April 1902, it is se ...

'' by Arthur Conan Doyle. It was made by Stoll Pictures, Britain's largest film company at the time. It was the first British film adaptation of the famous novel.

Plot

According to a local legend, Sir Henry Baskerville is slated to become the next in his family line to fall victim to a ghostly hound.

Cast

as Sherlock Holmes * Catina Campbell as Beryl Ducerne Stapleton * Rex McDougall as Sir Henry Baskerville *

Lewis Gilbert Lewis Gilbert (6 March 1920 – 23 February 2018) was an English film director, producer and screenwriter who directed more than 40 films during six decades; among them such varied titles as ''Reach for the Sky'' (1956), ''Sink the Bismarck!'' ...

as Roger Stapleton Baskerville *

Hubert Willis Hubert Willis (1862 – 13 December 1933) was a British actor best known for his recurring role as Doctor Watson in a series of silent Sherlock Holmes films co-starring with Eille Norwood. Stage career Willis appeared in the copyright pe ...

Dr. Watson John H. Watson, known as Dr. Watson, is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). The last work by Doyle f ...

Allan Jeayes Allan John Jeayes (19 January 1885 – 20 September 1963) was an English stage and film actor. Jeayes was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire, the son of Isaac Herbert Jeayes, archivist and Assistant Keeper of Manuscripts at the British Museum. ...

as Dr. James Mortimer *

Fred Raynham Fred Raynham was a British actor of the silent era.BFI , Film & TV Database , RAYNHAM, Fred< ...

as Barrymore, the Butler * Miss Walker as Mrs. Barrymore * Madame d'Esterre as Mrs. Hudson *

Robert Vallis Robert Vallis (1876 in England, UK – 19 December 1932 in Brighton, Sussex) was a British actor. Selected filmography * '' A Son of David'' (1920) * ''Her Benny'' (1920) * '' Gwyneth of the Welsh Hills'' (1921) * ''The Amazing Partnership ' ...

as Selden

Production

Following the fifteen part ''

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' is a collection of twelve short stories by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, first published on 14 October 1892. It contains the earliest short stories featuring the consulting detective Sherlock Holmes, w ...

'' this was the first full-length film starring Eille Norwood as Holmes and Hubert Willis as Dr. Watson. It was the second film version of ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'', following the 1914 German silent film ''

Der Hund von Baskerville ''Der Hund von Baskerville'' is a 1914 German silent film adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's 1902 novel '' The Hound of the Baskervilles'', the first film adaptation of the work. According to the website silentera.com, the film was considered ...

''. Sometimes erroneously claimed to have filmed on

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous P ...

, the film was actually shot near the village of

Thursley Thursley is a village and civil parish in southwest Surrey, west of the A3 between Milford and Hindhead. An associated hamlet is Bowlhead Green. To the east is Brook. In the south of the parish rises the Greensand Ridge, in this section reach ...

Release

The film was released in the United Kingdom on 8 August 1921 and didn't arrive in the United States for another 14 months, by which time the characters of Mr. and Mrs. Barrymore were renamed "Osborne". This was presumably done to avoid confusion with

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...

who starred in the film '' Sherlock Holmes'', which was released the same year in the United States.

Critical reception

Allmovie noted that the film sticks closely to the original story, but "doesn't even come close to the definitive 1939 talkie starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce -- for one thing, there are far too many title cards -- but it still has its moments, mostly involving moody shots of the moors."

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for '' A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

himself enjoyed the film saying "Mr. Ellie Norwood, whose wonderful personification of Holmes has amazed me. On seeing him in ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' I thought I had never seen anything more masterly."

References

External links

* * * Films based on The Hound of the Baskervilles 1921 films British silent feature films British mystery films 1920s English-language films Films directed by Maurice Elvey British black-and-white films Sherlock Holmes films Stoll Pictures films 1921 mystery films 1920s British films Silent mystery films Silent thriller films {{mystery-film-stub