It's too bad that 20th Century Fox couldn't devote more time and care to its adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's novel about the hunt for a spectral hound in the Devonshire moors. A streamlined version of the compelling, if complicated, plot is offered, courtesy of Ernest Pascal and presented in undistinguished fashion by director Sidney Lanfield (is it an accident that he ended up directing episodes of the silly faux-spooky sitcom "The Addams Family?"). Certain threads are left dangling, some from the original story and some from the adaptor's, but they're minor.
Basil Rathbone is the embodiment of Holmes; no actor could have surpassed him physically, vocally or histrionically. He hits just the right notes and is beautifully introduced near the start. Nigel Bruce is a wee bit on the buffoonish side as Dr. Watson, but maintains a robust contrasting chemistry with Rathbone. The supporting cast includes some fine faces (John Carradine, Eylie Malyon, Lionel Atwill) but it's a disappointment that the titular hound, while convincingly fierce, lacks the phantasmal appearance so specifically described in Doyle's original. The studio surely had the budget to pull off such a look but chose not to. Instead a lot of money is wasted on overly grand, brightly lit set pieces such as Holmes's Baker Street residence and a house on the moor, an obviously fake landscape which is nonetheless impressive in its elaborateness and detail.
As a whole this mainstream Hollywood adaptation feels slapdash and superficial despite the excellent Rathbone in the lead.
Basil Rathbone is the embodiment of Holmes; no actor could have surpassed him physically, vocally or histrionically. He hits just the right notes and is beautifully introduced near the start. Nigel Bruce is a wee bit on the buffoonish side as Dr. Watson, but maintains a robust contrasting chemistry with Rathbone. The supporting cast includes some fine faces (John Carradine, Eylie Malyon, Lionel Atwill) but it's a disappointment that the titular hound, while convincingly fierce, lacks the phantasmal appearance so specifically described in Doyle's original. The studio surely had the budget to pull off such a look but chose not to. Instead a lot of money is wasted on overly grand, brightly lit set pieces such as Holmes's Baker Street residence and a house on the moor, an obviously fake landscape which is nonetheless impressive in its elaborateness and detail.
As a whole this mainstream Hollywood adaptation feels slapdash and superficial despite the excellent Rathbone in the lead.