The Hound of the Baskervilles

1978

Comedy / Crime / Horror / Mystery

5
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 42%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 42% · 1K ratings
IMDb Rating 4.5/10 10 1490 1.5K

spoof

Plot summary

When a nobleman is threatened by a family curse on his newly inherited estate, detective Sherlock Holmes is hired to investigate.

Director

Paul Morrissey Photo
Paul Morrissey

Top cast

Roy Kinnear Photo
Roy Kinnear as Selden the Axe Murderer
Prunella Scales Photo
Prunella Scales as Glynis
Peter Cook Photo
Peter Cook as Sherlock Holmes
Patsy Smart Photo
Patsy Smart as Masseuse
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
783.41 MB
1280*544
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 25 min
Seeds ...
1.42 GB
1918*816
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 25 min
Seeds 5

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by tommyrosscomix 5 / 10

It's not great, but at the same time, I can't hate it

Peter Cook summed up the problems with this would-be-outrageous parody of the Sherlock Holmes stories during an interview with comedy historian Roger Wilmut. In short, Paul Morrissey - best known for his occasionally engaging collaborations with Andy Warhol - was a big fan of British comedy, and apparently enjoyed cordial relationships with most of the performers on the set, but asking him to actually direct a British comedy was like asking Cook to direct an improvised film about homeless junkies in Los Angeles - not at all compatible. In his posthumously published diaries, Kenneth Williams reveals that he apparently had a fun time on the set of this film (and he turns in one of his most subtle, least characteristic performances in the progress), but was hugely disappointed by the end result - what seemed hilarious on paper came across as forced and laboured on the screen, and to be fair, you can see his point. ('And they led me by the point to the police station', as Dudley Moore might have added...)In short, the film is a mess. Cook plays Holmes with a muted Jewish accent, Moore plays Watson with a slightly amusing Welsh accent, and the rest of the cast are left to fend for themselves. But what a cast it is! In fact, it's worth persevering with this one just to see Terry-Thomas, Spike Milligan, Joan Greenwood, Hugh Griffith, Henry Woolf and all the other lovely old comedians and character actors who seem to pop up in cameo roles every few minutes. Plus, there's the voluptuous Dana Gillespie who has an enjoyable scene with Moore and Griffith. Hamish, the donkey-sized Irish Wolfhound who almost stole the show from his human co-stars in 1975's Carry On Behind, puts in a memorable appearance too. Fans of Cook and Moore's Derek and Clive tapes will be amused to hear Moore using his seedy pervert voice from the 'Members Only' sketch during the otherwise baffling inclusion of the 'One Leg Too Few' sketch.Technically, the film isn't too shabby. The widescreen photography gives it a lavish look, the lighting is fine, the sets and costumes are often impressive and Moore's soundtrack score is as good as you'd expect from an accomplished pianist and composer. It's hardly laugh-a-minute stuff, but there are worse ways of spending ninety minutes. Those who are claiming it to be the nadir of British comedy obviously haven't seen some of the real stinkers that emerged at around the same time, such as What's Up Superdoc (1978) - and the less said about more recent, yet infinitely more woeful offering such as the Harry Hill, Keith Lemon and Mrs Brown's Boys films, the better!In conclusion, then... a decent-looking film full of good actors and familiar faces, lumbered by a dodgy script and an unsuitable director, yet it still manages to be a fun and undemanding watch. Try it, you might like it!
Reviewed by Dock-Ock 6 / 10

Vintage Dudley

The Hound of the Baskervilles is never realises its comedy potential as a vehicle for Dudley Moore and Peter Cook. However, it is an hillarious little piece in the Carry On mode, and that is its blessing and its curse. When its bad its awful, but it still has the ability to milk one or two belly laughs. Fans of Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle will probably love it because it both sends up Doyles Holmes and Watson and is an affectionate tribute to their worlds. Were the movie falls flat is that the too many ideas are rather lacklusterly handled by Andy Warhol veteren Paul Morrissey. You rather wish the film had been directed by a heavy weight like Richard Lester or Blake Edwards or Cook and Moore themselves. At times the movie doesn't know whether it wants to be Monty Python smart or Carry On Corny, and so alot of the ideas that worked brilliantly on Cook and Moores Behind/Beyond the Fringe Days and Not Only But Also dont work here. What is fairly noticeable about this film is the growing talent and enthusiasm of Dudley Moore as a screen prescence. He has at this point broke free the comedy chains enforced by Peter Cooks talent and his confidence dances off the screen. His silent movie/Chaplin/Laurel and Hardy/Keaton tribute usical score is wondeful too. He is genuinely hillarious with his over the top welsh accent as Watson and cripplingly funny playing Holmes's mother. In all honesty it is Dudley who makes the film work. Dudley holds his own against British comedy greats such as Kenneth Williams(brilliant in the film), Terry-Thomas and Spike Milligan. Peter Cook is quite good as Sherlock Holmes, certainly looks the part and given the chance would have made a very good Holmes in a better movie. But it's Dudleys film, he is the one who makes it work, and things where abi=out to get very interesting for him over the next decade.
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