Le chien des Baskerville

The book is truly great, compelling and terrifying all at once. This 1939 film adaptation stayed true to the spirit of the book, if not word from word, and on its own it is classy, chilling and atmospheric. The cinematography is superb, and the moor scenery makes up the suitably macabre atmosphere. Throw in some great acting, haunting music score and a truly terrifying hound you have a near perfect adaptation. What let it down for me though was the last five or so minutes, of course I loved the clever reference to Holmes's drug addiction (though people may think Holmes had taken up sewing), but the revelation of the culprit was too rushed for me.

However, apart from that, this is extremely good stuff. The script had a strong sense of intelligence, and the climatic scenes with the hound itself were suspenseful and chilling to say the least. The acting is of high calibre, while I personally think Jeremy Brett is the definitive Holmes, Basil Rathbone is absolutely superb here. He looks as though he is having a great time, making Holmes witty, dynamic and sophisticated, and that was a sheer delight to see. Nigel Bruce while not as good as Rathbone, makes a fine Dr Watson. Out of the stellar supporting cast, John Carradine and Morton Lowry stood out as Barryman and Stapleton, while Lionel Attwill's Dr Mortimer is also effective. Also as Sir Henry Baskerville, Richard Greene has the screen presence and charm to make himself memorable. All in all, almost perfect, nevertheless a classy and atmospheric adaptation of a great book. 9/10 Bethany Cox