The Hound of the Baskervilles (1929 film)

The Hound of the Baskervilles
Screenshot of Watson (left) and Holmes (right) on the moors
Directed byRichard Oswald
Written byGeorg C. Klaren
Herbert Juttke
Based onThe Hound of the Baskervilles
1902 novel
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyFrederik Fuglsang
Production
company
Erda-Film
Distributed bySüd-Film
Release date
  • 28 August 1929 (1929-08-28)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryGermany
Languages

The Hound of the Baskervilles (German: Der Hund von Baskerville) is a 1929 German silent mystery film directed by Richard Oswald and is an adaptation of the 1902 Sherlock Holmes novel The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle. The film stars Carlyle Blackwell as Sherlock Holmes and George Seroff as Dr. Watson, with Betty Bird, Alexander Murski, and Livio Pavanelli in supporting roles. It tells the story of Holmes (Blackwell) investigating the mysterious death of Sir Charles Baskerville, believed to be caused by a supernatural hound haunting the Baskerville family. This was the last Sherlock Holmes adaptation of the silent film era.[1]

The Hound of the Baskervilles featured an unusually international cast, including American actor Carlyle Blackwell, German actor Fritz Rasp, British actress Alma Taylor, Russian actor Alexander Murski, and Italian actor Livio Pavanelli.[2]

The Hound of the Baskervilles premiered on 8 August 1929 to generally positive reviews, with praise for Blackwell's portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, although some criticized its uneven pacing. Despite being a silent film released during the transition to sound cinema, it performed moderately well at the box-office.

In 2009, a tape of the film, along with other lost films from the silent cinema era, was discovered in the basement of a church in Sosnowiec, Poland.[3] A decade later, in 2019, Flicker Alley released a digitally restored version of the film on DVD and Blu-ray, along with the 1914 version of the story.

  1. ^ Barnes, Alan (2002). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Richmond: Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-903111-04-8.
  2. ^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era. Baltimore: Midnight Marquee Press. p. 340. ISBN 978-1-936168-68-2.