Customer Reviews

Murder at the Baskervilles

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THIS MOVIE LOOKS VERY GRAINY AND THE SOUND IS FILLED WITH STATIC, but if you don't mind those things it's not bad. Wonter's films are in terrible shape, but he's damn good. I enjoy him in all his Holmes films despite their rough condition. I give Wonter 5 stars.

Murder at the Baskervilles is a new version of Silver Blaze. The evil Professer Moriarty is put in the film for some extra flavor so is Sir Henry Baskerville (who really has noting to do with the story). This is a great film.

Despite Moriarty taking one of his long drops at the end of the Arthur Wontner's second film as the great consulting detective, The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes, by the time he made his reappearance two films later in Silver Blaze/Murder at the Baskervilles, Scotland Yard seem to have forgotten he ever existed, let alone perished. Still, at least the film makes up or it by giving him a nice lair, a disused tube station with a nice art deco desk and a handy lift shaft for unwelcome visitors. Of the Wontner Holmes films, this is the highest regarded, and while it's not as strong as The Sign of Four, it's a good yarn. The moral of the tale: never eat curry a few days before a big race. Sadly the public domain DVD takes a bit of effort: although decent prints do exist in the UK TV, every expense has been spared for this DVD release, so don't be surprised if you have to rewind to catch the odd line of dialogue thanks to a noisy soundtrack.

Murder at the Baskervilles, 1937 film

This is adapted from the story "Silver Blaze". The film begins at a warehouse. Professor Moriarity and Moran inspect this site; it is like a fortress. "It does sound simple" when Holmes explains his reasoning. Holmes and Dr. Watson will take a vacation at the Baskerville estate. Inspector Lestrade visits and tells of his new job. He says "Silver Blaze" will win the race. Mr. Standard visits Moriarity, he has bet against "Silver Blaze" and needs to win to avoid bankruptcy. It will cost £10,000 to fix the race. The owner of "Silver Blaze" guards him carefully. Holmes demonstrates his powers of observation at the Baskervilles (blue chalk). [Note the simple door latch in the kitchen.] Mr. Trevor visits Straker the trainer. The next morning they find "Silver Blaze" missing! Colonel Ross visits Holmes for help, Lestrade is with him.

A dog barks as they approach the horse stall. Holmes asks for an old horseshoe - for luck? They find the body of Straker out on the moor. Where is the horse? Holmes follows the tracks. He talks to Silas Brown, the owner of a competitive horse in the race. Brown will do as Holmes says. Holmes has his own plans in this case. Who bought Straker's promissory notes? "But I've trained myself to notice what I see." The dog always sleeps outside during the night. Holmes questions Mrs. Straker. Some of the sheep have gone lame. There was the curious incident of the dog in the night. Why would a bettor risk more after losing? Curry disguises the taste of opium. As Holmes and Watson leave another motor car overtakes them, their car goes off the road!

Cup day sees a big crowd for the race. Dr. Watson bets on "Silver Blaze" to win. Holmes explains the facts to Colonel Ross. The chief clue was the surgeon's scalpel. Moran hides a pistol in a kinematograph, one of the jockeys is shot. Holmes plays draughts with Lestrade. Dr. Watson calls with a message, Holmes and Lestrade go to the address. Will they foil Moriarity's murderous plan? Will the gang be caught by the police? Is this the end of Moriarity?

Arthur Wontner best resembles the old illustrations for the Sherlock Holmes stories. The original story "Silver Blaze" was modified for this movie. The book is usually better than the film. The story tells how minor details can fill in the big picture and solve the mystery. "The Hound of the Baskervilles" is the most popular of the four long stories about Sherlock Holmes. "Silver Blaze" was one of the many short stories.

I have not watched the DVD yet, but I had an old Blackhawk Films Super-8 sound print when I was a kid, so I've seen the movie many times. The Super-8 print had one extremely annoying quirk, though. The most famous line in "Silver Blaze," perhaps the most famous line in the whole Holmesian canon, is when Holmes points out the curious incident of the epidemic of lameness among the sheep to the police inspector. The inspector says "is there anything else to which you wish to draw my attention?," Holmes replies "to the curious incident of the dog in the night-time." The inspector says "but the dog did nothing in the night-time," to which Holmes replies, "that was the curious incident." In the Super-8 print, Wontner says "That wa. . . .," the reel ends, and the next reel starts with the next scene. I hope it's better on the DVD. It is not a "cannonical" Holmes story, although the plot is (very) loosely based on the short story "Silver Blaze" (with many embellishments, including the additon of Professor Moriarty and Colonel Moran as the villians, although the parts which actually come from the story are pretty closely adapted). Arthur Wontner makes a good, if somewhat subdued, Holmes. Watson is a bit of a man of action, and is played by the creator of James Bond, Ian Fleming (at least the old "Blackhawk Bulletin" said it was the Bond author). NOTE - THE OLD BLACKHAWK BULLETIN WAS WRONG - IT'S A DIFFERENT IAN FLEMING - & all these years I though it was the James Bond guy!). A good, rarely seen British film that would be of interest to Sherlock Holmes fans.