Sherlock (Jeremy Brett) and Watson (Edward Hardwicke) are hired by Doctor Mortimer (Neal Duncan) for the investigation a killing , the deceased Sr. Baskerville , who has been inherited by his brother Sir Henry (Kristoffer Tabori) . Watson goes to the mansion , there are the servants (Ronald Pickup) and he meets Stapleton (James Faulkner) and his sister . Meanwhile , an inmate has escaped and on the moors sounds the barking a savage beast .

This is an excellent film of the splendid Sherlock Holmes/Jeremy Brett TV series . It's a genuine ripping yarn with much suspense and intrigue . The film gets mystery , tension , detective action and packs an exciting deal of outstanding surprises with great lots of fun , despite being a known story . Jeremy Brett's magnificent interpretation , although the best Sherlock is forever Basil Rathbone . Brett plays as Holmes as an intelligent , obstinate , broody , pipesmoking sleuth , his acting is similar to Peter Cushing in television or Nicol Williamson (Seven-per-cent-solution) or Christopher Plummer (Murder by decree) in cinema . Here Dr. Watson isn't a botcher , bungler or clumsy partner usually incarnated by Nigel Bruce , but a cunning and astute pal well incarnated by Edward Hardwicke who even achieved recently success as co-protagonist in Oliver Twist (by Roman Polanski) . The movie has a creepy as well as eerie atmosphere , specially when is developed on the moors where lives the fearful giant beast ; besides , the London streets and 223 Baker Street house are well designed . The motion picture was well directed by Peter Hammond .

Other versions about this notorious novel are the followings : 1939 classy recounting by Sidney Landfield with Richard Greene , Basil Rathbone , Nigel Bruce , Lionel Atwill , Wendy Barrie ; 1959 by Terence Fisher with Peter Cushing , Andre Morell and Christopher Lee ; 1977 spoof rendition by Paul Morissey with Peter Cooke and Dudley Moore ; 1983 by Douglas Hickox with Ian Richardson and Donald Churchill ; 2000 TV by Rodney Gibbons with Matt Frewer and Kenneth Welsh , 2002 retelling with Richard Roxbough and Richard Hart , among others .

This was a very fine adaptation of a great book. True it does start off slowly, like the book, and I don't think it is quite as good as 1987's Sign of Four. That was creepy, suspenseful, and featured a wonderfully understated performance from the late great John Thaw. The minor negatives aside, this is a conveniently faithful and suspenseful adaptation.

It does benefit from fine camera work, wonderful scenery and costumes, and the music score was superb. And there are some genuinely creepy moments, in particular the opening and any other scene with the very scary looking Hound. It isn't all creepy though. There is a very charming ad libbing moment between Holmes and Watson, that was really nice to see.

And the acting was great, especially Jeremy Brett as Holmes. Despite the fact that he was ill during production, he still gave a stellar turn as always in the role I remember him by most. Brett was a great actor, and it was a real shame when he died; I will always consider him as the definitive Holmes, with his gritty baritone and towering presence Brett was perfect as Holmes. Edward Hardwicke as Dr Watson is a really nice contrast, and their chemistry is evident here. The supporting performances were sterling, worth of note were James Faulkener and Ronald Pickup.

All in all, while not as good as Sign of Four, it was a very atmospheric and faithful adaptation. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Holmes purists may argue, but I've always thought that the best introduction one can have to Sherlock Holmes is to read or watch The Hound Of The Baskervilles. For one thing Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a full novel here as opposed to his short stories. So you get a lot of character development of Holmes and his companion and chronicler Dr. John Watson. The BBC series of having Jeremy Brett as Holmes and Edward Hardwicke as Watson doing every single Holmes story is a landmark in television. It should be because Sherlock Holmes is eternally popular.

As good as the Basil Rathbone series was at Universal Pictures it was a B film series with values befitting it. The BBC took great care in recreating Victorian England in this series.

Broken down to its simplest form the plot is that there is a legend about the titled Baskervilles involving a gigantic hound from hell who has caused several generations of Baskervilles to come to untimely ends. Someone in this story is very carefully taking advantage of the legend to take vengeance on the family for a slight and to inherit the Baskerville estate, a considerable one by Victorian standards.

The current heir is Kristoffer Tabori arrived from America and it's clear someone's out to get him. For most of the time Tabori has Dr. Watson as his bodyguard. Holmes is around, but he's undercover working disguises so he can get a clear picture of the people around.

The climax with Tabori struggling against the giant hell hound will send shivers up your spine. Brett and Hardwicke are as suited for their parts as Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce with Hardwicke a more accurate Watson than the pudding headed Nigel Bruce.

A wonderful production of one of the all time great mysteries in literature.