I Bet You Didn't See... The Hound of the Baskervilles

A true literary classic, I shall have to read The Hound of the Baskervilles soon. I have the entire Holmes collection, and I am amazed I haven’t read it yet!

This 1983 TV movie adaptation portrays the story of how the great private detective Sherlock Holmes (Ian Richardson) goes about investigating the legend of a mysterious hound that has been killing off the line of Baskerville men. Assisted by his loyal friend Dr John Watson (Donald Churchill), they delve deep into the heart of the Yorkshire moors to track down what (or who) is behind this legend that is threatening the life of Sir Henry Baskerville (Martin Shaw).

Dr Mortimer reads to Watson and Holmes

Honestly, I can’t really fault this film much. Given that it was not backed in the same way Hollywood films are, it is tight and concise. The characters are well defined from the off, with great space to explore personality. Watson is played a little dimmer than I had expected, but the more modern Dr Watson’s are usually used to keep Holmes down to earth, which is amusing as Richardson’s Holmes seems to be the one doing that to Watson in this version.

Watson (Churchill) and Jack Stapleton, played by Nicholas Clay

I know that Basil Rathbone is considered the Sherlock, and in my lifetime Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Downey Jr have both been praised for their portrayals on the great detective (please insert all others who have taken the role on well), but Ian Richardson should certainly be put up there with the best.

Martin Shaw as Sir Henry

Richardson puts humour, humanity, chivalry, English stiff-upper-lipped-ness, politeness and cool logic into a tight little bow that holds the box to his deerstalker hat. He mocks and supports Watson in a way that brothers do, he calmly calculates the next moves and, unlike some versions and portrayals I have seen, he accepts errors and mistakes.

Blessed, Elliot and Shaw

The cast is quite a class lot. Supporting Richardson, Churchill and Shaw include Denholm Elliot as Dr Mortimer (known for his role as Marcus Brody in the Indiana Jones series), Ronald Lacey as Inspector Lestrade (Harris in Porridge (1974-77) and Arnold Toht in Raiders of the Lost Ark) and Brian Blessed as Geoffrey Lyons (Boss Nass in The Phantom Menace and Prince Vultan in Flash Gordon). Blessed’s role was added for the film to help drive the suspicion on certain other characters, but he still took it with the vigour that he does in everything. There are numerous others, of course, but those are just a few.

Ronald Lacey (sat, centre) as Lestrade

This is a fun film, and I think Ian Richardson is wonderful as Holmes. He really thrives in his disguises and seems to be genuinely enjoying the role and the experience. Sometimes, that comes through very clearly in the performance. Either that or he was just that good of an actor!

I would happily watch this again, and am very keen to compare it to others. It is a good fun "lunchtime" movie and I would recommend this highly.

Richardson seeing that he

Directed by: Douglas Hickox

Based on: “The Hound of the Baskervilles” by Arthur Conan Doyle

Starring: Ian Richardson, Donald Churchill, Martin Shaw

Release Date: 3 November 1983

Rating: 8/10