The Hound of the Baskervilles

The Hound of the Baskervilles is set on the bleak moors of Devon, where the aristocratic Baskerville family is said to live under a centuries-old curse. When Sir Charles Baskerville dies in suspicious circumstances, his heir Sir Henry arrives from abroad to claim the family estate. Dr. Mortimer, convinced that his friend was murdered, calls on Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, telling them of the legend of a monstrous hound said to haunt the family. Watson accompanies Sir Henry to the house on the moor, while Holmes follows secretly to pursue his own inquiries as further attacks occur.

Sidney Lanfield directed the film, which came after his 1938 picture Always Goodbye. Ernest Pascal wrote the screenplay, adapting Arthur Conan Doyle's novel, and the production was made by 20th Century Fox with a credited cast of 31. Basil Rathbone plays Holmes and Nigel Bruce plays Watson, the first of their several appearances together in those roles. Richard Greene is Sir Henry, with Wendy Barrie, Lionel Atwill and John Carradine among the supporting players.

The film runs 80 minutes and belongs to the crime, horror, mystery and thriller genres. Released in March 1939, it drew a solid critical response, with a critics' rating of 7.6 out of 10 from 11 reviews, slightly ahead of its audience scores: 7.4 on IMDb from around 13,000 votes and 7.1 on TMDB from a much smaller base of 238.