The Hound of the Baskervilles (1981)

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Movie
German title The dog of the Baskervilles
Original title Приключения Шерлока Холмса и доктора Ватсона: Собака Баскервилей ( Prikljutschenija scherloka cholmsa i doktora watsona: sobaka baskerwilej )
Country of production Soviet Union
original language Russian
Publishing year 1981
length 147 minutes
Rod
Director Igor Maslennikov
script Igor Maslennikov
Yuri Weksler
music Vladimir Dashkevich
camera Dmitri Dolinin
Vladimir Ilyin
occupation
chronology

←  Predecessor
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson

Successor  →
The Treasure of Agra

The adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson: The Hound of the Baskervilles ( Russian Приключения Шерлока Холмса и доктора Ватсона: Собака Баскака Баскакервилей , the third adventure of the Soviet baskerlo-sakljutschenija is the Dr. Watson , which is based on crime stories about Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle . The Dog of the Baskervilles is the film adaptation of the novel of the same name by the English writer.

action

In the English county of Devonshire , the owner of the castle of Baskerville Hall, Sir Charles Baskerville, died under mysterious circumstances. Although he appears to have died of natural causes, large traces of an unknown being have been discovered next to the body. As the deceased's nephew and only heir, Sir Henry Baskerville, is due to arrive from Canada shortly, the family doctor Dr. Mortimer worries about his safety. He's looking for Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson and tells them about the old curse of the giant dog in the peat bogs of Dartmoor , who once killed the vicious ancestor of the Baskervilles, Sir Hugo. When Henry Baskerville arrives, it is immediately clear that Mortimer's fears were not unfounded: First, two of Henry's shoes are stolen, which Henry placed in front of his hotel door to have them cleaned, but only one of two pairs at a time. Then he receives a warning letter cut out of a newspaper. Holmes and Watson discover that Sir Henry is also being watched by a mysterious man in a cab . This manages to remain undetected.

Holmes sends Watson to Dartmoor to guard Sir Henry and report to him. The desolate area of ​​Dartmoor depresses them both very much. While Henry dreams of bringing electricity to Baskerville Hall, Watson meets the people of Dartmoor: including the natural scientist and entomologist Jack Stapleton with his sister Beryl, the secretive Laura Lyons, the weird Frankland and the butler John Barrymore with his wife Eliza. The latter, in particular, is very mysterious and quickly becomes suspicious. After Watson and Henry catch Barrymore sending flares out onto the moor, they confront him. It turns out that Eliza's brother is the escaped convict Seldon and is hiding on the moors. But he's not the only one: Watson gets a tip from Frankland that someone else should live in the abandoned shepherd's huts.

Watson goes into the hut and discovers that it is Sherlock Holmes who has been monitoring him unnoticed the whole time in order to unhinderedly determine the real culprit. Sherlock is just briefing Watson of his knowledge when they hear an outcry: Seldon is attacked by the dog and breaks his neck because he is wearing a coat given to Barrymore by Sir Henry.

Watson and Holmes, based on the view of Sir Hugo Baskerville's family portrait and interview with Laura Lyons, determine that insect lover Stapleton is in fact another successor to the Baskervilles and is trying to get rid of his rivals for the inheritance. In particular, that Sir Henry has fallen in love with his sister (in reality his wife) Beryl is furious. To achieve his goal, Stapleton uses a huge black mastiff , which he paints with white phosphorus so that it glows in the dark. The late Sir Charles died after seeing the dog and having a heart attack. Stapleton had used Laura Lyons to lure Sir Charles out.

Holmes, Watson, and Inspector Lestrade, summoned from London, trap Stapleton by asking Sir Henry to have dinner with him. On the way back, Sir Henry is followed by the dog; only the speed of Lestrade brings the animal down. Holmes, Watson and Lestrade free Beryl Stapleton, who gives them the possible escape place of Stapleton. Stapleton tries to get to the old quarry in the middle of the moor. During the pursuit, Holmes and the others find, among other things, Sir Henry's missing shoe. Stapleton engages in a brief firefight with the pursuers, but then sinks into the deadly Grimpen swamp. Sir Henry is supported by the Barrymores and Dr. Mortimer nursed back to health. Back in Baker Street, Holmes and Watson sum up the motive and the background of the perpetrator.

actor

Main actor:

Part 1

Part 2

Film crew

Differences from the novel

The script of the film is close to the original and differs only in little things and subplot threads. Compared to the film, the historical document about Hugo Baskerville is more detailed. There are more details about Charles Baskerville's life and how he made his fortune. On the other hand, there are a lot of little things in the book that make the film atmospheric and to some extent cheer it up. In the film, Watson and Henry Baskerville set off to catch the convict Seldon while drunk. Later, after Henry is shocked by the dog, Henry tries to suppress his grief with alcohol.

Several comical dialogues for the characters were also invented for the film, such as Barrymore's "Porridge, Sir", Holmes' explanation of the "sensory organs of detectives" and much more.

In the book, Sir Charles Baskerville dies on July 13th, and the events surrounding the arrival of his heir take place between September and November. In the film, Charles Baskerville dies on January 14th, and the plot happens from late winter to early spring.

Interesting facts

  • It is not the first Soviet film adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's famous novel. In 1971 The Hound of the Baskervilles was filmed as the television film Sobaka Baskerwilej . Holmes was portrayed by Nikolai Volkov the Younger and Watson by Lev Krugly .
  • The dialogues between Sir Henry and Barrymore, which became the basis for many jokes and anecdotes, were improvised by Nikita Sergejewitsch Michalkow and Alexander Adabashjan during the shoot.
  • Svetlana Kryuchkova , who played Barrymore's wife, played in the second film, “ The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson ”, with - albeit a different role. In addition, her dialogues were provided with strange passages at her request: the actress was pregnant during the filming and was afraid that it would be unhealthy for her baby if her character were only depressed and tearful. So she followed the advice of her colleagues to replace the originally intended crying with laughing and to talk as much as possible.
  • "The Dog of the Baskervilles" is the first film in the series in which a dedicated series title was dispensed with and the episodes are only called "Part 1" / "Part 2". This was kept for the rest of the series.
  • Just in time for the Russian premiere of “ The Treasure of Agra ”, “The Dog of the Baskervilles” was shown on English television. Director Igor Maslennikow received great reviews from abroad. a. a letter from Conan Doyle's daughter who wrote: "Had my father seen this movie, he would have been happy"; the Daily Mirror published a review quoted by Margaret Thatcher who called the film "the best Sherlock Holmes film she had ever seen".
  • In the Sherlock Holmes Museum on 221b Bakerstreet in London, very British music by the composer Vladimir Dashkevich plays in a loop.
  • The New Zealand Mint has a special series of $ 2 silver coins dedicated to the tales of Sherlock Holmes. Still images from the Soviet film are used on the obverse .

German version

The Baskervilles' dog ran on GDR television on April 29, 1982 on DFF 2 in a version shortened to 146 minutes. At the German premiere, the film was broadcast in Russian with German subtitles; about a year later a German dubbed version was shown. Sherlock Holmes was founded by Wolfgang Lohse and Dr. Watson dubbed by Erik Veldre .

On DVD

The films were restored for DVD evaluation by two companies independently of one another: the Russian label Twister and the Mosfilm subsidiary Krupny Plan. Twister released all five Sherlock Holmes films by Igor Maslennikow between 2000 and 2004 on DVD, some with bonus material. The Krupny Plan was published in 2007, but the restoration by Twister is of better quality.

The Twister DVD contains Russian sound in Dolby Digital 5.1 as well as Russian and English subtitles. As a bonus there is the full version of the Russian computer game " Sherlock Holmes: Moriarty's Return ".

The Krupny Plan DVD does not contain any bonus material and only Russian subtitles; in addition to the 5.1 remix, it also contains the Russian monotone; however, this is only a downmix of the 5.1 sound track.

In 2019 PIDAX (licensed by DRA) released a new DVD version of 119 minutes in length and only with German sound (Dolby Digital 2.0) as episode 1 of this series with the same voice actors as mentioned above.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ "Foreign Screenings" on 221b.ru (in Russian)
  2. ↑ Sherlock Holmes Silver Coin Set ( Memento from May 14, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ Michael Ross: Sherlock Holmes in Film and Television - A Handbook. ISBN 3-930932-03-2 .
  4. ↑ Media on 221b.ru ( Memento of the original from March 1, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.221b.ru
  5. ↑ Image comparison of the Twister and the Krupny Plan version
  6. ↑ Vobzor.com discussion