I'm currently re-reading the Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle. Its a novel I return to at least once every couple of years. Yep, I like the hound a lot.
In fact its the only Conan Doyle book I've ever read despite owning several different copies of the Lost World with the formidable Professor Challenger.
My first encounter with the Baskerville hound, like many of my generation I suspect, was the 1959 Hammer horror film starring Peter Cushing and Andre Morell. Its depiction of the deranged Hugo Baskerville at the start stayed with me, especially his dreadful call to 'release the pack' on the unfortunate village girl who escapes from the Hall only to perish on the Moor.
It was and is a terrific film and Peter Cushing's depiction of Sherlock Holmes, along with Morell's Dr. Watson, remained my favourite movie adaptation until I saw a modern version from 2002 with Richard Roxburgh and Ian Hart. This is truly fine film-making and I always enjoy seeing it again and again.
There are countless TV and film versions of the Hound and I admit I have yet to see many of them including the famous Basil Rathbone outing. There are films akin to the spirit of the curse too and one that springs to mind is the Brotherhood of the Wolf, which struck me as a similar and equally exciting period piece mixing moorlands and hell hound werewolves.
Hammer's own screen Hound was part of that genre-defining flurry of late fifties/ early sixties films they made, directed by the likes of Terence Fisher, which helped to spark the monster craze in Britain, when monster mania landed on our shores from America, itself kicked off by Forry Ackerman's Famous monsters of Filmland and Universal's re-run of classic monster movies. I adored the monster craze and it made me who I am today and who I've always been. A monster nut.
Despite its obvious horror chops and Hammer credentials, the Baskerville Hound never made it as a toy or game as far as I can tell. I certainly didn't have any merchandise as a kid. I know there was a comic version done, maybe Classics Illustrated who covered Frankenstein too. The Hound would have made a great Aurora model kit, the crazed mastiff drooling over Hugo Baskerville on the moors. But we will all have favourite books and films which we think Aurora should have captured in plastic I'm sure - what's yours I wonder readers?
There are some Baskerville inspired figurines I found online. Sarum Soldiers offer a small set of painted figures ....
and fellow blogger's Toy Soldier's and Dining Room Battles own custom diorama of the hell hound.
As regards books, the first edition is a thing of beauty with its gothic swirls and solid lack hound which, alas, most of us can only see online as a copy can cost a King's ransom.
My own favourite ands far more ownable is the 1961 John Murray published paperback, which I have in the Moonbase collection.
So I await bedtime to read another chapter of the Hound of the Baskervilles and follow the progress of Holmes and Watson as they wander the moors at night when the powers of evil are exalted.
Are you equally Baskervilled as I am readers?
Big Holmes fan. I have all the stories. Got the Brett and Cumberbatch series on dvd. I managed to get onto the location shooting of one of the Brett episodes in Chester long ago!
ReplyDeleteFab Kev. Which story were they covering on set?
Delete'The problem of Thor Bridge'. Chester played Winchester I think.
ReplyDeleteFab that Kev. A new one on me.
DeleteThe hound is said to have been inspired by the story of the demon dog "Black Shuck" a Norfolk legend, which Conan Doyle heard when he was holidaying in the area. I have been told that Baskerville was the name of a coachman at one of the local country houses. The Basil Rathbone film isn't bad. There are also some good readings and Holmes radio plays on Youtube.
ReplyDeleteBlack Shuck eh Andy. Fascinating. I can imagine the story being set in Norfolk too rather than Devon. It would work. I wonder if Bram Stoker had heard about Black Shuck when he described the black dog jumping off the Demeter at Whitby harbour in Dracula?
DeleteMust admit, I preferred the short stories as a youngster. I dont think I've read any Holmes stuff for about 40 years, maybe I should give him another go. I liked the Basil Rathbone films were also fun to watch as a youngster, they have been shown quite recrntly on tv. I cant say they have improved with age, whereas I still love watching (again not read for 40 years) Nayland Smith getting to grips with Fu Manchu.
ReplyDeleteNot familiar with Fu Manchu films Timmy I'm afraid. Even the Christopher Lee films have passed me by. They always appear in my old horror guide books. Are they really horror films?
DeleteWhen you think about it, there is surprisingly little in the way of Sherlock Holmes toys around. Given that he is one of the most popular characters in fiction, one would expect a lot more. Even though the Hammer version of the Hound was only rated A in Britain by the film censors, Hammer did have a reputation for making a lot of X-certificate Adults-only films, and perhaps that put off some toy makers ? But Holmes had been around a long time by then, in books, films, and on television, so there were plenty of other versions to choose from. Odd.
ReplyDeleteIt is a conundrum Paul but I suppose that Sherlock Holmes isn't a natural children's hero in the way say, Dick Tracy was or even Batman, another detective! I'd forgotten about the A certificate until you mentioned it. I saw a lot of A films before I saw my first X- Enter the Dragon at the cinema. I think there was a AA rating too. Unsure what that was.
DeleteThe AA certificate was introduced in 1970, when British film ratings were revised, it was a sort of mini-X. Up to 1970 the classifications were U - Universal, open to all ages; A - recommended as more suitable for Adult audiences, but children under 16 could attend if accompanied by an adult, all the early Bond films were A, as were many of the Carry On films; X was all children under 16 excluded - adults only. From 1970 these were changed to U - the same as before; A - still recommended as more suitable for adults, but children under 16 no longer needed an adult escort; AA - no children under 14 admitted; X - the age limit for admission was raised from 16 to 18. Seriously, who thought having both A and AA certificates was a good idea ? It had to be confusing, and they had the rest of the alphabet to choose from. In 1982 the classifications were again revised, with films open to all ages still having letter codes, but those with age restrictions had letters replaced with numbers giving the age limit. The AA had its limit raised slightly, from 14 to 15, and became the modern 15 certificate. X became 18, and later a 12 certificate was introduced between PG (the old A) and the 15.
ReplyDeleteI guess the Baskerville hound would not make a very suitable cuddly toy, but I certainly read all the Holmes books as a boy, and enjoyed them.
Fascinating Paul. Age restrictions did get messy. Wasn't there a XX as well? The classification of videocassettes got even messier on the UK and lead to countless problems including the imprisonment of Video rental shopkeepers!
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