Rating: NR
Genre:
Comedy
Release Date: 12/07/2004
SubTitles: English/French/Espanol
Dubbed: English
Sound: DD1
Run Time: 85 Minutes
Flags: Violence, Questionable for Children, Adult Language
Distributor/Studio: MGM
The concept behind the 1977
Hound of the Baskervilles involved having "underground" director
Paul Morrissey bring an irreverent slant to the original
Sherlock Holmes mystery. The film thus casts
Peter Cook and
Dudley Moore as
Holmes and
Watson, with such reliable British performers as
Terry-Thomas,
Joan Greenwood,
Denholm Elliott,
Hugh Griffith,
Spike Milligan, and
Roy Kinnear in cameos. Producer
Michael White took on the project; it mirrored his previous experience of combining spoofery and fidelity to source material with
Monty Python's
Jabberwocky. Examples of the film's zaniness include the casting of a lovable Irish wolfhound as the "deadly" Baskerville mastiff and having
Holmes and
Watson speak in thick provincial accents. For its American release,
Hound of the Baskervilles was whittled down to 78 minutes, with several of its scenes out of sequence.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide