The Hound of the Baskervilles (1914)

Finally reviewing the 1914 version on the blu-ray with the previously reviewed 1929 version. I understand why this one has been considered more Feuillade than Doyle, because frankly that’s exactly what it is (the plot device of two characters disguising themselves as each other is apparently straight out of Fantomas, which I don’t recall but then again I haven’t watched it in years); it has bugger all to do with Doyle’s book, really. Holmes only gets involved in the story about a third of the way through when he discovers someone (who turns out to be the villain of the piece) is posing as him at Baskerville Hall, and he decides to investigate. That’s not the least that the film deviates from the book (the play it was based on went further and even incorporated bits of Poe); Watson does appear (contrary to my earlier impression) but only for a minute or so and apparently no one even knows who played him, while the titular hound—a rather friendly-looking Great Dane—has almost as little to do with proceedings. Even Sir Henry seems like a non-event. Characterisation is definitely not the strong point here. I do think the film (which was lost for decades and only reappeared in 2005) might be better thought of if it had been called anything other than The Hound of the Baskervilles; definitely no lost masterpiece, not particularly advanced even for 1914 and the acting is inclined somewhat to ham, but the set designs are fairly nice and some of the camerawork (an early job for Karl Freund) is inventively handled. Still glad I watched the 1929 version first, though; if nothing else a comparison shows just how far technique progressed in those 15 years.

And would Doyle have cared that much about the differences from the book anyway? When William Gillette wrote his own Sherlock play in 1899 he asked Doyle for permission to marry Holmes off, and Doyle said Gillette could do whatever he wanted. Would Doyle have been bothered by this, well, bastardisation of his work? Did Doyle even know about it? It wouldn’t be the last time a German film company would be a bit cavalier with international copyright (looking at you here, F.W. Murnau)…