Hello there and welcome to Day 3 of The Hound of the
Baskervilles Week. I am changing things
up a bit. Rather than reviewing the 1972
TV Movie I felt we need a bit of a lark, some goof if you will and that is why
we are moving on ahead to 1978’s rendition of said title. This is meant as a spoof of the classic Doyle
tale and is done with precision and exquisite time of the late Peter Cook and
the late Dudley Moore. This ladies and
gentlemen is The Hound of the Baskervilles.
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| Yikes, right in the little soldier! |
Sherlock Holmes: Do you
think I’m gonna waste my time spoiling the streets of London for some old
boot? This is a job for an imbecile.
Doctor Watson: Quite
right, Holmes, let me deal with this.
With an in-depth view
into Holmes’ personal life, issues with his constantly perplexed mother and his
welsh Watson we can surmise this is clearly a parody of the Doyle tale and
quite the detraction from the dramatic mystery that it is. Holmes has just returned
from finding a lost holy relic for three French nuns that are adamant about
getting to the church on time for the thousand of blind cripples to enjoy…how
you may ask? Why, faith, of course. No
sooner has Holmes (Peter Cook of Alice in Wonderland, The Bed Sitting Room, Find the Lady,
The Two of Us and The Black Adder) tended to the nuns Dr. Mortimer (Terry-Thomas
of I’m All Right Jack, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Those Daring Young Men
in Their Jaunty Jalopies, The Abominable Dr. Phibes and The Bawdy Adventures of
Tom Jones) pays Holmes and rather excitable Welsh Doctor Watson (Dudley
Moore of Bedazzled, 10, Foul Play,
Arthur and Six Weeks) of his concern for Sir Henry Baskerville and the
fiercesome beast that curses Baskerville Hall and all its estate.
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| Star in a film titled Supergirl? Sounds daft. |
Tired and shagged out from the previous cases, Holmes hands
the reins to this case to Watson.
Arriving at the station, Sir Henry (Kenneth Williams of Carry on Sergeant, Carry
on Nurse, Carry on Teacher and Carry on at Your Convenience), Watson,
Mortimer and Perkins their driver are halted by a bobby informing them of an
escaped lunatic that is hiding out in the moors and they are to be wary at all
times…this is just after they rammed him in the balls with a Model A. He’s only married for a month, the poor
fellow.
Moving right along Mortimer and Watson are mistreated by the
Barrymores feed only cheese and water and then cast into a dingy, grimy small
bedroom with ankle deep water. As Watson
keeps Holmes abreast to the situation, Holmes must endure his cranky eldery
mother (Moore in drag) rambling nonsensical left and right.
I just had a few observations of the movie at this time.
With such an amazing cast as Denholm
Elliot of Raiders of the Lost Ark
and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Prunella
Scales of Fawlty Towers and After Henry this low brow humor consists
primarily of jokes, puns and a running gag of dogs peeing. The amusing part to this film is it truly
does not steer away from its original source material. It would be more accurately viewed as this is
The Hound of the Baskervilles in the mind’s eye view of Peter Cook and Dudley
Moore and frankly that is almost as terrifying to be in Robin Williams’ mind.
It is fun, warped and filled with abject wrongness for all
to enjoy.
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| Was that you or do we have a dead yak in the front hall? |
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