The Hound of the Baskervilles (1929) Director: Richard Oswald Producer: Richard Oswald Based on: The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1902) Starring: Carlyle Blackwell as Sherlock Holmes, George Seroff as Dr. Watson, Fritz Rasp as Stapleton, Alma Taylor as Beryl Stapleton Cinematography: Ewald Daub Studio: Nero-Film AG Release Date: August 1929 (Germany) Runtime: Approx. 85 minutes Format: Silent | Black & White Country: Germany Language: German intertitles (with some international versions featuring English titles) Genre: Mystery | Thriller | Detective --- Summary: The Hound of the Baskervilles (Der Hund von Baskerville) is a German silent adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous Sherlock Holmes novel. This version — one of the final silent Holmes films before the transition to sound — follows the classic tale of an ancient family curse and a monstrous hound said to haunt the Baskerville moors. After the mysterious death of Sir Charles Baskerville, the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes (Carlyle Blackwell) and his trusted companion Dr. Watson (George Seroff) are called upon to protect the heir, Sir Henry Baskerville, from the spectral hound that has terrorized the Baskerville line. As they unravel the mystery, Holmes discovers that human deceit, rather than the supernatural, is the true danger behind the legend. --- Background: This 1929 German production was the last silent Sherlock Holmes film before the character’s transition to sound cinema in the early 1930s. Directed by Richard Oswald, a prolific filmmaker of the Weimar Republic, it’s also notable as part of a long-running German series of Holmes adaptations that began as early as 1914. Oswald’s version stands out for its expressionist cinematography, haunting sets, and atmospheric use of fog-shrouded moors — all trademarks of late silent-era German filmmaking. --- Trivia: This was Carlyle Blackwell’s only portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, though he had a long career in silent films in both the U.S. and Europe. It’s one of the few surviving examples of German silent adaptations of English literature. The film was long thought lost until fragments and near-complete prints were rediscovered in European archives. Director Richard Oswald fled Germany a few years later due to the rise of Nazism, continuing his career abroad. --- Legacy: The Hound of the Baskervilles (1929) bridges the gap between early silent detective adventures and the sound-era Holmes films of the 1930s and ’40s. It remains an important artifact in the cinematic evolution of Doyle’s most famous story — showing how European filmmakers brought Gothic and Expressionist influences to a quintessentially British mystery. --- Hashtags: #TheHoundOfTheBaskervilles1929 #SherlockHolmes #RichardOswald #CarlyleBlackwell #SilentFilm #GermanCinema #WeimarCinema #ArthurConanDoyle #DrWatson #ClassicMystery #SilentThriller #ExpressionistFilm #LostFilm #1920sCinema #DetectiveFiction