As they did with "The Valley Of Fear", RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana adapted Doyle's "Hound" as 3 hour-long episodes (slightly longer this time). Once again, the locations, the sets, the camerawork, the acting are all wonderful. However, this time, the lack of English subtitles was a bit more of a problem, as like so many other versions of the story before and after this one, they decided to "play" with it. Oh well!
It starts out fine enough, with Sir Charles receiving a note, which he burns before going out to meet someone... and then being found dead soon after by Dr. Mortimer. However, unlike virtually every other version I've seen, we then immediately cut to Holmes & Watson travelling to the country by coach (as they did in "Valley"), without having met Mortimer in Baker Street or hearing the legend of the hound therein! So, the main difference here is that Holmes is on the scene for nearly the entire story, which removes a key point of Doyle's intention when he wrote it (I'm pretty sure), to feature Dr. Watson as the main character for a change. (Doyle was sick to death of Holmes when he wrote it, having already killed Holmes off several years earlier, and presenting this new story as a flashback that takes place before his "death".)
Episode 1's climax involves Holmes tackling Selden, the escaped convict (who gets away). Episode 2's climax involves Selden getting killed by the hound (while wearing Sir Henry's clothes). In between, we get to meet most of the usual suspects, including ever-smiling Jack Stapleton, his stunningly-beautiful sister Beryl, Frankland, and the Barrymores, who serve as a major red herring.
On reaching episode 3, I was wondering how, even with an hour left, they were going to cover everything, and-- shockingly-- they DIDN'T! It kinda floors me that with far more than an extra hour over the 2 BBC versions (1968, 1982), the Sy Weintraub film and the Granada film (1983, 1988), they STILL managed to leave out some very important parts! I guess that's what they get for just taking their time-- far too much time. Instead of it feeling complete, it feels padded-out. Hmm.
The climax, where Holmes, Watson and a police officer stake out Stapleton's house, then are at hand when Sir Henry is attacked, was also used in the Tom Baker, Ian Richardson & Jeremy Brett versions. Taking the wounded Henry back to Stapleton's and finding Beryl bound & gagged was also in these 3 (I'm pretty sure), and following Stapleton, only to watch him SINK to his death in the mire, was used in the 1968 Peter Cushing TV version, as well as Tom Baker's & Jeremy Brett's (the Ian Richardson version had a MUCH-more exciting action climax before this happened, though). Seeing Henry & Beryl, once the truth about her has come out, taking a walk together-- two people who've both been terribly abused by one man who's now DEAD-- I've only ever seen in the Richardson film (one of my favorites, despite it veering away from the book so far). All this makes me really want to make up for the terrible oversight of my still not having read the novel after all these years!
The thing that baffles me the most is the complete absence of Laura Lyons (Frankland's disowned daughter). MOST adaptations leave her out, yet the ones she's in make you realize she's one of the KEY parts of the mystery of how Sir Charles died in the first place! She's in the 1968 Peter Cushing version, as well as the Tom Baker & Ian Richardson versions (though they made some drastic changes in there, as it's the only one she actually gets killed in).
A real highlight for me was actress Marina Malfatti, who I think must be the most beautiful "Beryl" I've ever seen. She reminds me a lot of Morgan Fairchild (who once played "Irene Adler" opposite Christopher Lee & Patrick Macnee).
I still enjoyed this quite a bit, but now I'm really wishing more than before that somebody would put out a version of this film WITH English subtitles.
It starts out fine enough, with Sir Charles receiving a note, which he burns before going out to meet someone... and then being found dead soon after by Dr. Mortimer. However, unlike virtually every other version I've seen, we then immediately cut to Holmes & Watson travelling to the country by coach (as they did in "Valley"), without having met Mortimer in Baker Street or hearing the legend of the hound therein! So, the main difference here is that Holmes is on the scene for nearly the entire story, which removes a key point of Doyle's intention when he wrote it (I'm pretty sure), to feature Dr. Watson as the main character for a change. (Doyle was sick to death of Holmes when he wrote it, having already killed Holmes off several years earlier, and presenting this new story as a flashback that takes place before his "death".)
Episode 1's climax involves Holmes tackling Selden, the escaped convict (who gets away). Episode 2's climax involves Selden getting killed by the hound (while wearing Sir Henry's clothes). In between, we get to meet most of the usual suspects, including ever-smiling Jack Stapleton, his stunningly-beautiful sister Beryl, Frankland, and the Barrymores, who serve as a major red herring.
On reaching episode 3, I was wondering how, even with an hour left, they were going to cover everything, and-- shockingly-- they DIDN'T! It kinda floors me that with far more than an extra hour over the 2 BBC versions (1968, 1982), the Sy Weintraub film and the Granada film (1983, 1988), they STILL managed to leave out some very important parts! I guess that's what they get for just taking their time-- far too much time. Instead of it feeling complete, it feels padded-out. Hmm.
The climax, where Holmes, Watson and a police officer stake out Stapleton's house, then are at hand when Sir Henry is attacked, was also used in the Tom Baker, Ian Richardson & Jeremy Brett versions. Taking the wounded Henry back to Stapleton's and finding Beryl bound & gagged was also in these 3 (I'm pretty sure), and following Stapleton, only to watch him SINK to his death in the mire, was used in the 1968 Peter Cushing TV version, as well as Tom Baker's & Jeremy Brett's (the Ian Richardson version had a MUCH-more exciting action climax before this happened, though). Seeing Henry & Beryl, once the truth about her has come out, taking a walk together-- two people who've both been terribly abused by one man who's now DEAD-- I've only ever seen in the Richardson film (one of my favorites, despite it veering away from the book so far). All this makes me really want to make up for the terrible oversight of my still not having read the novel after all these years!
The thing that baffles me the most is the complete absence of Laura Lyons (Frankland's disowned daughter). MOST adaptations leave her out, yet the ones she's in make you realize she's one of the KEY parts of the mystery of how Sir Charles died in the first place! She's in the 1968 Peter Cushing version, as well as the Tom Baker & Ian Richardson versions (though they made some drastic changes in there, as it's the only one she actually gets killed in).
A real highlight for me was actress Marina Malfatti, who I think must be the most beautiful "Beryl" I've ever seen. She reminds me a lot of Morgan Fairchild (who once played "Irene Adler" opposite Christopher Lee & Patrick Macnee).
I still enjoyed this quite a bit, but now I'm really wishing more than before that somebody would put out a version of this film WITH English subtitles.