| Der Hund von Baskerville | |
| Director: | Rudolf Meinert |
| Producer: | Jules Greenbaum |
| Starring: | Alwin Neuß |
| Music: | Joachim Bärenz |
| Cinematography: | Werner Brandes Karl Freund |
| Runtime: | Five reels |
| Country: | Germany |
| Language: | Silent German intertitles |
Der Hund von Baskerville is a 1914 German silent film adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's 1902 novel The Hound of the Baskervilles, the first film adaptation of the work. According to the website silentera.com, the film was considered lost, but has been rediscovered; the Russian Gosfilmofond film archive possesses a print, while the Filmmuseum München has a 35mm positive print.[1]
In 2019, the film received a wide home media release by Flicker Alley, along with the 1929 version.[2]
In 1907, Richard Oswald mounted a version of The Hound of the Baskervilles in Praterstraße based on Der Hund von Baskerville: Schauspiel in vier Aufzügen aus dem Schottischen Hochland. Frei nach Motiven aus Poes und Doyles Novellen[3] (The Hound of the Baskervilles: a play in four acts set in the Scottish Highlands. Freely adapted from the stories of Poe and Doyle) which was written by Ferdinand Bonn.[3]
By 1914, Oswald was working as a script supervisor at Union-Vitascope studios in the Weißensee Studios.[3] Films based on mystery novels were very successful in German cinema at the time[3] so Oswald found himself in the position to pen a film script based on The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Richard Oswald penned the tale which blended Doyle's original story and Der Hund von Baskerville[3] and Rudolf Meinert was tasked with the direction.[3] [4]
Alwin Neuß was cast to portray Sherlock Holmes in Der Hund von Baskerville. Neuß had previously played the role in 1910's Das Milliontestament.[3]
Der Hund von Baskerville was so successful, it spawned five more films: Das einsame Haus, Das unheimliche Zimmer, Die Sage vom Hund von Baskerville, Dr. MacDonalds Sanatorium, and Das Haus ohne Fenster.[4] Neuß played Holmes in the first three sequels, but was replaced in the last two by Erich Kaiser-Titz.[5]