The Hound of the Baskervilles

By

Alonso del Arte

Faithfully based on the novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

OPENING CREDITS MONTAGE

INT. Engraver’s shop. An ENGRAVER is engraving the words "To

James Mortimer, M.R.C.S., from his friends of the C.C.H.

1884" on a broad silver band, which he then affixes to a

walking stick.

INT. Charing Cross Hospital conference room. DR. MORTIMER, a

young surgeon, and the future MRS. MORTIMER are surrounded

by his colleagues, who shake his hand, congratulate him, and

present him with a walking stick.

EXT. Charing Cross Hospital, main entrance. Dr. and Mrs.

Mortimer to-be leave, he has his new walking stick.

EXT. Night, Baskerville Hall. Dr. Mortimer is approaching

the mansion. The butler, BARRYMORE, with a grave expression

on his face, guides Dr. Mortimer.

INT. Baskerville Hall. Dr. Mortimer listens to the heartbeat

of SIR CHARLES with one of Leared’s stethoscopes.

EXT. Moor, near the Grimpen Mire, daytime. Dr. Mortimer is

strolling, with his dog, a CURLY-HAIRED SPANIEL, a few steps

ahead of him. He runs into Sir Charles and they greet each

other with great friendliness.

INT. Dr. Mortimer’s house. Dr. and Mrs. Mortimer are having

a cup of tea.

EXT. Baskerville Hall, the Yew Alley. Dr. Mortimer finds Sir

Charles, laying on his face, his arms out, his fingers dug

into the ground, and his features convulsed with some strong

emotion. Dr. Mortimer, amazed, barely able to recognize his

patient and friend, lets go of his walking stick, which

falls to the ground.

INT. Coroner’s court. Dr. Mortimer is seen saying a few

words, then sits down. The CORONER writes the words "natural

causes" into a document.

EXT. Baker Street. Dr. Mortimer walks up to 221B, knocks on

the door, gets no response, he leaves, forgetting his

walking stick.

EXPOSITION OF THE CASE

INT. 221B Baker Street. Morning. SHERLOCK HOLMES is seated

at the breakfast table. DR. WATSON goes to the hearth rug

and picks up Dr. Mortimer’s walking stick.

2.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Well, Watson, what do you make of

it? Let me hear you reconstruct the

man by an examination of his

walking stick.

DR. WATSON

I think that Dr. Mortimer is a

successful, elderly medical man,

well-esteemed since those who know

him gave him this mark of his

appreciation.

(a beat)

I think also that the probability

is in favor of his being a country

practitioner who does a great deal

of his visiting on foot.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Why so?

DR. WATSON

Because this stick has been so

knocked about that I can hardly

imagine a town practitioner

carrying it.

(pointing to the ferrule)

The thick-iron ferrule is worn

down, so it is evident that he has

done a great amount of walking with

it.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Perfectly sound!

DR. WATSON

C.C.H. is probably the local hunt

to whose members he has possibly

given some surgical assistance, so

they made a small presentation in

return.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Really, Watson, you excel yourself.

Holmes goes from the table to a chair, sits down and lights

a cigarette.

DR. WATSON

Has anything escaped me?

3.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

A lot. You are correct that the man

is a country practitioner, and that

he walks a good deal.

DR. WATSON

Then I was right?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

To that extent.

DR. WATSON

But that was all.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

No, no, my Dear Watson, by no means

all. I would suggest, for example,

that a presentation to a doctor is

more likely to come from a hospital

than from a hunt, and that when the

initials ’C.C.’ are placed before

that hospital, the words ’Charing

Cross’ very naturally suggest

themselves.

DR. WATSON

You may be right. Supposing that

’C.C.H.’ is indeed Charing Cross

Hospital, what further inferences

may we draw?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Do none others suggest themselves?

You know my methods, apply them!

DR. WATSON

I can only think of the obvious

conclusion that the man has

practiced in town before going to

the country.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

I think we may go even further than

that. Your grave, middle-aged

family practitioner, my dear

Watson, is in fact a young fellow

under thirty, amiable, unambitious,

absent-minded, and the possessor of

a dog, larger than a terrier and

smaller than a mastiff.

Watson laughs incredulously, then goes to a bookshelf and

pulls out a book titled "Medical Directory."

4.

DR. WATSON

(reading)

Mortimer, James, M.R.C.S., 1882,

Grimpen, Dartmoor, Devon.

House-surgeon, from 1882 to 1884,

at Charing Cross Hospital. Winner

of the Jackson prize for

Comparative Pathology. Medical

Officer for the parishes of

Grimpen, Thorsley, and High Barrow.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

No mention of that local hunt,

Watson, but a country doctor as you

astutely observed. It is my

experience that it is only an

amiable man in this world who

receives testimonials, only an

unambitious one who abandons a

London career for the country, and

only an absent-minded one who

leaves his stick and not his

visiting-card after waiting an hour

in your room.

DR. WATSON

And the dog?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Has been in the habit of carrying

this stick behind his master. Being

a heavy stick the dog has held it

tightly by the middle, and the

marks of his teeth are very plainly

visible. The dog’s jaw, as shown in

the space between these marks, is

too broad in my opinion for a

terrier and not broad enough for a

mastiff.

There is a KNOCK at the door. Holmes opens the door and in

comes DR. MORTIMER, a very tall, thin man, with a long nose

like a beak, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, his frock-coat

dingy and his trousers frayed, his long back already bowed,

walking with a forward thrust of his head and a general air

of peering benevolence. Dr. Mortimer is followed by a

CURLY-HAIRED SPANIEL. Dr. Mortimer notices his walking

stick.

DR. MORTIMER

I am so very glad. I thought I had

left it at the Shipping Office. I

would not lose that stick for the

world.

5.

Holmes hands Dr. Mortimer his stick.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

A presentation, I see.

DR. MORTIMER

Yes, from my friends at Charing

Cross on the occasion of my

marriage. And you are Mr. Holmes?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(pointing to Watson)

And this is my friend Dr. Watson.

DR. MORTIMER

Glad to meet you both. The reason I

am here today is that I am

confronted with a serious and

extraordinary problem. I have this

manuscript...

Dr. Mortimer pulls an old manuscript from his pocket.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Early 18th Century, 1730 at the

earliest?

DR. MORTIMER

The exact date is 1742. This family

paper was committed to my care by

Sir Charles Baskerville, whose

sudden and tragic death some three

months ago created so much

excitement in Devonshire. I may say

that I was his personal friend as

well as his medical attendant. He

was a strong-minded man, sir,

shrewd, practical, and as

unimaginative as I am myself. Yet

he took this document very

seriously, and his mind was

prepared for just such an end as

did eventually overtake him.

DR. WATSON

A statement of some sort?

DR. MORTIMER

Yes, it is a statement of a certain

legend which runs in the

Baskerville family.

Dr. Mortimer adjusts his glasses on his nose.

6.

DR. MORTIMER

Baskerville Hall, 1742. Of the

origin of the Hound of the

Baskervilles there have been many

statements, yet as I come in a

direct line from Hugo Baskerville,

and as I had the story from my

father, who also had it from his, I

have set it down with all belief

that it occurred even as is here

set forth.

THE LEGEND OF SIR HUGO AND THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES

EXT. Baskerville Hall, 1742, late afternoon.

DR. MORTIMER

(voice-over)

In the time of the Great Rebellion,

the Manor of Baskerville was held

by Hugo of that name, a most wild,

profane and godless man.

SIR HUGO and 6 ROYSTERERS, all on HORSES, ride away from the

Hall.

EXT. The estate of a yeoman, twilight. His daughter LINDA is

picking up flowers when she hears hoof beats drawing near.

Then seven men on horseback show up. Sir Hugo grabs Linda

onto his horse. The men ride away with Linda SCREAMING.

EXT. Baskerville Hall, early night. The men on horseback

with Linda arrive.

INT. Baskerville Hall, an upper chamber. The door opens and

Linda is thrown in. Then the door is shut. Linda gets up and

tries to open the door, but is frustrated to see that it is

locked from the outside.

INT. Baskerville Hall, dining room. Sir Hugo and 13

ROYSTERERS are eating a banquet of goose and wine. MICHAEL,

one of the roysterers, puts down a goose leg.

MICHAEL

When do we get to shag her?

SIR HUGO

(sarcastically)

You will be the first.

7.

MICHAEL

Really?

SIR HUGO

(seriously)

No.

The Roysterers LAUGH. STUART, the butler, comes in with a

plate of food.

STUART

(to Sir Hugo)

Sir, are you sure you want to take

this food to the young lady

yourself? I can bring it up to her.

SIR HUGO

Yes, I’m sure.

Sir Hugo takes the plate.

SIR HUGO

(with mock concern)

Besides, what would that frigid old

shrew of a wife of yours think?

The Roysterers laugh again.

INT. Baskerville Hall, a hallway in the second floor. Sir

Hugo is bringing up some food.

INT. Baskerville Hall, an upper chamber. Linda hears the

approaching footsteps and looks around desperately. She

opens the window and escapes thus. Sir Hugo comes in and is

surprised to see the room empty.

INT. Baskerville Hall, dining room. Sir Hugo comes down the

stairs like someone possessed by a demon. He flips the great

table, sending the flagons and trenchers flying in the air,

surprising the 13 Roysterers who sat around the table, who

then get off their seats.

SIR HUGO

(screaming)

She’s gone! I will give my body and

soul to the Powers of Evil if I can

overtake her!

One of the roysterers, XAVIER, stumbles about a little more

drunkenly than the others.

8.

XAVIER

(just barely coherent)

Maybe you should put the hounds on

her scent...

Sir Hugo puts his hands on Xavier’s shoulders.

SIR HUGO

(seemingly sarcastic)

That’s a great flaming idea!

EXT. The moor, with the moon shining brightly. BLOODHOUNDS

are running towards Linda, followed by Sir Hugo and some of

the Roysterers on HORSES. Some SHEPHERDS look on in

surprise. Then a GIANT HOUND runs past the Shepherds. Soon

after, Sir Hugo’s Horse comes back, with trailing bridle and

empty saddle. Three of the Roysterers ride on to find a

broad space in which stood two great stones, and in the

center lay Linda where she had fallen, dead of fear and of

fatigue, and the body of Sir Hugo lying near her, and the

Giant Hound ripping out Sir Hugo’s throat. The three

Roysterers turn and ride in the opposite direction.

DR. MORTIMER

(voice-over)

One of them, it is said, died that

very night of what he had seen, and

the other twain were but broken men

for the rest of their days.

EXPOSITION OF THE CASE, CONTINUED

INT. 221B Baker Street. Dr. Mortimer has reached the last

paragraph of the legend.

DR. MORTIMER

(reading)

Many of the family have been

unhappy in their deaths, which have

been sudden, bloody, and

mysterious. Yet may we shelter

ourselves in the infinite goodness

of Providence, which would not

forever punish the innocent beyond

that third or fourth generation

which is threatened in Holy Writ.

To that Providence, my sons, I

hereby commend you, and I counsel

you by way of caution to forbear

from crossing the moor in those

dark hours when the powers of evil

are exalted.

9.

Dr. Mortimer puts down the document and resets his glasses.

DR. MORTIMER

Well? Do you find it interesting?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

To a collector of fairy tales.

DR. MORTIMER

Now, Mr. Holmes, something more

recent.

Dr. Mortimer drew a folded newspaper out of his pocket.

DR. MORTIMER

(reading)

The recent death of Sir Charles

Baskerville has cast great gloom

over the county. The circumstances

connected with the death of Sir

Charles cannot be said to have been

entirely cleared up by the inquest,

but at least enough has been done

to dispose of those rumors to which

local superstition has given rise.

Dr. Mortimer puts down the paper.

DR. MORTIMER

Those are the public facts.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Then let me have the private facts.

DR. MORTIMER

Within the last few months it

became increasingly plain to me

that Sir Charles’s nervous system

was strained to the breaking point.

He had taken this legend which I

have read you exceedingly to heart.

EXT. Baskerville Hall, a minute before sunset. Sir Charles

is running towards the front door, which is open.

DR. MORTIMER

(voice-over)

So much so that, although he would

walk in his own grounds, nothing

would induce him to go out upon the

moor at night.

Sir Charles runs in and a servant closes the door. The sun

sets.

10.

INT. 221B Baker Street.

DR. MORTIMER

The idea of some ghastly presence

constantly haunted him. It was at

my advice that Sir Charles was

about to go to London.

We hear a frantic HEARTBEAT through Leared’s stethoscope.

DR. MORTIMER

His heart was, I knew, affected,

and the constant anxiety in which

he lived, however chimerical the

cause of it might be, was evidently

having a serious effect upon his

health. I thought that a few months

among the distractions of town

would send him back a new man. At

the last instant came this terrible

catastrophe. On the night of Sir

Charles’s death, Barrymore the

butler, who made the discovery,

sent Perkins the groom on horseback

to me, and as I was sitting up late

I was able to reach Baskerville

Hall within an hour of the event. I

followed the footsteps down the Yew

Alley, I saw the spot at the

moor-gate where he seemed to have

waited, I remarked the change in

the shape of the prints after that

point, I noted that there were no

other footsteps save those of

Barrymore on the soft gravel, and

finally I carefully examined the

body, which had not been touched

until my arrival. There was

certainly no physical injury of any

kind.

Dr. Watson seems a little puzzled.

DR. MORTIMER

But one false statement was made by

Barrymore at the inquest. He said

that there were no traces upon the

ground round the body. He did not

observe any. But I did, some little

distance off, but fresh and clear.

11.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Footprints?

DR. MORTIMER

Footprints.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

A man or a woman’s?

DR. MORTIMER

(almost whispering)

Mr. Holmes, they were the

footprints of a gigantic hound!

SHERLOCK HOLMES

You saw this?

EXT. Baskerville Hall, night. We see the body of Sir

Charles, and some twenty yards away, the footprints of the

Giant Hound.

INT. 221B Baker Street.

DR. MORTIMER

As clearly as I see you.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

And you said nothing?

DR. MORTIMER

What was the use?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Did you see any other marks?

DR. MORTIMER

By the wicket gate, I saw the ash

had dropped twice from his cigar.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Any other marks at all?

DR. MORTIMER

None that I could discern.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

If only I had been there! That

gravel page upon which I could have

read so much has long since been

smudged by the rain and defaced by

the clogs of curious peasants. Oh,

Dr. Mortimer, to think that you

should not have called me in!

12.

DR. MORTIMER

I could not call you in, Mr.

Holmes, without disclosing these

facts to the world, besides...

(a beat)

There is a realm in which the most

acute and most experienced of

detectives is helpless.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

You mean the thing is supernatural?

DR. MORTIMER

I did not positively say so.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

I have hitherto confined my

investigations to this world.

DR. MORTIMER

The original hound was material

enough to tug a man’s throat out,

and yet he was diabolical as well.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Why have you come to consult me at

all? You tell me in the same breath

that it is useless to investigate

Sir Charles’s death, and that you

desire me to do it.

DR. MORTIMER

That’s not reason I’ve come here. I

need you to advise me as to what I

should do with Sir Henry

Baskerville, who arrives at

Waterloo Station

(looking at his watch)

in exactly one hour and a quarter.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

He’s the heir?

DR. MORTIMER

Yes. After Sir Charles died, we

inquired for this young man and

found that he had been farming in

Canada. I speak now as the executor

of Sir Charles’s will.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

There is no other claimant?

13.

DR. MORTIMER

None. Of three brothers, Sir

Charles was the elder. The second

brother, who died young, is the

father of this lad Henry. The

youngest brother, Rodger, was the

black sheep of the family. They

tell me he looked the spitting

image of old Hugo. He made England

too hot to hold him, he fled to

Central America, and died there in

1876 of yellow fever. So Henry is

the last of the Baskervilles. What

should I do with him?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Why should he not go to the home of

his fathers?

DR. MORTIMER

It seems natural, does it not? And

yet, every Baskerville who goes

there meets with an evil fate. But

the prosperity of the whole poor,

bleak countryside depends upon his

presence. All the good work done by

Sir Charles will crash to the

ground if there is no tenant of the

Hall.

Holmes mulls it over for a bit.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

In your opinion, there is a

diabolical agency which makes

Dartmoor an unsafe abode for a

Baskerville?

DR. MORTIMER

There is some evidence that may be

so.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

If your supernatural theory is

correct, it could work the young

man evil in London as easily as in

Devonshire. A devil with merely

local powers like a parish vestry

would be too inconceivable a thing.

DR. MORTIMER

You put the matter more flippantly,

Mr. Holmes, than you would probably

(MORE)

14.

DR. MORTIMER (cont’d)do if you were brought into

personal contact with these things.

Your advice, then, as I understand

it, is that the young man will be

as safe in Devonshire as in London.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Bring him to me tomorrow at ten

o’clock. Say nothing to him at all

for now. Tomorrow we will decide

what to do next.

Dr. Mortimer scribbles the appointment on his shirt cuff.

Then he absentmindedly gets up, about to leave. Holmes stops

him.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Just one more question. Before the

death of Sir Charles, several

people saw this apparition upon the

moor?

DR. MORTIMER

Three people did.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Did any see it after?

DR. MORTIMER

I have not heard of any.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Thank you.

Dr. Mortimer leaves. Holmes sits down. Watson grabs his hat.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Going out, Watson?

DR. WATSON

Unless I can help you.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Not at the moment. But when you

pass Bradley’s, would you ask him

to send up a pound of the strongest

tobacco?

EXT. The moor, hazy and fuzzy, as if in a dream. Holmes,

like a ghost, walks upon the moor, as if having an

out-of-body experience.

15.

MEETING THE HEIR

EXT. Waterloo Station platform, day. Dr. Mortimer meets SIR

HENRY, a small, alert, dark-eyed man about thirty years of

age, very sturdily built, with thick black eyebrows and a

strong, pugnacious face, with the weather-beaten appearance

of one who has spent most of his time in the open air, and

yet something in his steady eye and the quiet assurance of

his bearing which indicated the gentleman. Sir Henry speaks

with a vaguely American accent.

EXT. Northumberland Hotel, day. Sir Henry and Dr. Mortimer

enter the hotel.

INT. Northumberland Hotel, Sir Henry’s room. Sir Henry opens

a letter addressed to him. The letter was composed by

cutting words out of a newspaper, but the final word is

hand-written in ink, and it exhibits two ink splutters.

SIR HENRY

(reading)

As you value your life or your

reason, keep away from the moor.

INT. 221B Baker Street. The CLOCK STRIKES ten o’clock. Sir

Henry and Dr. Mortimer come in. Sir Henry is wearing a

ruddy-tinted tweed suit.

DR. MORTIMER

(pointing to Sir Henry)

This is Sir Henry Baskerville.

SIR HENRY

The strange thing is, Mr. Sherlock

Holmes, that if my friend had not

proposed coming here, I would have

of my own accord.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Pray take a seat, Sir Henry.

They all sit down.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

You have had some remarkable

experience since you arrived in

London?

SIR HENRY

Nothing of much importance, only a

joke. It was this letter.

16.

Sir Henry puts the letter on the table. The envelope is

addressed to Sir Henry at the Northumberland, with a Charing

Cross postmark.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Who knew you were going to the

Northumberland?

SIR HENRY

No one could have known. We only

decided after I met Dr. Mortimer.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

But Dr. Mortimer was already

stopping thre?

DR. MORTIMER

No, I had been staying with a

friend.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Someone seems to be very deeply

interested in your movements.

Holmes opens the envelope and takes out the letter.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(reading)

As you value your life or your

reason, keep away from the moor.

SIR HENRY

Now, perhaps you will me, Mr.

Holmes, what in the thunder is the

meaning of that?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Watson, could you get me

yesterday’s Times, the inside page,

please, with the leading articles?

Watson hands Holmes the requested newspaper. Holmes looks it

over quickly.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Capital article this on free trade.

Check out this quote:

(reading)

You may be cajoled into imagining

that your own special trade or your

own industry will be encouraged by

a protective tariff, but it stands

to reason that such legislation

(MORE)

17.

SHERLOCK HOLMES (cont’d)must in the long run keep away

wealth from the country, diminish

the value of our imports, and lower

the general conditions of life in

this island.

SIR HENRY

I don’t know much about the tariff

and things of that kind, but it

seems to me we’ve got a bit off the

trail so far as that note is

concerned.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

The connection is that that message

was composed by cutting words out

of that passage I just read.

Holmes hands Sir Henry both the newspaper and the letter,

and Sir Henry sees that the typefaces match.

SIR HENRY

Well, if that isn’t smart!

SHERLOCK HOLMES

The address, you observe is printed

in rough characters. But the Times

is a paper which is seldom found in

any hands but those of the highly

educated. We may take it,

therefore, that the letter was

composed by an educated man who

wished to pose as an uneducated

one, and his effort to conceal his

own writing suggests that that

writing might be known, or come to

be known, by you. This address has

been written in a hotel.

DR. MORTIMER

How in the world can you say that?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

You will notice that the pen has

spluttered twice in a single word

and run dry three times in a short

address. Such is the kind of pen

and ink you will find in a hotel. I

have very little hesitation in

saying that could we examine the

waste-paper baskets of the hotels

around Charing Cross until we found

(MORE)

18.

SHERLOCK HOLMES (cont’d)the remains of the mutilated Times

leader we could lay our hands

straight upon the person who sent

this singular message. Now, Sir

Henry, has anything else of

interest happened to you since you

have been in London?

SIR HENRY

Why, no, Mr. Holmes. I think not.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

You have not observed anyone follow

you, or watch you?

SIR HENRY

No.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Anything else out of the ordinary?

SIR HENRY

I don’t know much of British life

yet, but I hope that to lose one of

your boots is not part of the

ordinary routine of life over here.

DR. MORTIMER

(to Sir Henry)

It’s just mislaid, you will find it

soon. It’s not worth troubling Mr.

Holmes about it.

SIR HENRY

(to Dr. Mortimer)

Well, he asked me for anything out

of the ordinary.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Exactly, no matter how

insignificant the incident may

seem. So, what kind of boot did you

lose?

SIR HENRY

Well, mislaid, anyhow. It was from

a pair of new boots I bought in the

Strand last night. I’ve never even

had them on.

19.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

If you have never worn them, why

did you put them out to be cleaned?

SIR HENRY

They were tan boots, I put them out

to be varnished.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

It seems a singularly useless thing

to steal. I think it won’t be long

before it turns up as Dr. Mortimer

suggests.

SIR HENRY

(decisively)

Now, gentlemen, it’s time you gave

me a full account of what you are

all getting at.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Dr. Mortimer, please tell Sir Henry

the story as you told it to us.

Holmes goes to the window as Dr. Mortimer gets out the

manuscript of the legend.

DR. MORTIMER

(to Sir Henry)

In the last months of his life,

your uncle became very preoccupied

with this legend of Sir Hugo and

the Hound of the Baskervilles.

EXT. Baker Street, day, average traffic. Two cabs are parked

on the side of the street opposite 221B.

DR. MORTIMER

(voice-over, very faint)

Hugo ran from the house, crying to

his grooms that they should saddle

his mare and unkennel the pack, and

giving the hounds a kerchief of the

maid’s, he swung them to the line.

A couple of PASSENGERS board one of the two cabs, then that

cab starts off to its destination.

INT. 221B Baker Street. Holmes gets away from the window.

DR. MORTIMER

Then Holmes suggested I bring you

here today.

20.

SIR HENRY

Well, I seem to have come into an

inheritance with a vengeance.

(a beat)

I’ve heard of the Hound ever since

I was in the nursery. It’s the pet

story of the family, but I’ve never

thought of taking it seriously

before. But as to my uncle’s death,

I can’t get it clear yet.

(to Holmes)

You don’t seem quite to have made

up your mind whether it’s a case

for a cop or a priest.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Precisely.

SIR HENRY

As for the letter, that fits into

place somehow.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

It could mean that someone is not

ill-disposed towards you, since

they warn you of danger.

SIR HENRY

Or it may be that they wish, for

their own purposes, to scare me

away.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Well, of course, that is possible

also. Now we must decide whether it

is advisable for you to go to

Baskerville Hall.

SIR HENRY

Why should I not go? Because of

danger from this family fiend or

danger from human beings?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Well, that is what we have to find

out.

SIR HENRY

Either way, my answer is the same.

There is no devil in hell, Mr.

Holmes, and there is no man upon

earth who can prevent me from going

to the home of my own people, and

(MORE)

21.

SIR HENRY (cont’d)you may take that to be my final

answer.

Watson appears impressed by that answer.

SIR HENRY

(to Holmes)

I have to think about all this some

more. Perhaps you and your friend,

Dr. Watson, can join us for lunch

at the hotel at two?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(to Watson)

Is that convenient to you, Watson?

DR. WATSON

Perfectly.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Then you may expect us. Shall I

have a cab called?

SIR HENRY

I’d prefer to walk.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Then we meet again at two o’clock.

Sir Henry and Dr. Mortimer leave. We hear their FOOTSTEPS

down the stairs, then the BANG of a door.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Your hat and boots, Watson, quick!

Holmes and Watson get dressed to go outside quickly and then

leave.

CHASING THE SHADOW

EXT. Baker Street. Holmes and Watson spot Sir Henry and Dr.

Mortimer at about two hundred yards going towards Oxford

Street.

DR. WATSON

Shall I run and stop them?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

No, it’s a fine morning for a walk.

22.

Holmes increases his pace and Watson follows suit, but

without quite catching up to Sir Henry and Dr. Mortimer.

After some twists and turns, Sir Henry and Dr. Mortimer stop

to look at a shop window. Holmes spots a cab that is

following Sir Henry.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

There’s our man, Watson!

Holmes and Watson approach the cab so as to see the

passenger. The passenger is STAPLETON, a somewhat short man

with a bushy, black beard, wearing a top hat.

STAPLETON

To Waterloo Station, fast!

The cab rushes down Regent Street.

WATSON

Did you get the number?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(panting)

Twenty-seven oh four.

Watson looks around for Sir Henry and Dr. Mortimer.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

There is no object in

our following them. The shadow has

departed and will not return.

Holmes and Watson go to a District Messenger Office.

INT. District Messenger Office. WILSON, the manager, notices

Holmes.

WILSON

(warmly)

Mr. Holmes, how are you?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Very well, Wilson. You have not

forgotten the little case in which

I helped you?

WILSON

You saved my good name, and perhaps

my life.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

You had among your boys a lad named

Cartwright, who showed some ability

during the investigation?

23.

WILSON

Yes, sir, he is still with us.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Could you ring him up?

WILSON

(to the back)

Cartwright!

CARTWRIGHT, a lad of fourteen, with a bright, keen face,

comes up.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

You will visit each of the hotels

in the neighborhood of Charing

Cross, saying that you are looking

for a misplaced telegram. But you

are really looking for a copy of

the Times with some words cut out

of it.

Holmes hands Cartwright a copy of the Times.

CARTWRIGHT

Yes, sir.

EXT. Regent Street. Holmes and Watson exit the District

Messenger Office.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

And now it only remains for us to

find out by wire the identity of

the cabman of number twenty-seven

oh four, and then we will drop into

one of the Bond Street galleries

and fill in the time until we are

due at the Hotel.

THE PUZZLE OF THE MISSING ODD BOOTS

EXT. Bond Street. Holmes and Watson leave an art gallery,

and start heading for the Northumberland Hotel.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

That last one, especially.

DR. WATSON

Really, Holmes, you have the

crudest ideas about art.

EXT. Northumberland Hotel. Holmes and Watson go in.

24.

INT. Northumberland Hotel lobby. The CLERK perks up on

seeing Holmes.

CLERK

Sir Henry Baskerville is expecting

you.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Have you any objection to my

looking at your register?

CLERK

Not in the least.

Holmes and Watson spot Sir Henry’s name, followed by

Theophilus Johnson and family of Newcastle, and Mrs. Oldmore

and her maid, of High Lodge, Alton.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Thank you.

Holmes and Watson go up the stairs.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(in a low voice)

The people who are so interested in

our friend have not settled down in

this hotel. They are very anxious

to watch him, but also equally

anxious not to be seen by him. This

suggests that--

Holmes and Watson have reached the top of the stairs. Sir

Henry is looking very angry, holding an old, dusty boot in

his hand.

SIR HENRY

They’re playing me for a sucker in

this hotel! If they don’t find my

missing boot, there will be

trouble!

Holmes and Watson are now face to face with Sir Henry.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

You said it was a new brown boot?

SIR HENRY

And now one of my old black boots

is gone missing, too. Now my only

complete pair is the patent

leathers I’m wearing right now.

KLAUS, an agitated German waiter, shows up.

25.

SIR HENRY

Have you got it? Speak out man,

don’t just stand there staring!

KLAUS

No, sir. I have all over the hotel

made inquiry, and I can’t hear a

word about it.

SIR HENRY

Well, either that boot comes back

before sundown or I’ll see the

manager and tell him that I go

right straight out of this hotel.

KLAUS

It will be found, sir, with a

little patience it will be found.

Klaus leaves, seeming even more worried.

INT. Northumberland Hotel, guest room. Sir Henry, Dr.

Mortimer, Holmes and Watson have just finished eating lunch,

and they go to the adjoining sitting room.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(to Sir Henry)

So what do you plan to do?

SIR HENRY

To go to Baskerville Hall.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

When?

SIR HENRY

At the end of the week.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

A wise decision. You are being

dogged here in London, and among

the millions of this great city it

will be difficult to find who these

people are or their motives. Did

you know, Dr. Mortimer, that you

were followed this morning from my

house?

DR. MORTIMER

(very surprised)

Followed! By whom?

26.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

I don’t know. Have you among your

neighbors or acquaintances on

Dartmoor any man with a black, full

beard?

DR. MORTIMER

No, wait... there is Barrymore, Sir

Charles’s butler.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Where is Barrymore?

DR. MORTIMER

He is in charge of the Hall.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

We had best ascertain if he is

really there, or if he might be in

London.

DR. MORTIMER

How?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

We will send a telegram to Mr.

Barrymore at Baskerville Hall. It

will say: Is all ready for Sir

Henry? That’s it.

We hear the SOUND of Morse code.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

What is the nearest telegraph

office?

DR. MORTIMER

Grimpen.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Then we will send a second wire to

the Postmaster of Grimpen, it will

say: Telegram to Mr. Barrymore to

be delivered into his own hand. If

absent, please return wire to Sir

Henry Baskerville, Northumberland

Hotel.

We again hear the sound of Morse code.

SIR HENRY

(to Dr. Mortimer)

Who is this Barrymore, anyhow?

27.

DR. MORTIMER

He is the son of the old caretaker,

who is dead. They have looked after

the Hall for four generations now.

So far as I know, he and his wife

are as respectable a couple as any

in the county.

SIR HENRY

So long as there are none of the

family at the Hall these people

have a mighty fine home and nothing

to do.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Did Barrymore profit at all by Sir

Charles’s will?

DR. MORTIMER

He and his wife had five hundred

pounds each.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Did they know they would receive

this?

DR. MORTIMER

Yes, Sir Charles was very fond of

talking about the provisions of his

will.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Very interesting.

DR. MORTIMER

I hope that you do not look with

suspicious eyes upon everyone who

received a legacy from Sir Charles,

for I also had a thousand pounds

left to me.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Anyone else?

DR. MORTIMER

There were many small sums to

individuals and various public

charities. The residue went to Sir

Henry.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

And how much was the residue?

28.

DR. MORTIMER

Seven hundred and forty thousand

pounds.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(somewhat surprised)

I had no idea that so gigantic a

sum was involved. Supposing that

anything happened to our young

friend here, you will forgive the

unpleasant hypothesis, who would

inherit the estate?

DR. MORTIMER

It would go to the Desmonds, who

are distant cousins. James Desmond

is an elderly clergyman in

Westmoreland.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Have you met him?

DR. MORTIMER

Yes, he once came down to visit Sir

Charles. I recall that he refused

to accept any money from Sir

Charles, though he pressed it upon

him.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

So this man of simple tastes would

be heir to Sir Charles’s thousands.

DR. MORTIMER

He would be heir to the estate, and

he would also be heir to the money,

unless it were willed otherwise by

the present owner, who can, of

course, do what he likes with it.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(to Sir Henry)

Have you made your will, Sir Henry?

SIR HENRY

No, Mr. Holmes, I have not. But in

any case I feel the money should go

with the title and estate. House,

land and dollars must go together.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Quite so. Well, Sir Henry, I think

you should go down to Devonshire

(MORE)

29.

SHERLOCK HOLMES (cont’d)without delay. There is only one

provision I must make: You must not

go alone.

SIR HENRY

Dr. Mortimer returns with me.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

But he has his patients to see, and

his house is far from the Hall. No,

Sir Henry, you must take with you a

trusty man who will always be by

your side. For now I can’t go with

you, as I am occupied with a case

of blackmail.

SIR HENRY

Whom would you recommend, then?

Holmes puts his hand on Watson’s shoulder.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

If my friend would undertake it

there is no man who is better worth

having at your side when you are in

a tight place. No one can say so

more confidently than I.

Watson appears surprised by this. Sir Henry shakes Watson’s

hand.

SIR HENRY

That is very kind of you, Dr.

Watson!

DR. WATSON

I will come, with pleasure.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(to Watson)

And you will report very carefully

to me. When a crisis arises, I will

direct how you shall act. I suppose

that by Saturday all might be

ready?

SIR HENRY

(to Watson)

Would that suit Dr. Watson?

30.

DR. WATSON

Perfectly.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Then on Saturday, we shall meet at

the ten thirty train to Paddington,

and--

Sir Henry appears distracted. He crouches down to look under

a cabinet and retrieves a new brown boot from under it.

SIR HENRY

My missing boot!

Holmes realizes an important detail, but instead decides to

utter a platitude.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

May all our difficulties vanish as

easily!

SIR HENRY

But I’m still missing an old black

boot...

THREE BROKEN THREADS

INT. 221B Baker Street. Two telegrams have arrived, Watson

picks them up.

DR. WATSON

(reading)

Visited hotels as directed. Stop.

Unable to trace cut sheet of Times.

Cartwright.

Watson moves on to the second telegram.

DR. WATSON

(reading)

Have just heard that Barrymore is

at Hall. Baskerville.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

There go two of my threads, Watson.

DR. WATSON

There is still the cabman who drove

the spy, perhaps the--

The DOORBELL RINGS. Holmes opens the door to admit CLAYTON,

a rough-looking fellow.

31.

CLAYTON

I got a message from the Head

Office that a gent at this address

had been inquiring for number

twenty-seven oh four. I’ve driven

my cab this seven years and never a

word of complaint. I came here

striaght from the Yard to ask to

your face what you had against me.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

I have nothing in the world against

you, my good man. On the contrary,

I have half a sovereign for you if

you will give me a clear answer to

my questions.

CLAYTON

(grinning)

Well, I’ve had a good day and no

mistake. What was it you wanted to

ask, sir?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Tell me all about the fare who came

and watched this house at ten

o’clock this morning and afterwards

followed the two gentlemen down

Regent Street.

CLAYTON

The gentleman told me that he was a

detective and that I was to say

nothing about him to anyone.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

My good fellow, this is a very

serious business, and you may find

yourself in a pretty bad position

if you try to hide anything from

me. When did your fare tell you

that he was a detective?

CLAYTON

When he left me.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Did he say anything more?

CLAYTON

He mentioned his name: Sherlock

Holmes.

32.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

A touch, Watson, an undeniable

touch! Tell me where you picked him

up and all that occurred.

CLAYTON

He hailed me at half-past nine in

Trafalgar Square.

EXT. Trafalgar Square. Stapleton, with a thick, bushy black

beard, gets on a cab.

STAPLETON

(with a fake low voice)

Do exactly as I say and don’t ask

any questions, and I’ll give you

two guineas.

CLAYTON

Very well.

STAPLETON

(with a fake low voice)

To the Northumberland Hotel.

The cab starts off.

INT. 221B Baker Street.

CLAYTON

We waited in front of the

Northumberland for a couple of

hours until two gentlemen came out

and took a cab from the rank. We

followed their cab until it pulled

up somewhere near here.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

To this very door. You waited for

an hour and a half, and when those

two gentlemen came out and started

walking...

CLAYTON

We were down on Regent Street, he

said to go to Waterloo Station as

hard as I could go. I whipped up

the mare and we were there in ten

minutes.

EXT. Waterloo Station. Stapleton gets off, gives Clayton two

guineas, and starts walking away. He stops and turns around.

33.

STAPLETON

(with a fake low voice)

It might interest you to know that

you have been driving Mr. Sherlock

Holmes.

Stapleton goes into the station.

INT. 221B Baker Street.

CLAYTON

That’s how I came to know the name.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

How would you describe Mr. Sherlock

Holmes?

CLAYTON

I’d put him at forty years of age,

and he was of a middle height, two

or three inches shorter than you,

sir. He was dressed like a toff,

and he had a black beard, cut

square at the end, and a pale face.

I don’t know as I could say more

than that.

Holmes gives Clayton a half-sovereign.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

There’s another one waiting for you

if you can bring any more

information.

CLAYTON

Good night, sir, and thank you!

Clayton leaves, chuckling. Holmes closes the door and shrugs

his shoulders.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(to Watson)

Snap goes our third thread, and we

end where we began. The cunning

rascal! This time we have got a

foeman who is worthy of our steel.

34.

EN ROUTE TO DARTMOOR

EXT. Train platform at Paddington Station. Sir Henry and Dr.

Mortimer patiently wait for the train. Holmes and Watson

show up and start walking towards Sir Henry and Dr.

Mortimer.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

I will not bias your mind by

suggesting theories or suspicions,

Watson, I wish you simply to report

facts in the fullest possible

manner to me, and you can leave me

to do the theorizing.

DR. WATSON

What sort of facts?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Anything which may seem to have a

bearing, however indirect, upon the

case, and especially the relations

between young Baskerville and his

neighbors, or any fresh particulars

concerning the death of Sir

Charles.

DR. WATSON

I will do my best. Do you think

perhaps Sir Henry should get rid of

this Barrymore couple?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

By no means. If they are innocent

it would be a cruel injustice, and

if they are guilty it’s all the

more reason to keep them close

where you can observe them.

Now they are getting closer to earshot of Sir Henry and Dr.

Mortimer.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

You have arms, I suppose?

DR. WATSON

Yes, I thought it as well to take

them.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Most certainly. Keep your revolver

near you night and day, and never

relax your precautions.

35.

Holmes and Watson reach Sir Henry and Dr. Mortimer on the

platform, next to a first-class carriage.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Have you had any news?

DR. MORTIMER

No. I can swear to one thing, and

that is that we have not been

shadowed during the last two days.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(to Sir Henry)

Bear in mind, Sir Henry, one of the

phrases in that strange old legend

which Dr. Mortimer read to us, and

avoid the moor in those hours of

darkness when the powers of evil

are exalted.

Holmes looks at everyone.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Well, good-bye.

Sir Henry, Dr. Mortimer and Dr. Watson board the train.

Watson notices Holmes stays for a few minutes as the train

leaves the station.

EXT. Devon, day. A train makes its way through.

INT. Train cabin.

SIR HENRY

I’ve been over a good part of the

world since I left here, Dr.

Watson, but I have never seen a

place to compare with it.

DR. WATSON

I never saw a Devonshire man who

did not swear by his county.

EXT. Devon, late afternoon, wayside station. The train pulls

up, Sir Henry, Dr. Mortimer and Dr. Watson debark. The

STATION MASTER and several PORTERS load the luggage of these

passengers unto a wagonette. By the gate there are two

WARDERS with the bearing of soldiers, holding short rifles.

PERKINS, a hard-faced, gnarled little fellow, is the driver

of the wagonette. Sir Henry, Dr. Mortimer and Dr. Watson

board the wagonette, which is then soon on the road.

36.

EXT. Devon, early evening. After passing a lane carpeted by

yellow leaves, the wagonette approaches a spot where a

WARDER on HORSEBACK stands guard. The passengers of the

wagonette all notice the warder.

DR. MORTIMER

Halloa! What is this?

PERKINS

(half turning back to address

Dr. Mortimer)

There’s a convict escaped from

Princetown, sir. He’s been out

three days now, and the warders

watch every road and every station,

but they’ve had no sight of him

yet. The farmers about here don’t

like it, sir, and that’s a fact.

(once again facing forward)

There’s a reward of five pounds for

information, but that chance is a

poor thing compared to the chance

of having your throat cut. This is

no ordinary convict.

DR. WATSON

Who is he, then?

PERKINS

Selden, the Notting Hill murderer.

DR. WATSON

I remember the case, Holmes took an

interest on account of the peculiar

ferocity of the crime and the

wanton brutality which had marked

all the actions of the assassin.

SIR HENRY

Doesn’t England have the death

penalty, by hanging?

DR. WATSON

His death sentence was commuted

because there were some doubts

about his sanity.

The lushness of the countryside has now given way to vast

barrenness of the moor. A COLD WIND blows fiercely. Sir

Henry pulls his overcoat more closely around him.

37.

FIRST NIGHT AT BASKERVILLE HALL

EXT. Baskerville Hall, twilight. The wagonette goes up to

the lodge-gates, a maze of fantastic tracery in wrought

iron, with weather-bitten pillars on either side, blotched

with lichens, and surmounted by the boars’ heads of the

Baskervilles.

PERKINS

Baskerville Hall.

The wagonette goes past the gate. The lodge is a ruin of

black granite and bared ribs of rafters, but facing it is a

new building, half constructed. Through the gateway, the

wagonette passes into the avenue. Sir Henry shudders as he

looks up the long, dark drive to where the house glimmers

like a ghost at the farther end.

SIR HENRY

(almost whispering)

Was it here?

PERKINS

No, sir, the Yew Alley is on the

other side.

Sir Henry looks around sadly.

SIR HENRY

No wonder my uncle felt as if

trouble was coming to him in this

place.

(more exuberantly)

I’ll have a row of electric lamps

up here inside of six months, and

you won’t know it again, with a

thousand candle-power Swan and

Edison right here in front of the

hall door.

The avenue opens into a broad expanse of turf, and the house

lays before them. In the fading light we see that the center

is a heavy block of building from which a porch projected.

The whole front is draped in ivy, with a patch clipped bare

here and there where a window or a coat of arms breaks

through the dark veil. From this central block rises the

twin towers, ancient, crenelated, and pierced with many

loopholes. To the right and left of the turrets there are

more modern wings of black granite. A dull light shines

through heavy mullioned windows, and from the high chimneys

which rise from the steep, high-angled roof there springs a

single black column of smoke.

38.

BARRYMORE, the butler, a tall man with a black beard,

approaches the now parked wagonette. His wife, MRS.

BARRYMORE, follows soon after to help with the luggage.

BARRYMORE

Welcome, Sir Henry! Welcome to

Baskerville Hall!

DR. MORTIMER

You don’t mind my driving straight

home, Sir Henry? My wife is

expecting me.

SIR HENRY

Why don’t you stay for dinner?

DR. MORTIMER

No, I must go, I’ll probably find

some work waiting for me. I’d like

to show you the house but Barrymore

here will be a better guide. Don’t

hesitate to call for me night or

day.

Dr. Mortimer leaves. Sir Henry, Dr. Watson and the

Barrymores go into the house.

INT. Baskerville Hall. A fireplace is crackling with a warm

fire, Sir Henry and Dr. Watson warm their hands on it.

SIR HENRY

It’s just as I imagined it, the

very picture of an old family home.

BARRYMORE

Dinner will be ready in a few

minutes, sir. You will find hot

water in your rooms.

SIR HENRY

Excellent.

BARRYMORE

My wife and I will be happy, Sir

Henry, to stay with you until you

have made your fresh arrangements,

but I imagine that as you might

want to have more company here than

Sir Charles, this house will

require a considerable staff.

Watson looks at Barrymore with renewed suspicion.

39.

SIR HENRY

You and your wife want to leave?

BARRYMORE

Only when it is quite convenient to

you, sir.

SIR HENRY

Your family has been with mine for

a few generations now. I’d hate to

start my life here breaking an old

family tradition.

BARRYMORE

I feel that also, sir, and so does

my wife. But to tell the truth,

sir, we were both very much

attached to Sir Charles, and his

death gave us a shock and made

these surroundings very painful to

us. I fear that we shall never

again be easy in our minds at

Baskerville Hall.

SIR HENRY

What will you do?

BARRYMORE

Thanks to Sir Charles’s generosity,

my wife and I shall succeed in

establishing ourselves in some

small business. And now, sir,

perhaps I had best show you to your

rooms.

Barrymore leads Sir Henry and Dr. Watson up the stairs to

the bedrooms, which appear somewhat more modern than the

rest of the house.

Later, Sir Henry and Dr. Watson eat dinner in an

uncomfortable silence.

INT. Baskerville Hall, guest quarters. Dr. Watson is in bed,

but he tosses and turns, trying to sleep. Then we hear Mrs.

Barrymore SOBBING. Dr. Watson sits up and listens intently.

A CLOCK STRIKES three o’clock.

40.

FIRST MORNING AT BASKERVILLE HALL

EXT. Baskerville Hall, a beautiful morning.

INT. Baskerville Hall, dining room. Sir Henry and Dr. Watson

are eating breakfast.

SIR HENRY

I guess it is ourselves and not the

house that we have to blame! We

were tired with our journey and

chilled by our drive, so we took a

gray view of the place. Now we are

fresh and well, so it is all

cheerful once more.

DR. WATSON

It was not entirely our

imagination. Did you hear a woman

sobbing last night?

SIR HENRY

I thought I did, but then I thought

it was just a dream.

DR. WATSON

I heard it very distinctly.

Sir Henry rings for Barrymore, who shows up promptly.

SIR HENRY

Barrymore, did you hear a woman

sobbing last night?

Barrymore hesitates a little bit before answering.

BARRYMORE

There are only two women in the

house, Sir Henry. One is the

scullery maid, who sleeps in the

other wing. The other is my wife,

and I can answer for it that the

sound could not have come from her.

Watson regards Barrymore with suspicion. We see in the eye

of Watson’s mind an overlay of Stapleton with his disguise,

but it is obvious that Barrymore is too tall to be the man

who followed Sir Henry in London.

Watson has one last bite of breakfast and leaves the table.

INT. Baskerville Hall, a long corridor, with sunlight

streaming through. Watson passes Mrs. Barrymore in silence

and notices her eyes are red and her lids swollen.

41.

INT. Baskerville Hall, Sir Henry’s study. Sir Henry is in

front of a desk littered with several documents. Dr. Watson

comes in.

DR. WATSON

If it’s alright with you, I’m going

to take a little tour of the moor.

SIR HENRY

Don’t worry about me, I’ll be here.

I’m not going anywhere, with all

these papers to go through.

DR. WATSON

If I can be of any help...

SIR HENRY

Do you know much about bookkeeping?

DR. WATSON

I’m afraid not.

DR. WATSON’S TOUR OF THE MOOR

EXT. The moor. Watson is walking along the edge. He’s going

towards a small gray hamlet, in which two larger

buildings, one of which is the inn and the house of Dr.

Mortimer, stands high above the rest. Then there is the Post

Office, Watson goes towards it.

INT. Grimpen Post Office. Watson walks in, talks to the

POSTMASTER.

DR. WATSON

Do you remember the telegram from

Sir Henry Baskerville to his

butler, Mr. Barrymore?

POSTMASTER

Yes, sir, I had it delivered to Mr.

Barrymore exactly as directed.

DR. WATSON

Who delivered it?

POSTMASTER

My boy here, James.

JAMES, a young boy, walks in from the back.

42.

POSTMASTER

(to James)

You delivered that telegram to Mr.

Barrymore at the Hall last week?

JAMES

Yes, father, I delivered it.

DR. WATSON

(to James)

Into his own hands?

JAMES

Well, he was up in the loft at the

time, so that I could put it into

his own hands, but I gave it to

Mrs. Barrymore, and she promised to

deliver it at once.

DR. WATSON

Did you see Mr. Barrymore?

JAMES

No, sir, I tell you he was in the

loft.

DR. WATSON

If you didn’t see him, how do you

know he was in the loft?

POSTMASTER

(testily)

Surely his own wife ought to know

where he is. Didn’t he get the

telegram? If there is any mistake,

it is for Mr. Barrymore to

complain.

DR. WATSON

(frustrated)

Alright, thank you.

Dr. Watson leaves.

EXT. The moor, around noon. Dr. Watson is walking back

towards Baskerville Hall, lost in thought. STAPLETON, a

small, slim, clean-shaven, prim-faced man, flaxen-haired and

leanjawed, between thirty and forty years of age, dressed in

a gray suit and wearing a straw hat, approaches Dr. Watson.

Stapleton looks like he could be the son of Sir Hugo, were

it not for the generations separating them. A tin box for

botanical specimens hangs over his shoulder and he carries a

green butterfly-net in one of his hands.

43.

STAPLETON

Dr. Watson!

Dr. Watson stops and turns around. Stapleton runs up to Dr.

Watson.

STAPLETON

You will, I am sure, excuse my

presumption, Dr. Watson. Here on

the moor we are homely folk and do

not wait for formal introductions.

You may possibly have heard my name

from our mutual friend, Mortimer. I

am Stapleton, of Merripit House.

DR. WATSON

How did you know me?

STAPLETON

Dr. Mortimer pointed you to me from

the window of his surgery as you

passed. I trust Sir Henry is none

the worse for his journey?

DR. WATSON

He is very well, thank you.

Dr. Watson and Mr. Stapleton start walking in the same

direction.

STAPLETON

We were all rather afraid that

after the sad death of Sir Charles

the new baronet might refuse to

live here. It is asking much of a

wealthy man to come down and bury

himself in a place of this kind,

but I need not tell you that it

means a very great deal to the

countryside. Sir Henry has, I

suppose, no superstitious fears in

the matter?

DR. WATSON

I don’t think so.

STAPLETON

You know the legend of the fiend

dog which haunts the family?

DR. WATSON

I’ve heard of it.

44.

STAPLETON

Has Mr. Sherlock Holmes come to any

conclusion?

Watson stops walking and so does Stapleton.

DR. WATSON

I’m afraid I can’t answer that

question.

STAPLETON

Is he going to honor us with a

visit himself?

DR. WATSON

(standoffishly)

He can’t leave town at present. He

has other cases which engage his

attention.

STAPLETON

You are perfectly right to be wary

and discreet. I am justly reproved

for an unjustifiable intrusion.

They resume walking, getting to a point where a narrow

grassy path strikes off from the road and winds away across

the moor. A steep, boulder-sprinkled hill lays upon the

right which had in bygone days been cut into a granite

quarry. The face which is turned towards them forms a dark

cliff, with ferns and brambles growing in its niches. From

over a distant rise there floated a gray plume of smoke.

STAPLETON

A moderate walk along this

moor-path brings us to Merripit

House. Perhaps you will spare an

hour that I may have the pleasure

to introduce you to my sister.

Watson thinks it over a little bit.

DR. WATSON

Sure.

STAPLETON

It is a wonderful place, this moor.

So vast, so barren, so mysterious.

DR. WATSON

You know it well?

45.

STAPLETON

I have only been here two years.

The residents would call me a

newcomer. We came shortly after Sir

Charles settled. But my tastes led

me to explore every part of the

country round, and I should think

that there are few men who know it

better than I do.

Dr. Watson points to some bright green spots on the moor.

DR. WATSON

Those seem more fertile than the

rest.

Stapleton laughs.

STAPLETON

That is the great Grimpen Mire. A

false step yonder means death to

man or beast. Only yesterday I saw

one of the moor ponies wander into

it. He never came out. I saw his

head for quite a long time craning

out of the bog-hole, but it sucked

him down at last. On any season it

is a danger to cross it. But I can

find my way to the very heart of it

and return alive. By George, there

is another of those miserable

ponies!

We see a PONY struggling valiantly but pointlessly to escape

the grip of the Grimpen Mire. Now up to his neck, the pony

CRIES loudly, very agonized. Watson recoils in horror, then

looks to Stapleton, who seems almost unaffected. The pony

disappears.

DR. WATSON

You’ve been to the middle of that?

STAPLETON

Yes, there are one or two paths

which a very active man can take. I

have found them out.

DR. WATSON

But why would you wish to go into

so horrible a place?

46.

STAPLETON

Well, you see the hills beyond?

They are really islands cut off on

all sides by the impassable mire,

which has crawled round them in the

course of years. That is where the

rare plants and the butterflies

are, if you have the wit to reach

them.

DR. WATSON

I’ll try my luck one of these days.

STAPLETON

For God’s sake put such an idea out

of your mind. Your blood would be

upon my head. I assure you that

there would not be the least chance

of your coming back alive. It is

only by remembering certain complex

landmarks that I am able to do it.

A long, low MOAN, indescribably sad, sweeps over the moor.

It fills the whole air, and yet it is impossible to say

whence it came. From a dull murmur it swells into a deep

roar, and then sinks back into a melancholy, throbbing

murmur once again.

DR. WATSON

What was that!?

STAPLETON

The peasants say it is the Hound of

the Baskervilles calling for its

prey. I’ve heard it once or twice

before, but never quite so loud.

Watson looks around, somewhat afraid. All is now very quiet,

except for a couple of RAVENS CROAKING.

DR. WATSON

You don’t believe such nonsense?

What do you think is the cause of

that strange sound?

STAPLETON

Bogs make weird noises sometimes.

It’s the mud settling, or the water

rising, or something.

DR. WATSON

That was a living voice.

47.

STAPLETON

Maybe. Have you ever heard a

bittern booming?

DR. WATSON

No.

STAPLETON

Very rare bird, practically

extinct. I would not be surprised

if what we heard is the cry of the

last of the bitterns.

Watson and Stapleton continue their walk towards Merripit

House. Watson notices a steep slope covered with gray

circular rings of stone, a score of them at least.

DR. WATSON

(pointing)

What are those? Sheep pens?

STAPLETON

No, they are the homes of our

worthy ancestors. Prehistoric man

lived thickly on the moor, and as

no one in particular has lived

there since, we find all his little

arrangements exactly as he left

them. These are his wigwams with

the roofs off.

We see the ghost of a hairy, skin-clad PREHISTORIC MAN walk

out one of the stone huts, fitting a flint-tipped arrow on

to the string of his bow.

STAPLETON

You can even see his hearth and his

couch if you have the curiosity to

go inside. You will find some very

singular points about the moor, Dr.

Watson. Oh, excuse me an instant!

A MOTH flutters across their path, and Stapleton chases

after it into the Grimpen Mire, bounding from tuft to tuft

behind it, his green net waving in the air.

As Watson observes Stapleton, he hears FOOTSTEPS. He turns

around and sees the beautiful MISS STAPLETON, who at this

point in the story is said to be Stapleton’s sister even

though she looks somewhat different from what we’d expect of

his sister, something tropical about her features: darker

than any brunette in England, slim, elegant, and tall, with

a proud, finely cut face, so regular that it might have

48.

seemed impassive were it not for the sensitive mouth and the

beautiful dark, eager eyes. (In the character tags she will

be referred to as "MISS STAPLETON" throughout this script,

even after her true relationship to Stapleton is revealed,

though the dialogue will occasionally read "Mrs.

Stapleton"). With her perfect figure and elegant dress she

is a strange apparition upon a lonely moorland path. Watson

takes off his hat and is about to greet her.

MISS STAPLETON

Go back! Go straight back to

London, instantly.

Watson looks at her dumbfounded for a beat.

DR. WATSON

Why should I go back?

MISS STAPLETON

(more intensely)

I can’t explain. But for God’s sake

do what I ask you. Go back and

never set foot upon the moor again.

Can you not tell when a warning is

for your own good? Go back to

London! Start tonight! Get away

from this place at all costs!

Stapleton has stopped chasing the moth and is heading back

towards Watson.

MISS STAPLETON

(feigning)

Would you mind getting that orchid

for me among the mare’s-tails

yonder? We are very rich in orchids

on the moor, though, of course, you

are rather late to see the beauties

of the place.

Stapleton has now caught up to them, he is a little winded.

STAPLETON

(with a tinge of hostility)

Hey, Beryl!

MISS STAPLETON

Jack, you are very hot.

STAPLETON

(looking at both Watson and

Miss Stapleton)

Yes, I was chasing a Cyclopides.

Very rare and seldom found in the

(MORE)

49.

STAPLETON (cont’d)late autumn. What a pity that I

should have missed it! You have

introduced yourselves?

MISS STAPLETON

Yes, I was telling Sir Henry that

it is rather late for him to see

the true beauties of the moor.

STAPLETON

Who do you think this is?

MISS STAPLETON

Sir Henry Baskerville?

DR. WATSON

No, only a humble commoner. I’m Dr.

Watson.

MISS STAPLETON

(flushed)

We have been talking at cross

purposes.

STAPLETON

(to Miss Stapleton)

You have not had much time for a

talk.

MISS STAPLETON

I talked as if Dr. Watson were a

resident instead of being merely a

visitor. It cannot much matter to

him whether it is early or late for

the orchids. But you will come on,

will you not, and see Merripit

House?

A short walk brings the Stapletons and Dr. Watson to

Merripit House, a bleak moorland house, once the farm of

some grazier in the old prosperous days, but now put into

repair and turned into a modern dwelling. An orchard

surrounds it, but the trees, as is usual upon the moor, were

stunted and nipped.

INT. Merripit House. ANTHONY, a strange, wizened,

rusty-coated old manservant, lets the Stapletons and Dr.

Watson into the house. Inside, there are large, elegantly

furnished rooms.

50.

STAPLETON

We’re quite happy here, are we not,

Beryl?

MISS STAPLETON

(without conviction)

Quite happy.

STAPLETON

I had a school in the north

country. The privilege of living

with youth, of helping to mould

those young minds, and of

impressing them with one’s own

character and ideals was very dear

to me. However, a serious epidemic

broke out in the school and three

of the boys died. It never

recovered from the blow, and much

of my capital was irretrievably

swallowed up. And yet, if it were

not for that tragedy, I could

rejoice over my own misfortune,

for, with my strong tastes for

botany and zoology, I find an

unlimited field of work here, and

my sister is as devoted to Nature

as I am.

For a moment Stapleton looks like he regrets saying what he

just said. He glances over to Watson, who seems more

interested in his sister than in him.

STAPLETON

Do you think that I should intrude

if I were to call this afternoon

and make the acquaintance of Sir

Henry?

DR. WATSON

I think he would be delighted.

Speaking of which, I should be

getting back.

EXT. The moor. Dr. Watson is walking back towards

Baskerville Hall. Watson is surprised to see Miss Stapleton

sitting upon a rock by the side of the track, without her

hat.

MISS STAPLETON

I wanted to say to you how sorry I

am about the stupid mistake I made

in thinking that you were Sir

(MORE)

51.

MISS STAPLETON (cont’d)Henry. Please forget the words I

said, which have no application

whatever to you.

DR. WATSON

But I can’t forget them, Miss

Stapleton. Tell me why it was that

you were so eager that Sir Henry

should return to London.

MISS STAPLETON

A woman’s intuition. My brother and

I were very much shocked by the

death of Sir Charles. I was

distressed when another member of

the family came down to live here,

and I felt that he should be warned

of the danger which he will run.

That was all which I intended to

convey.

DR. WATSON

But what is the danger?

MISS STAPLETON

You know the story of the Hound?

DR. WATSON

I don’t believe in such nonsense.

MISS STAPLETON

But I do. If you have any influence

with Sir Henry, take him away from

a place which has always been fatal

to his family.

DR. WATSON

I can’t convince Sir Henry without

anything more definite than that.

Miss Stapleton looks frustrated.

DR. WATSON

One more question. If you meant no

more than this when you first spoke

to me, why should you not wish your

brother to overhear what you said?

There is nothing to which he, or

anyone else, could object.

52.

MISS STAPLETON

My brother is very anxious to have

the Hall inhabited, for he thinks

it is for the good of the poor folk

upon the moor. He would be very

angry if he knew that I have said

anything which might induce Sir

Henry to go away. But I have done

my duty now and I will say no more.

I must go back, or he will miss me

and suspect that I have seen you.

Good-bye!

Miss Stapleton leaves.

FIRST REPORT OF DR. WATSON

INT. Baskerville Hall, the guest quarters for Dr. Watson,

who is writing a letter. He has so far written "Baskerville

Hall, October 13th. My dear Holmes."

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

Baskerville Hall, October

thirteenth. My dear Holmes, we

haven’t heard anything about the

convict in the past fortnight, we

believe he’s gone now. We are four

able-bodied men in this Hall. But I

worry about the Stapletons.

INT. Merripit House. A ROBBER is strangling Stapleton.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

They live miles from any help. They

would be helpless in the hands of a

desperate fellow like this Notting

Hill criminal.

EXT. Baskerville Hall. Sir Henry, Dr. Watson and Stapleton

have just come out of the Hall.

SIR HENRY

Maybe Perkins could sleep over at

Merripit. Dr. Watson and I would be

less worried about you and your

sister if--

STAPLETON

No, really, Sir Henry, I’m fine.

53.

INT. Merripit House. Stapleton has just introduced Sir Henry

to his sister. Sir Henry kisses Miss Stapleton’s hand, she

smiles but her brother looks a little annoyed.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

From the first moment he met her,

Sir Henry was attraced to Miss

Stapleton, and the feeling appeared

to be mutual.

INT. Baskerville Hall, dining room. Dr. and Mrs. Mortimer

are in the dining room, Dr. Mortimer pulls out a chair for

Mrs. Mortimer, as Sir Henry, Dr. Watson and the Stapletons

walk into the dining room.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

Since then hardly a day has passed

that we have not seen something of

the brother and sister. They dine

here tonight, and there is some

talk of our going to them next

week.

EXT. Long Down. Dr. Mortimer is dusting off a prehistoric

skull next to an excavation.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

The other day, Thursday, to be more

exact, Dr. Mortimer lunched with

us. He has been excavating a barrow

at Long Down and has got a

prehistoric skull which fills him

with great joy. Never was there

such a single-minded enthusiast as

he!

EXT. A road to Fernworthy. FRANKLAND, an elderly man,

red-faced, white-haired, and choleric, has just put up a

wooden blockade on the road.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

One other neighbour I have met

since I wrote last. This is Mr.

Frankland, of Lafter Hall, who

lives some four miles to the south

of us. His passion is for the

British law, and he has spent a

large fortune in litigation. He

fights for the mere pleasure of

(MORE)

54.

DR. WATSON (cont’d)fighting and is equally ready to

take up either side of a question,

so that it is no wonder that he has

found it a costly amusement.

Sometimes he will shut up a right

of way and defy the parish to make

him open it.

EXT. Another road to Fernworthy. Frankland is tearing down a

gate.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

At others he will with his own

hands tear down some other man’s

gate and declare that a path has

existed there from time immemorial,

defying the owner to prosecute him

for trespass. He is said to have

about seven lawsuits upon his hands

at present, which will probably

swallow up the remainder of his

fortune and so draw his sting and

leave him harmless for the future.

Apart from the law he seems a

kindly, good-natured person, and I

only mention him because you were

particular that I should send some

description of the people who

surround us.

EXT. Lafter Hall, roof. Frankland is peering out over the

moor through a telescope.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

He is curiously employed at

present, for, being an amateur

astronomer, he has an excellent

telescope, with which he lies upon

the roof of his own house and

sweeps the moor all day in the hope

of catching a glimpse of the

escaped convict.

INT. Dr. Mortimer’s house. Dr. Mortimer is showing Frankland

the prehistoric skull he dug up.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

If he would confine his energies to

this all would be well, but there

(MORE)

55.

DR. WATSON (cont’d)

are rumours that he intends to

prosecute Dr. Mortimer.

FRANKLAND

Did you have the consent of the

next of kin to open that grave?

DR. MORTIMER

(baffled)

But this is from the Neolithic--

FRANKLAND

I’ll teach you to go around

desecrating the dead!

INT. Baskerville Hall, guest quarters. Dr. Watson continues

writing the letter to Holmes.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

Let me end on that which is most

important and tell you more about

the Barrymores, and especially

about the surprising development of

last night. But first of all, about

the test telegram.

INT. Baskerville Hall, Sir Henry’s study. Sir Henry is

talking to Dr. Watson when Barrymore comes in.

BARRYMORE

Sir, I just wanted to let you know

that your London outfit has now all

arrived.

SIR HENRY

Excellent, thank you.

Barrymore leaves.

DR. WATSON

So the telegram only proved that

Mrs. Barrymore was here. Her

husband could have been in London.

SIR HENRY

(shouting)

Barrymore!

Barrymore comes back in.

56.

SIR HENRY

Did you get my telegram in your own

hands?

Barrymore seems a little confused by the question.

BARRYMORE

No, I was in the box-room at the

time time, and my wife brought it

up to me.

SIR HENRY

Did you answer it yourself?

BARRYMORE

No, I told my wife what to answer

and she went down to write it.

INT. Baskerville Hall, dining room. Sir Henry and Dr. Watson

have finished eating dinner.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

In the evening, he recurred to the

subject of his own accord.

Barrymore comes in.

BARRYMORE

I could not quite understand the

object of your questions this

morning, Sir Henry. I trust that

they do not mean that I have done

anything to forfeit your

confidence?

SIR HENRY

No, not at all, don’t worry about

it. I was just following up on Dr.

Watson’s question, he figures Mr.

Holmes will want to know about it.

INT. Baskerville Hall, Sir Henry’s room. Sir Henry and

Barrymore are by the closet, Barrymore already has a couple

of suits on his arm. Sir Henry grabs the ruddy-tinted tweed

suit he wore when he visited Holmes and Watson with Dr.

Mortimer in London.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

Sir Henry had to assure him, and

pacify him by giving him a

considerable part of his old

wardrobe.

57.

INT. Baskerville Hall, servant quarters. Mrs. Barrymore

walks in and sits down.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

Mrs. Barrymore is of interest to

me. She is a heavy, solid person,

very limited, intensely

respectable, and inclined to be

puritanical. But some deep sorrow

gnaws ever at her heart. Sometimes

I wonder if she has a guilty memory

which haunts her.

Barrymore comes in and raises a fist in the air

threateningly, Mrs. Barrymore cowers.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

And sometimes I suspect Barrymore

of being a domestic tyrant. I have

always felt that there was

something singular and questionable

in this man’s character, but the

adventure of last night brings all

my suspicions to a head.

INT. Baskerville Hall, a hallway, dark at night. Barrymore,

wearing shirt and trousers but barefoot, slowly walks by the

guest quarters with a lit candle, his appearance is guilty

and furtive. Watson follows him at a distance.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

You know I’m not a very sound

sleeper, and my slumbers here have

been lighter than ever. Last night,

about two in the morning, I was

woken up by a stealthy step passing

my room.

Barrymore enters one of the unoccupied rooms. Watson

carefully goes to the door. Barrymore is crouching at the

window with the candle held against the glass. His profile

is half turned towards Watson, and his face is rigid with

expectation as he stares out into the blackness of the moor.

After a while, he groans, and with an impatient gesture he

puts out the light. Quickly Watson makes his way back to his

room, and very shortly come the stealthy FOOTSTEPS passing

once more upon their return journey. Watson gets back into

bed and seems to fall asleep, but then he wakes up again. He

hears a KEY TURN IN A LOCK.

58.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

There is some secret business going

on in this house of gloom which

sooner or later we shall get to the

bottom of. I have had a long talk

with Sir Henry this morning, and we

have made a plan of campaign

founded upon my observations of

last night. I will not speak about

it just now, but it should make my

next report interesting reading.

INT. Baskerville Hall, guest quarters. Watson signs the

letter.

SECOND REPORT OF DR. WATSON

INT. Baskerville Hall, guest quarters. Watson is writing

another letter.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

Baskerville Hall, October

fifteenth. My dear Holmes, if I was

compelled to leave you without much

news during the early days of my

mission you must acknowledge that I

am making up for lost time, and

that events are now crowding thick

and fast upon us.

INT. Baskerville Hall, an unoccupied room. Dr. Watson walks

in.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

The morning after Barrymore’s first

night-time walk, I looked at the

room he had gone into and noticed

that it commands the nearest

outlook on the moor.

There is an opening between two trees which enables one from

this point of view to look right down upon it. Watson

examines the window.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

From all the other windows it is

only a distant glimpse which can be

obtained.

59.

EXT. Baskerville estate, summer house, night. Barrymore

stands waiting by the front door.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

It had struck me that it was

possible that some love intrigue

was on foot. That would have

accounted for his stealthy

movements and also for the

uneasiness of his wife.

A COUNTRY GIRL appears almost out of nowhere and rushes to

kiss Barrymore.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

The man is a striking-looking

fellow, very well equipped to steal

the heart of a country girl, so

that this theory seemed to have

something to support it. So I

reasoned with myself in the

morning, and I tell you the

direction of my suspicions, however

much the result may have shown that

they were unfounded.

The Country Girl vanishes as if she wasn’t even there in the

first place.

INT. Baskerville Hall, Sir Henry’s study. Sir Henry and Dr.

Watson are talking.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

But whatever the true explanation

of Barrymore’s movements might be,

I felt I had to talk about them

with Sir Henry. I told him all that

I had seen.

SIR HENRY

(not surprised)

I knew he walked about nights, and

I had a mind to speak to him about

it. Twice or thrice I have heard

his steps in the passage, coming

and going at that hour. Perhaps we

should shadow him tonight. What

would Holmes tell us to do if he

were here?

60.

DR. WATSON

I believe he would do exactly what

you now suggest.

SIR HENRY

Then we shall do it together.

EXT. Baskerville Hall. Furnishers and decorators are coming

into the Hall.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

Sir Henry has been in communication

with the architect who prepared the

plans for Sir Charles, and with a

contractor from London, so that we

may expect great changes to begin

here soon. There have been

decorators and furnishers up from

Plymouth, and it is evident that

our friend has large ideas and

means to spare no pains or expense

to restore the grandeur of his

family. When the house is renovated

and refurnished, all that he will

need will be a wife to make it

complete.

INT. Baskerville Hall, Sir Henry’s study. Sir Henry puts on

his hat and gets up. Dr. Watson does the same.

SIR HENRY

What, are you coming, Watson?

DR. WATSON

Are you going on the moor?

SIR HENRY

Yes, I am.

DR. WATSON

You know what my instructions are.

Sir Henry puts his hands upon Dr. Watson’s shoulder with a

pleasant smile.

SIR HENRY

My dear fellow, Holmes, with all

his wisdom, did not foresee some

things which have happened since I

have been on the moor. You

understand me? I am sure that you

are the last man in the world who

(MORE)

61.

SIR HENRY (cont’d)

would wish to be a spoil-sport. I

must go out alone. Besides, I’m

going out in broad daylight.

Sir Henry leaves and Dr. Watson stays in the study for a

little bit.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

He put me in a very awkward

position.

Then Watson decides to follow Sir Henry.

EXT. The moor, day. Watson is running. He reaches a point

where the moor path branches off and stops to look around.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

I feared I had come in the wrong

direction.

Watson goes to a hill cut out of dark quarry to command a

view, he soon spots Sir Henry, though very distant. Sir

Henry is with Miss Stapleton, they are walking slowly and

seem to be deep in conversation. Watson runs to get a closer

look, but he still can’t hear anything they are saying.

Watson can now notice that Miss Stapleton is gesticulating

with her hands, and at one point shakes her head

disapprovingly. Watson stops on some rocks.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

I stood among the rocks watching

them, very much puzzled as to what

I should do next. To follow them

and break into their intimate

conversation seemed to be an

outrage, and yet my clear duty was

never for an instant to let him out

of my sight.

Sir Henry and Miss Stapleton stop walking. We see Mr.

Stapleton show up, with his butterfly net.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

I was suddenly aware that I was not

the only witness.

62.

Stapleton is moving towards Miss Stapleton and Sir Henry.

Sir Henry suddenly draws Miss Stapleton to his side, his arm

is round her, but she is straining away from him with her

face averted. He stoops his head to hers, and she raises one

hand as if in protest. Mr. Stapleton is now very near them,

gesticulating wildly. Sir Henry responds but Stapleton is

still angry, while Miss Stapleton stands by in haughty

silence. Finally Stapleton turns upon his heel and beckons

in a peremptory way to his sister, who, after an irresolute

glance at Sir Henry, walks off by the side of her brother.

Sir Henry stands for a minute looking after them, and then

he walks slowly back the way that he had come, his head

hanging. Watson runs down the hill and meets Sir Henry, who

is looking very angry.

SIR HENRY

(now noticing Watson)

Where did you come out of? Why did

you come after me in spite of all?

DR. WATSON

I couldn’t stay behind, so I

followed you and I witnessed that

confrontation with Stapleton.

Sir Henry looks like he might hit Watson, but then breaks

into a rueful laugh. They continue walking back towards

Baskerville Hall.

SIR HENRY

You would have thought the middle

of that prairie a fairly safe place

for a man to be private, but, by

thunder, the whole countryside

seems to have been out to see me do

my wooing, and a mighty poor wooing

at that! Tell me straight, now! Is

there anything that would prevent

me from making a good husband to a

woman that I loved?

DR. WATSON

I should say not.

SIR HENRY

He can’t object to my worldly

position, so it must be me that he

has this down on. What has he

against me? I never hurt man or

woman in my life that I know of.

And yet he would not so much as let

me touch the tips of her fingers.

63.

DR. WATSON

Is that what he said?

SIR HENRY

That, and a deal more. I tell you,

Watson, I’ve only known her these

few weeks, but from the first I

just felt that she was made for me,

and she was happy when she was with

me, and that I’ll swear. But he has

never let us get together and it

was only today for the first time

that I saw a chance of having a few

words with her alone. She was glad

to meet me, but then all she would

say is that this is a place of

danger, and that she would never be

happy until I had left it. I

told if she really wanted me to

go, she would leave with me. But

then down came this brother of

hers, running at us with a face on

him like a madman. He was just

white with rage. What was I doing

with the lady? Did I think that

because I am a baronet I could do

what I liked? If he had not been

her brother I should have known

better how to answer him. I told

him that my feelings towards his

sister were such as I was not

ashamed of, and that I hoped that

she might honor me by becoming my

wife. That seemed to make the

matter no better, so then I lost my

temper too, and I answered him

rather more hotly than I should

perhaps, considering that she was

standing by. So it ended by his

going off with her, as you saw, and

here am I as badly puzzled a man as

any in this county. Just tell me

what it all means, Watson, and I’ll

owe you more than ever I can hope

to pay.

DR. WATSON

It could be that... or maybe... I’m

puzzled, too. Your title, your

fortune, your age, your character,

your appearance are all in your

favor. The only thing against you

that I can think of is the curse of

(MORE)

64.

DR. WATSON (cont’d)

the Hound, but Stapleton says he

doesn’t believe in it.

INT. Baskerville Hall, just outside Sir Henry’s study.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

Our conjectures were set at rest by

a visit from Stapleton himself that

very afternoon. He had come to

offer apologies for his rudeness of

the morning, and after a long

private interview with Sir Henry in

his study, the upshot of their

conversation was that the breach is

quite healed.

Stapleton and Sir Henry exit the study, Watson is nearby.

STAPLETON

Again, I’m sorry about this

morning.

SIR HENRY

I accept your apology.

STAPLETON

We’ll be expecting you at Merripit

for dinner.

SIR HENRY

Friday, right?

STAPLETON

Yes.

They shake hands. Stapleton leaves.

SIR HENRY

(to Watson)

No man could make a better apology

than he has done.

DR. WATSON

Did he give any explanation of his

conduct?

SIR HENRY

His sister is everything in his

life, he says. They have always

been together, and he has been a

very lonely man with only her as a

(MORE)

65.

SIR HENRY (cont’d)companion, so that the thought of

losing her was really terrible to

him. He was very sorry for all that

had passed, and he recognized how

foolish and how selfish it was that

he should imagine that he could

hold a beautiful woman like his

sister to himself for her whole

life. If she had to leave him he

had rather it was to a neighbor

like me than anyone else. He will

withdraw all opposition upon his

part if I promise to take it slow

with his sister. This I promised,

and so the matter rests.

INT. Baskerville Hall, Sir Henry’s room, very late night.

Sir Henry and Dr. Watson sit in chairs, waiting. The clock

strikes two o’clock.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

That night we were determined to

catch the secret journey of the

butler to the western lattice

window.

The clock strikes three o’clock. Sir Henry and Dr. Watson

fall asleep. The morning sun shines through the curtains.

Sir Henry and Dr. Watson look at each other, puzzled.

DR. WATSON

Fortunately we were not

discouraged, and we determined to

try again.

It is night again. Sir Henry and Dr. Watson light

cigarettes, then sit in their chairs in the darkness,

smoking without making the least sound. The clock strikes

two o’clock. Sir Henry opens his mouth as if about to say

something, but then they hear FOOTSTEPS in the hallway. Sir

Henry and Dr. Watson put out their cigarettes, then they

quickly but quietly leave the room. In the hallway, they see

that Barrymore had already gone round the gallery. Barrymore

enters the same room as before, and we can see one single

yellow beam across the corridor. Sir Henry and Dr. Watson

carefully tiptoe as they get close to the room, trying every

plank before they dare put their whole weight on it, we see

they are not wearing shoes, but the old boards still SNAP

and CREAK under their tread. Sir Henry and Dr. Watson are at

the door to the room. Barrymore is crouching at the window,

candle in hand, face pressed against the pane.

66.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

Sir Henry is a man to whom the most

direct way is always the most

natural.

Sir Henry barges into the room, and Barrymore turns around

and springs up, livid and trembling, the shadows from his

candle are shaky.

SIR HENRY

What are you doing here, Barrymore?

BARRYMORE

(agitated)

Nothing, sir. I go round at night

to make sure the windows are

fastened.

SIR HENRY

(skpetically)

On the second floor?

BARRYMORE

Yes, sir, all the windows.

SIR HENRY

(sternly)

Tell us the truth! What were you

doing at that window?

BARRYMORE

I was doing no harm, sir. I was

holding a candle to the window.

SIR HENRY

And why were you holding a candle

to the window?

BARRYMORE

Don’t ask me, Sir Henry, don’t ask

me! I give you my word, sir, that

it is not my secret, and that I

cannot tell it. If it concerned no

one but myself I would not try to

keep it from you.

Watson grabs the candle from Barrymore.

DR. WATSON

It must be a signal.

67.

Watson holds the candle as Barrymore had done, and stares

out into the darkness of the night. Vaguely he can discern

the black bank of the trees and the lighter expanse of the

moor, with the moon was behind the clouds. And then he sees

a tiny pinpoint of yellow light has suddenly transfixed the

dark veil, and glows steadily in the center of the black

square framed by the window.

DR. WATSON

There it is!

BARRYMORE

No, no, sir, it’s nothing, nothing

at all, I assure you, sir--

SIR HENRY

(to Watson)

Move your light across the window,

Watson!

Watson does so, and the other light moves accordingly.

SIR HENRY

(to Barrymore)

Now, you rascal, do you deny that

it is a signal? Who is your

confederate out yonder, and what is

this conspiracy that is going on?

BARRYMORE

(now defiantly)

It is my business, and not yours. I

will not tell.

SIR HENRY

Then you are fired!

BARRYMORE

So be it.

SIR HENRY

Your family has lived with mine for

over a hundred years under this

roof, and here I find you deep in

some dark plot against me.

Mrs. Barrymore has come into the room without being noticed

by any of the men.

MRS. BARRYMORE

No, no, sir, not against you!

68.

BARRYMORE

(to his wife)

We have to go, Eliza. You can pack

our things.

MRS. BARRYMORE

(to her husband)

Oh, John, John, have I brought you

to this?

(to Sir Henry)

It is my doing, Sir Henry, all

mine. He has done nothing except

for my sake and because I asked

him. My unhappy brother is starving

on the moor. We cannot let him

perish at our very gates. The light

is a signal to him that food is

ready for him, and his light out

yonder is to show the spot to which

to bring it.

DR. WATSON

(to Mrs. Barrymore)

Then your brother is Selden, the

escaped convict?

BARRYMORE

That’s the truth, sir. I said that

it was not my secret and that I

could not tell it to you. But now

you have heard it, and you will see

that if there was a plot it was not

against you.

SIR HENRY

Well, I cannot blame you for

standing by your own wife. Consider

yourself still employed here. Go to

your room, you two, and we shall

talk further about this matter in

the morning.

The Barrymores leave. Sir Henry flings the window open,

Selden’s signal is still up.

SIR HENRY

How far do you think it is?

DR. WATSON

Not more than a mile or two off.

69.

SIR HENRY

Can’t be far if that’s where

Barrymore brought him food. I am

going to take out that man!

Back in Sir Henry’s room, Sir Henry and Dr. Watson put on

their boots. Watson checks the chambers in his revolver.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

The same thought had crossed my own

mind. It was not as if the

Barrymores had taken us into their

confidence, their secret had been

forced from them. The man was a

danger to the community, an

unmitigated scoundrel.

EXT. The moor, beyond the gates of the Baskerville estate.

Sir Henry and Dr. Watson hurry through the dark shrubbery,

amid the dull moaning of the autumn wind and the rustle of

the falling leaves. The moon peeks out through the clouds

every now and then. Suddenly we hear a loud HOWLING. Sir

Henry and Dr. Watson stop in their tracks, afraid, but

trying to determine where it came from.

SIR HENRY

My God, Watson, what was that?

DR. WATSON

(dismissively)

It’s a sound they have on the moor.

SIR HENRY

What do the folk on the countryside

call it?

Watson hesitates.

DR. WATSON

They say it is the cry of the Hound

of the Baskervilles.

Sir Henry groans.

DR. WATSON

Stapleton was with me when I heard

it last. He said that it might be

the calling of a strange bird.

SIR HENRY

No way that was a bird, no, it was

a hound. It was one thing to laugh

(MORE)

70.

SIR HENRY (cont’d)about it in London, and it is

another to stand out here and hear

that. That sound froze my blood.

DR. WATSON

Shall we turn back?

SIR HENRY

No, by thunder, we will go after

the convict even if the hell-hound

is after us.

Sir Henry and Dr. Watson resume their journey towards the

candle signal.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

There is nothing so deceptive as

the distance of a light upon a

pitch-dark night, and sometimes the

glimmer seemed to be far away upon

the horizon and sometimes it might

have been within a few yards of us.

But at last we could see whence it

came.

A guttering candle is stuck in a crevice of the rocks which

flanked it on each side so as to keep the wind from it and

also to prevent it from being visible, save in the direction

of Baskerville Hall. A boulder of granite conceals the

approach of Sir Henry and Dr. Watson, and crouching behind

it they gaze over it at the signal light.

SIR HENRY

What do we do now?

DR. WATSON

Wait here. He must be near his

light. Let us see if we can get a

glimpse of him.

Over the rocks, in the crevice of which the candle burns,

there was thrust out the evil yellow face of SELDEN, the

desperate convict, foul with mire, with a bristling beard,

and hung with matted hair. The light beneath him is

reflected in his small, cunning eyes which peer fiercely to

the right and to the left through the darkness like a crafty

and savage animal who has heard the steps of the hunters.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

It may have been that Barrymore had

some private signal which we had

(MORE)

71.

DR. WATSON (cont’d)neglected to give, or the fellow

may have had some other reason for

thinking that all was not well, but

I could read his fears upon his

wicked face.

Dr. Watson springs forward, and Sir Henry then does the

same.

SELDEN

(screaming)

Damn you to hell!

Selden hurls a rock which splinters up against the boulder

which had sheltered Sir Henry and Dr. Watson. Selden springs

to his feet and turns to run. At the same moment the moon

breaks through the clouds. Sir Henry and Dr. Watson rush

over the brow of the hill, and there they see Selden running

with great speed down the other side, springing over the

stones in his way with the activity of a mountain goat.

Watson aims his revolver, and we see that the sight of the

gun keeps up with Selden’s movements, yet Watson does not

take the shot. Instead, he puts down the revolver and

engages the safety.

DR. WATSON

I brought it only to defend myself

if attacked, and not to shoot an

unarmed man who is running away.

Sir Henry and Dr. Watson try to run after Selden, but soon

it becomes clear they have no chance of overtaking him.

Selden becomes a very tiny dot in the distance.

SIR HENRY

(panting)

It’s no use, he’s gone.

Sir Henry and Dr. Watson turn back towards Baskerville Hall.

The moon is low upon the right, and the jagged pinnacle of a

granite tor is up against the lower curve of its silver

disc. They see the silhouette of Sherlock Holmes upon the

tor, but they don’t know it’s him.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

I assure you, Holmes, that I have

never in my life seen anything more

clearly. As far as I could judge,

the figure was that of a tall, thin

man. He stood with his legs a

little separated, his arms folded,

(MORE)

72.

DR. WATSON (cont’d)his head bowed, as if he were

brooding over that enormous

wilderness of peat and granite

which lay before him.

Watson points to the tor.

DR. WATSON

Who is that?

SIR HENRY

A warder, no doubt. The moor has

been thick with them since this

fellow escaped.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

Well, perhaps his explanation may

be the right one, but I should like

to have some further proof of it.

Such are the adventures of last

night, and you must acknowledge, my

dear Holmes, that I have done you

very well in the matter of a

report.

Sir Henry and Dr. Watson continue walking home.

INT. Baskerville Hall, guest quarters. Watson is finishing

up writing the report.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

Perhaps in my next I may be able to

throw some light upon this also.

Best of all would it be if you

could come down to us. In any case

you will hear from me again in the

course of the next few days.

Watson puts down the pen.

EXTRACT FROM THE DIARY OF DR. WATSON

INT. Baskerville Hall, guest quarters. Watson opens his

Diary to October 15 and then turns a few pages to the next

blank spot, and there writes "October 16th."

EXT. Baskerville Hall, a gray, rainy morning, with fog.

73.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

October sixteenth. A dull and foggy

day with a drizzle of rain.

INT. Baskerville Hall, dining room. Sir Henry and Dr. Watson

are having breakfast. Sir Henry looks like he hasn’t slept

at all, he takes a sip of coffee and puts the cup down with

a nervous CLANK.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

The baronet is in a black reaction

after the excitements of the night.

Barrymore comes in.

BARRYMORE

Sir, may I have a word with you?

SIR HENRY

Go right ahead.

BARRYMORE

(holding back on anger)

I was very much surprised when I

heard you two gentlemen come back

this morning and learned that you

had been chasing Selden. The poor

fellow has enough to fight against

without my putting more upon his

track.

SIR HENRY

The man is a public danger. What if

he attacked the Stapletons?

BARRYMORE

He’ll break into no house, sir. I

give you my solemn word upon that.

I assure you, Sir Henry, that in a

very few days the necessary

arrangements will have been made

and he will be on his way to South

America. I beg you, sir, to say

nothing to the police.

SIR HENRY

(to Watson)

What do you say, Watson?

Watson shrugs his shoulders.

74.

DR. WATSON

It would relieve the taxpayers of a

burden.

SIR HENRY

(to Barrymore)

Alright, but he better be gone in a

few days.

BARRYMORE

God bless you, sir, and thank you

from my heart! It would have killed

my poor wife had he been taken

again.

Barrymore leaves.

SIR HENRY

(to Watson)

I guess we are aiding and abetting

a felon, Watson?

Barrymore comes back in.

BARRYMORE

I know something, Sir Henry, and

perhaps I should have said it

before, but it was long after the

inquest that I found it out. I’ve

never breathed a word about it yet

to mortal man. It’s about poor Sir

Charles’s death.

Sir Henry and Dr. Watson get up from their seats.

SIR HENRY

Do you know how he died?

BARRYMORE

No, sir, I don’t know that. But I

know why he was at the gate at that

hour. It was to meet a woman. My

wife was cleaning out Sir Charles’s

study, when she found a letter.

INT. Sir Charles’s study. Barrymore is about to carry out a

heavy looking box when Mrs. Barrymore notices a charred

fragment of a burnt letter. She picks it up.

MRS. BARRYMORE

(trying to read)

Are a gentle... man. Barn, burn

this let, burn this letter, beat

(MORE)

75.

MRS. BARRYMORE (cont’d)

the, be at the gate at ten oh. L.

L.

Barrymore puts down the box and approaches Mrs. Barrymore,

who turns to allow him to look at the fragment, but it

disintegrates further.

MRS. BARRYMORE

A woman wrote this.

INT. Baskerville Hall, dining room.

SIR HENRY

Why did you conceal this important

information?

BARRYMORE

Well, sir, it was immediately after

that our own trouble came to us.

And then again, sir, we were both

of us very fond of Sir Charles, and

we thought that to rake this up

couldn’t help our poor master’s

reputation. But I thought you

should know.

SIR HENRY

Very good, Barrymore, you can go.

Barrymore leaves.

SIR HENRY

(to Watson)

Any idea who L. L. might be?

DR. WATSON

No.

SIR HENRY

Let Holmes know all about it at

once. Maybe this is the clue that

will convince him to come down.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

No doubt the blackmailing case is

absorbing all his faculties. And

yet this new factor must surely

arrest his attention and renew his

interest. I wish that he were here.

EXT. The moor, evening, very rainy. Watson, wearing a

waterproof coat, is walking.

76.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

October seventeenth. All day today

the rain poured down. In the

evening I put on my waterproof and

I walked far upon the sodden moor.

God help those who wander into the

great mire now, for even the firm

uplands are becoming a morass.

Watson has come to take a closer look at the tor where he

saw the mysterious stranger two nights ago. Then Dr.

Mortimer shows up in a dog-cart.

DR. MORTIMER

How are you, Dr. Watson?

DR. WATSON

Fine. And you, Dr. Mortimer?

DR. MORTIMER

I’d be fine, except I can’t find my

little spaniel. He wandered out...

DR. WATSON

I’m sure he’ll turn up.

We see a split-second flashback of the pony struggling in

the Grimpen Mire when Watson was talking to Stapleton.

DR. WATSON

(trying to sound convinced)

Yes, he’ll turn up.

DR. MORTIMER

Give you a lift back to Baskerville

Hall?

Watson gets on the cart, Mortimer resumes the drive along

the bumpy, muddy road.

DR. WATSON

By the way, Mortimer, I suppose

there are few people living within

driving distance of this whom you

do not know?

DR. MORTIMER

Hardly any.

DR. WATSON

Do you know a woman whose initials

are L. L.?

77.

Mortimer thinks it over for a little bit.

DR. MORTIMER

There is Laura Lyons, but she lives

in Coombe Tracey.

DR. WATSON

Who is she?

DR. MORTIMER

She is Frankland’s daughter.

DR. WATSON

(surprised)

What!? Old Frankland, the crank?

DR. MORTIMER

Exactly. She married an artist

named Lyons, who came sketching on

the moor. He proved to be no good

to her and deserted her. Her father

refused to have anything to do with

her because she had married without

his consent. So, between the old

sinner and the young one the girl

has had a pretty bad time.

DR. WATSON

How does she live? I surmise

Frankland’s costly amusement

doesn’t leave him much to give her.

DR. MORTIMER

A pittance if anything. Her story

got about, and several of the

people here did something to enable

her to earn an honest living.

Stapleton did for one, and Sir

Charles for another. I gave a

trifle myself. It was to set her up

in a typewriting business.

They arrive at the gates of the Baskerville estate.

DR. MORTIMER

Why do you ask?

DR. WATSON

Holmes wants me to report to him

about everyone around here. Will

you stay for dinner?

Mortimer seems unsatisfied by that response but decides to

leave it alone.

78.

DR. MORTIMER

Yes.

INT. Baskerville Hall, billiards room. Sir Henry and Dr.

Mortimer are playing écarté, a card game played with a

standard deck from which some cards have been removed.

Dealing has finished and they examine their hands.

SIR HENRY

I stand.

INT. Baskerville Hall, library. Watson is seated, reading a

book. Barrymore brings him coffee.

DR. WATSON

Thank you.

Watson takes a sip.

DR. WATSON

Well, has this precious relation of

yours departed, or is he still

lurking out yonder?

BARRYMORE

I don’t know, sir. I hope to Heaven

that he has gone, for he has

brought nothing but trouble here!

I’ve not heard of him since I left

out food for him last, and that was

three days ago.

DR. WATSON

Did you see him then?

BARRYMORE

No, sir, but the food was gone when

next I went that way.

DR. WATSON

Then he was certainly there?

BARRYMORE

Unless it was the other man who

took it.

Watson is about to take another sip of coffee. We see a

split-second flashback of Holmes on the tor. Watson puts

down the cup.

DR. WATSON

How do you know of the other man?

79.

BARRYMORE

Selden told me of him, sir, a week

ago or more. He’s in hiding, too,

but he’s not a convict as far as I

can make out. I don’t like it, Dr.

Watson, I tell you straight, sir,

that I don’t like it.

DR. WATSON

Can you tell me anything else about

this stranger? What did Selden say?

Did he find out where he hid, or

what he was doing?

BARRYMORE

He saw him once or twice. He’s not

police. A kind of gentleman he was,

but what he was doing Selden could

not make out.

DR. WATSON

And where did he say that he lived?

BARRYMORE

Among the old houses on the

hillside, the old stone huts where

the ancient folk used to live.

DR. WATSON

But how about his food?

BARRYMORE

Selden found out that he has got a

lad who works for him and brings

all he needs. I dare say he goes to

Coombe Tracey for what he wants.

DR. WATSON

Very good, Barrymore. We may talk

further of this some other time.

Barrymore leaves.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

So I have made some progress on the

matter of the lady L. L. and the

man on the tor, but the matter

remains shrouded in mystery.

INT. Baskerville Hall, billiards room. Sir Henry and Dr.

Mortimer are still playing cards.

80.

DR. WATSON

(voice-over)

I wanted to tell Sir Henry about L.

L., but I did not also want to tell

Dr. Mortimer, who stayed very late,

at cards.

SIR HENRY

I propose.

DR. MORTIMER

How many?

SIR HENRY

Three.

Mortimer exchanges three cards.

INT. Baskerville Hall, guest quarters. Watson is wrapping up

his diary entry. Watson closes the book.

INT. Baskerville Hall, dining room, morning. Sir Henry and

Dr. Watson are eating breakfast. Sir Henry is wearing a dark

blue suit.

DR. WATSON

And Dr. Mortimer also contributed.

Would you like to go with me to

Coombe Tracey to meet her?

SIR HENRY

Absolutely.

Sir Henry takes another bite.

SIR HENRY

On second thought, maybe I

shouldn’t.

DR. WATSON

Yes, the more formal we make the

visit the less information we might

obtain.

FIRST INTERVIEW WITH LAURA LYONS

EXT. Coombe Tracey, morning, on a sunny day. Watson arrives,

driven by Perkins.

DR. WATSON

Put up the horses.

Watson gets off.

81.

PERKINS

Yes, sir.

Watson walks towards a building.

INT. Mrs. Lyons’s sitting room. Watson comes in, and is

impressed by the woman sitting at a Remington typewriter,

LAURA LYONS, her eyes and hair of the same rich hazel color,

and her cheeks, though considerably freckled, were flushed

with the exquisite bloom of the brunette, the dainty pink

which lurks at the heart of the sulphur rose but there is

something subtly wrong with the face, some coarseness of

expression, some hardness, perhaps, of eye, some looseness

of lip which marred her beauty. She does a carriage return

and gets up.

LAURA LYONS

(very cordially)

Good morning!

But then she seems disappointed to see Watson.

DR. WATSON

Good morning. I have the pleasure

of knowing your father.

LAURA LYONS

(somewhat abrasively)

There is nothing in common between

my father and me. I owe him

nothing, and his friends are not

mine. If it were not for the late

Sir Charles Baskerville and some

other kind hearts I might have

starved for all that my father

cared.

DR. WATSON

It was about Sir Charles that I

have come here to see you.

The freckles start out on the lady’s face, and she plays her

fingers nervously over the stops of her typewriter.

LAURA LYONS

What can I tell you about him?

DR. WATSON

Did you correspond with him?

LAURA LYONS

(sharply)

Waht is the object of these

questions?

82.

DR. WATSON

The object is to avoid a public

scandal. It is better that I should

ask them here than that the matter

should pass outside our control.

Laura Lyons turns very pale.

DR. WATSON

Did you correspond with Sir

Charles?

LAURA LYONS

Once or twice to acknowledge his

generosity.

DR. WATSON

Did you ever write to Sir Charles

asking him to meet you?

LAURA LYONS

(angrier)

Really, sir, this is a very

extraordinary question!

DR. WATSON

Did you?

LAURA LYONS

No, never.

DR. WATSON

Not on the very day of his death?

LAURA LYONS

(barely audible)

No.

DR. WATSON

Your memory deceives you.

(quoting, though inexactly)

As you are a gentleman, please burn

this letter, and meet me at the

gate by ten o’clock.

Laura Lyons almost faints.

LAURA LYONS

Is there no such thing as a

gentleman?

83.

DR. WATSON

He did burn the letter like you

asked. But some of it was still

legible. You acknowledge now that

you wrote it?

Laura Lyons sits down, about to burst into tears.

LAURA LYONS

Yes, I did write it. I did write

it. Why should I deny it? I have no

reason to be ashamed of it. I

wished him to help me. I believed

that if I had an interview I could

gain his help, so I asked him to

meet me.

Watson sits down, too.

DR. WATSON

But why at such an hour?

LAURA LYONS

Because I had only just learned

that he was going to London the

next day.

DR. WATSON

But why in the garden and not the

house?

LAURA LYONS

Do you think a woman could go alone

at that hour to a bachelor’s house?

DR. WATSON

So what happened when you did get

there?

LAURA LYONS

I never went.

DR. WATSON

(surprised)

What!? Why not?

LAURA LYONS

That is a private matter.

DR. WATSON

You want me to believe that you

made an appointment to meet with

Sir Charles at the very hour and

(MORE)

84.

DR. WATSON (cont’d)place at which he met his death,

but you deny that you kept the

appointment?

LAURA LYONS

That is the truth.

DR. WATSON

And you can’t tell me why is it

that you didn’t go?

LAURA LYONS

I can’t.

Watson gets up.

DR. WATSON

Mrs. Lyons, you are putting

yourself in a very false position

not telling everything that you

know. If I have to call in the aid

of the police you will find how

seriously you are compromised.

Watson makes a movement as if he is about to leave.

LAURA LYONS

I will tell you, then. You know

that I made a rash marriage and had

reason to regret it. My life has

been one incessant persecution from

a husband whom I abhor. The law is

upon his side, and every day I am

faced by the possibility that he

may force me to live with him. At

the time that I wrote this letter

to Sir Charles I had learned that

there was a prospect of my

regaining my freedom if certain

expenses could be met. I knew Sir

Charles’s generosity, and I thought

that if he heard the story from my

own lips he would help me.

Watson sits back down.

DR. WATSON

Then how is it that you did not go?

LAURA LYONS

I received help in the interval

from another source.

85.

DR. WATSON

From whom?

LAURA LYONS

I can’t tell.

DR. WATSON

Didn’t Sir Charles deserve some

explanation as to why you did not

show up?

LAURA LYONS

I started to write a letter

explaining that, but then I saw his

obituary.

EXT. Coombe Tracey, noon. Perkins has the cart and horses

ready. Watson looks frustrated as he boards.

DR. WATSON

Let’s go to Black Tor now.

PERKINS

I hope you have better luck there.

The cart gets under way.

IN PURSUIT OF THE MAN ON THE TOR

EXT. The moor, close to Lafter Hall. Perkins and Watson are

driving by when they are spotted by Frankland.

FRANKLAND

(in a very good mood)

Good day, Dr. Watson! You must

really give your horses a rest and

come in to have a glass of wine and

to congratulate me.

Perkins stops the wagonette and waits for instructions.

Watson seems indecisive.

INT. Lafter Hall, a somewhat distorted image of it from Dr.

Watson’s memory. Laura Lyons is in her wedding dress, and

Frankland is yelling at her, though we don’t hear what he’s

saying.

EXT. The moor, close to Lafter Hall.

DR. WATSON

(indecisively)

I don’t know, Sir Henry is

expecting me back. Although...

86.

(decisively, to Perkins)

Tell Sir Henry I’ll walk over in

time for dinner.

Watson gets off and Perkins drives off.

INT. Lafter Hall, the real one. Frankland and Watson come

in.

FRANKLAND

It’s a great day for me, one of the

red letter days of my life.

They sit down at a table and Frankland pours Watson and

himself some wine.

FRANKLAND

I have brought off a double event.

I mean to teach them in these parts

that law is law, and that there is

a man here who does not fear to

invoke it. I have established a

right of way through the centre of

old Middleton’s park, slap across

it, sir, within a hundred yards of

his own front door. We’ll teach

these magnates that they cannot

ride roughshod over the rights of

the commoners! And I’ve closed the

wood where the Fernworthy folk used

to picnic. These infernal people

seem to think that there are no

rights of property, and that they

can swarm where they like with

their papers and their bottles.

Both cases decided, Dr. Watson, and

both in my favour.

DR. WATSON

(feigning disinterest)

The people of Fernworthy will burn

you in effigy tonight.

FRANKLAND

I told the police last time they

did it that they should stop these

disgraceful exhibitions. The County

Constabulary is in a scandalous

state, and it has not afforded me

the protection to which I am

entitled. The case of Frankland v.

Regina will bring the matter before

the attention of the public.

87.

DR. WATSON

I think the escaped convict has

brought attention to that.

Frankland takes a little sip of wine.

FRANKLAND

Yes, they still haven’t caught him,

but if they listened to me, they

would nab him.

DR. WATSON

But you don’t know where he is.

FRANKLAND

I may not know exactly where he is,

but, has it never struck you that

the way to catch that man was to

find out where he got his food and

so trace it to him?

DR. WATSON

No doubt, but how do you know that

he is anywhere upon the moor?

FRANKLAND

I know it because I have seen with

my own eyes the messenger who takes

him his food.

An expression of mild worry flashes across Watson’s face.

EXT. The moor, day. Barrymore is carrying a basket towards a

stone hut.

INT. Lafter Hall.

FRANKLAND

You’ll be surprised to hear that

his food is taken to him by a

child.

EXT. The moor, day. A young boy who looks nothing like

Cartwright is carrying a basket towards a stone hut.

INT. Lafter Hall. Watson looks relieved.

FRANKLAND

I see him every day through my

telescope upon the roof. He passes

along the same path at the same

hour, and to whom should he be

going except to the convict?

88.

DR. WATSON

(feigning incredulity)

I should say that it was much more

likely that it was the son of one

of the moorland shepherds taking

out his father’s dinner.

FRANKLAND

(annoyed)

A shepherd at Black Tor, the

stoniest part of the moor!? That’s

an absurd suggestion!

DR. WATSON

I’m sorry, I don’t know all the

facts.

FRANKLAND

(pleased by Watson’s

admission)

I have seen the boy again and again

with his bundle. Every day, and

sometimes twice a day, I have been

able--

Frankland notices something out the window.

FRANKLAND

But wait a moment, Dr. Watson. Do

my eyes deceive me, or is there at

the present moment something moving

upon that hillside?

Watson strains to see anything through the window.

FRANKLAND

(gesturing upstairs)

You will see with your own eyes and

judge for yourself!

INT. Lafter Hall, second floor room. A telescope is ready by

the windown. Frankland and Watson come in. Frankland goes to

the telescope and looks around until he spots Cartwright.

Frankland takes his eye off the eyepiece but holds the tube

in place.

FRANKLAND

There! Quick, before he passes over

the hill!

Watson puts his eye to the eyepiece. We see Cartwright with

a bundle, walking towards the stone huts, with a little

bundle upon his shoulder, toiling slowly up the hill.

89.

Cartwright reaches the crest, and then we see Holmes

outlined for an instant against the cold blue sky. Holmes

looks round him with a furtive and stealthy air, as one who

dreads pursuit, then vanishes over the hill. Watson does not

recognize Cartwright or Holmes. Watson takes his eye off the

eyepiece.

FRANKLAND

Well, am I right?

DR. WATSON

(coolly)

Certainly, there is a boy who seems

to have some secret errand.

FRANKLAND

And what the errand is even a

county constable could guess. But

not one word shall they have from

me, and I bind you to secrecy also,

Dr. Watson. Not a word! You

understand!

DR. WATSON

Just as you wish. Oh, but look at

the time, I must start for

Baskerville Hall now if I’m to get

there in time for dinner.

FRANKLAND

I could walk with you.

DR. WATSON

Thanks, but no... I feel like

taking a leisurely, but, um, brisk

walk.

FRANKLAND

Suit yourself.

EXT. The moor, late afternoon, a short distance from Lafter

Hall. Watson turns back quickly to confirm Frankland could

still have a line of sight on him. Watson takes out a

cigarette and lights it as he walks. Once Lafter Hall is out

of sight, Watson turns towards the stony hill. Watson gets

to a point where he can see the stone huts on the valley. He

spots one that still has enough of a roof to be somewhat

habitable. Convinced that is the hut the stranger has been

using, Watson heads towards it. Once close to it, Watson

imprudently throws away his cigarette.

INT. A stone hut. Watson comes in, with revolver drawn.

There are some blankets rolled in a waterproof which lay

90.

upon a stone slab. The ashes of a fire are heaped in a rude

grate. Beside it lays some cooking utensils and a bucket

half-full of water. There is a litter of empty tins showing

that the place has been occupied for some time, as well as a

pannikin and a half-full bottle of spirits standing in the

corner. In the middle of the hut a flat stone serves the

purpose of a table, and upon this stands a small cloth

bundle, containing a loaf of bread, a tinned tongue, and two

tins of preserved peaches, and a sheet of paper with writing

upon it. Watson examines these items, ending with the sheet

of paper.

DR. WATSON

(reading)

Dr. Watson has gone to Coombe

Tracey.

EXT. Just outside the stone hut, the sun is setting.

Holmes’s hand picks up a cigarette.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Bradley’s.

INT. Stone hut. Watson hears FOOTSTEPS, takes the safety off

his revolver.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(from outside)

It is a lovely evening, my dear

Watson. I really think that you

will be more comfortable outside

than in.

REUNION WITH SHERLOCK HOLMES

EXT. Outside the stone huts, twilight. Holmes is standing,

he’s wearing a cloth cap.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Come out, and please be careful

with the revolver.

Watson comes out, looking astonished, while Holmes is

amused. They shake hands.

DR. WATSON

I never was more glad to see anyone

in my life!

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Or more astonished, eh?

91.

DR. WATSON

Well, I must confess to it.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

The surprise was not one-sided, I

assure you. I had no idea you found

my occasional retreat until I was

within twenty paces of the door.

DR. WATSON

My footprint?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

No, to throw me off you’ll have to

change your tobacconist, Bradley

from Oxford Street, or give up the

habit altogether. And how did you

find me?

DR. WATSON

Frankland observed your boy, and

that gave me a guide where to look.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Ah yes, I noticed the light

flashing on the lens of his

telescope as Cartwright brought my

bundle.

DR. WATSON

So you resolved the blackmail case?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

That was what I wished you to

think.

DR. WATSON

(surprised, bitter)

Then you use me and yet you do not

trust me!

SHERLOCK HOLMES

My dear fellow, you have been

invaluable to me, and I am sorry I

played a trick upon you. Had I been

with Sir Henry and you, my presence

would have warned our very

formidable opponents to be on their

guard. This way, I remain an

unknown factor in this business,

ready to throw in all my weight at

a critical moment.

92.

DR. WATSON

But why keep me in the dark?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

For you to know could not have

helped us and might possibly have

led to my discovery. You would have

wished to tell me something, or in

your kindness you would have

brought me out some modern comfort

or other, and so an unnecessary

risk would be run.

DR. WATSON

And my reports have all been

wasted, after all the pains and

prides with which I composed them!

Holmes takes out a bundle of papers from his pocket.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Not at all. They are very well

thumbed, I assure you. They were

only delayed one day upon their

way. I must compliment you upon the

zeal and intelligence you have

shown on this difficult case.

Watson looks appeased.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Now tell me the result of your

visit to Mrs. Laura Lyons in Coombe

Tracey.

Holmes and Watson go into the stone hut.

INT. Stone hut.

DR. WATSON

Well... she did admit she wrote a

letter to Sir Charles asking him to

meet her on the day of his death,

but she claims she did not keep the

appointment. She said she wanted to

ask him to help her with the

expenses of her divorce, but

someone else helped her.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

She’s divorcing?

93.

DR. WATSON

She’s been wanting to. But she

would not tell me who helped her

instead of Sir Charles.

Holmes starts a fire for warmth.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

This projected divorce is an

important clue in this most complex

affair. You are aware, perhaps,

that a close intimacy exists

between this lady and the man

Stapleton?

DR. WATSON

I did not know of a close intimacy.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

They meet, they write, there is a

complete understanding between

them.

INT. Mrs. Lyons’s sitting room. Stapleton and Laura Lyons

face each other, Stapleton is about to kiss her when she

backs away.

LAURA LYONS

Not yet.

STAPLETON

I know.

INT. Stone hut.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

She intends to become his wife once

her divorce from Lyons is final.

But the upshot is that he’s also

married.

DR. WATSON

(very surprised)

Stapleton, married?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

The lady who has passed here as

Miss Stapleton is in reality his

wife.

DR. WATSON

Good heavens, Holmes! Are you sure

of what you say? How could he have

(MORE)

94.

DR. WATSON (cont’d)permitted Sir Henry to fall in love

with her?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Sir Henry’s falling in love could

do no harm to anyone except Sir

Henry. He took particular care that

Sir Henry did not make love to her,

as you have yourself observed.

DR. WATSON

But why this elaborate deception?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Because he foresaw that she would

be very much more useful to him in

the character of a free woman.

Watson takes a minute to process this. He sees an image of

Stapleton, smiling, holding a dagger.

DR. WATSON

He’s our enemy, he’s the one who

dogged us in London?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

So I read the riddle.

DR. WATSON

(coming to a realization)

And the warning... it must have

come from her!

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Exactly.

DR. WATSON

What will happen when Mrs. Lyons

finds out the truth about

Stapleton?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Why, then we may find the lady of

service. It must be our first duty

to see her, both of us tomorrow. We

will go to Coombe Tracey and in

the--

A terrible, prolonged SCREAM, full of horror and anguish,

interrupts the conversation. Holmes and Watson get out of

the hut.

95.

DEATH ON THE MOOR

EXT. The moor, by the stone hut, night.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Where is it, Watson?

DR. WATSON

(pointing in one direction)

There, I think.

The SCREAM is heard again.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(pointing in the other

direction)

No, there!

Holmes and Watson start running. Blindly they run through

the boulders, forcing their way through gorse bushes,

panting up hills and rushing down slopes, heading always in

the direction whence those dreadful sounds had come. Then

there is a low MOAN, and finally Holmes and Watson spot

Selden’s corpse, prostrate, face downwards on the ground,

but they think it’s Sir Henry because Selden is wearing Sir

Henry’s old ruddy-tinted tweed suit. Watson clenches his

hands.

DR. WATSON

The brute! The brute! Oh, Holmes, I

shall never forgive himself for

having left him to his fate!

SHERLOCK HOLMES

I am more to blame than you,

Watson. In order to have my case

well rounded and complete, I have

thrown away the life of my client.

It is the greatest blow which has

befallen me in my career.

DR. WATSON

Where is Stapleton? He shall answer

for this deed!

SHERLOCK HOLMES

He shall, he shall.

Holmes and Watson survey the vicinity.

DR. WATSON

Why should we not seize him at

once?

96.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Our case is not complete. The

fellow is wary and cunning to the

last degree. The villain may escape

us yet.

Watson looks at Selden’s contorted limbs and tears well up

in his eyes.

DR. WATSON

We must send for help, Holmes! We

can’t carry him all the way to the

Hall!

Holmes starts laughing.

DR. WATSON

Good heavens, are you mad?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

A beard! The man has a beard!

Watson turns the corpse over.

DR. WATSON

Selden!

(looking at Holmes)

But why is he wearing Sir Henry’s

clothes?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

In one of your reports you wrote

that Sir Henry gave Barrymore some

of his old clothes.

DR. WATSON

(understanding)

Then Barrymore must have given

these to Selden.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

The clothes have been the poor

devil’s death. It is clear enough

that the Hound has been laid on

from some article of Sir Henry’s,

and so ran this man down.

They notice Stapleton drawing near, cigar in his mouth.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(whispering)

Not a word to show your suspicions.

Watson nods in agreement.

97.

STAPLETON

Dear me, what’s this? Somebody

hurt? Don’t tell me that it is our

friend Sir Henry!

Watson looks at Stapleton with great suspicion, Holmes has

on a poker face. Stapleton looks at the convict with

disappointment.

STAPLETON

(stammering)

Who--who’s this?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Selden, the man escaped from

Princetown.

Stapleton changes his facial expression to a more

appropriate one.

STAPLETON

What a very shocking affair! How

did he die?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

He appears to have broken his neck

by falling over these rocks. My

friend and I were strolling on the

moor when we heard a cry.

STAPLETON

I heard it, too. That was what

brought me out. I was uneasy about

Sir Henry.

DR. WATSON

(pointedly)

Why about Sir Henry in particular?

STAPLETON

Because I had suggested that he

should come over. When he did not

come I was surprised, and I

naturally became alarmed for his

safety when I heard cries upon the

moor.

(looking at Selden)

You have come in time to see a

tragedy, Mr. Holmes.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Yes, indeed. I have no doubt that

my friend’s explanation will cover

(MORE)

98.

SHERLOCK HOLMES (cont’d)the facts. I will take an

unpleasant remembrance back to

London with me tomorrow.

STAPLETON

I hope your visit has cast some

light upon those occurrences which

have puzzled us?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(frankly)

One cannot always have the success

for which one hopes. An

investigator needs facts and not

legends or rumors. It has not been

a satisfactory case.

STAPLETON

I would suggest carrying this poor

fellow to my house, but it would

give my sister such a fright. I

think that if we put something over

his face he will be safe until

morning.

They put a jacket over Selden’s face.

HOLMES ARRIVES AT BASKERVILLE HALL

EXT. The moor, close to the Baskerville estate. Holmes and

Watson are walking towards Baskerville Hall.

DR. WATSON

What effect do you think it will

have upon his plans now that he

knows you are here?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

It may cause him to be more

cautious, or it may drive him to

desperate measures at once. Like

most clever criminals, he may be

too confident in his own cleverness

and imagine that he has completely

deceived us.

DR. WATSON

Why should we not arrest him

tonight?

99.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Our case is still not complete. We

know what he did, but how are we to

get twelve stolid jurymen to know

it?

They arrive at the gate.

DR. WATSON

Are you coming up?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Yes. But say nothing of the Hound

to Sir Henry. He will have a better

nerve for the ordeal which he will

have to undergo tomorrow.

INT. Baskerville Hall, lobby. Sir Henry is very surprised to

see Watson come in with Holmes.

SIR HENRY

Mr. Holmes, so good to see you! I

expected the recent happenings

would bring you down here.

(to Barrymore)

Barrymore, get his bags.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

I haven’t any bags.

Sir Henry looks very surprised but decides not to comment

further on that.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Dr. Watson has some sad news for

Mrs. Barrymore.

INT. Baskerville Hall, kitchen. Dr. Watson hesitates for an

instant before the Barrymores.

DR. WATSON

(to Mrs. Barrymore, extremely

tactfully)

Your brother, suffering from

anxiety and exposure, rushed about

the moor and fell and broke his

neck. He did not survive the fall.

Mrs. Barrymore turns to cry on her husband’s shoulder. Mr.

Barrymore is on the one hand relieved, but on the other hand

he shares his wife’s grief.

INT. Baskerville Hall, lobby.

100.

SIR HENRY

If I hadn’t sworn not to go out

alone, I would have accepted

Stapleton’s invitation.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

But you are going tomorrow?

SIR HENRY

Yes. So, have you made anything of

the tangle?

Watson comes in.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

It is a complex case, but I am sure

that soon

(trailing off)

we will solve...

Holmes is distracted by the portraits on the wall.

DR. WATSON

What is it?

Holmes gets close to the portraits.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Watson won’t allow that I know

anything about art, but these are a

really fine series of portraits.

Family portraits?

SIR HENRY

Every one.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Do you know the names?

SIR HENRY

Barrymore has been coaching me, and

I think I know all of them.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(pointing to one of the

portraits)

Who is the gentleman with the

telescope?

SIR HENRY

That is Rear Admiral Baskerville,

who served under Rodney in the West

Indies.

101.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(pointing to another one)

This one must be among Kneller’s

best work. Who is the subject?

SIR HENRY

Sir William Baskerville, he was

Chairman of Committees of the House

of Commons under Pitt.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

And this Reynolds?

SIR HENRY

Ah, you have a right to know about

him. That is the cause of all the

mischief, the wicked Hugo, who

started the Hound of the

Baskervilles. We’re not likely to

forget him.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

He seems a quiet, meek-mannered man

enough, but I dare say that there

was a lurking devil in his eyes. I

had pictured him as a more robust

and ruffianly person.

SIR HENRY

There’s no doubt about the

authenticity, for the name and the

date, 1647, are on the back of the

canvas.

The portrait of Sir Hugo fascinates Holmes the most.

INT. Baskerville Hall, Sir Henry’s room. Sir Henry is going

to sleep.

INT. Baskerville Hall, lobby. Holmes and Watson are going

over to the portraits. The only illumination comes from

Holmes’s candle.

DR. WATSON

What is your fascination with that

portrait of the old roysterer?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(pointing to Sir Hugo’s

portrait)

Look like anyone you know?

102.

DR. WATSON

There is something of Sir Henry

about the jaw.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Just a suggestion, perhaps. But

wait an instant!

Holmes stands upon a chair, and holding up the light in his

left hand, he curves his right arm over the broad hat and

round the long ringlets. The face of Stapleton briefly

flashes over the portrait.

DR. WATSON

Good heavens! This might be his

portrait.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Yes, an interesting instance of a

throwback, both physical and

spiritual. The fellow is a

Baskerville, that is evident.

DR. WATSON

With designs upon the succssion.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Exactly. This picture has supplied

us with one of our most obvious

missing links. We have him, Watson!

EXT. The moor, by the stone huts, morning. Holmes tells

Cartwright something which we don’t hear, then they head off

in different directions.

EXT. The moor, where Selden died. The warders load Selden’s

body onto a cart as Holmes passes by.

INT. Baskerville Hall. Sir Henry and Dr. Watson are eating

breakfast as Holmes comes in.

SIR HENRY

Good morning, Holmes. You look like

a general who is planning a battle

with his chief of the staff.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

That is the exact situation. Watson

was asking for orders.

SIR HENRY

And so do I.

103.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Very good. You are dining with the

Stapletons tonight?

Holmes sits down.

SIR HENRY

Yes, and I hope you will come also.

They are very hospitable people,

and I am sure that they would be

very glad to see you.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Watson and I must go to London.

SIR HENRY

(disappointed)

I hoped that you were going to see

me through this business. The Hall

and the moor are not very pleasant

places when one is alone.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

My dear fellow, you must trust me

implicitly and do exactly what I

tell you. You can tell your friends

that we should have been happy to

have come with you, but that urgent

business required us to be in town.

We hope very soon to return to

Devonshire. Will you remember to

give them that message?

SIR HENRY

If you insist upon it.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

There is no alternative, I assure

you.

SIR HENRY

(coldly)

When will you go?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Immediately after breakfast. We

will drive in to Coombe Tracey, but

Watson will leave his things as a

pledge that he will come back to

you.

104.

SIR HENRY

I have a good mind to go to London

with you. Why should I stay here

alone?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Because it is your post of duty.

Because you gave me your word that

you would do as you were told, and

I tell you to stay.

SIR HENRY

Alright then, I’ll stay.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

One more direction!

EXT. Merripit House, night. Perkins has just driven Sir

Henry there. Sir Henry gets off.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(voice-over)

I wish you to drive to Merripit

House. Send back your trap,

however, and let them know that you

intend to walk home.

Sir Henry signals to Perkins, who then drives off. Sir Henry

goes into the house.

Later, Sir Henry leaves the house and starts walking home.

SIR HENRY

(voice-over)

To walk across the moor?

Sir Henry looks worried.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(voice-over)

Yes.

SIR HENRY

(voice-over)

But that is the very thing you have

warned me against doing.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(voice-over)

This time you may do it with

safety. If I had not every

confidence in your nerve and

courage I would not suggest it, but

(MORE)

105.

SHERLOCK HOLMES (cont’d)it is essential that you should do

it.

Sir Henry relaxes and continues walking.

INT. Baskerville Hall, morning.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

But do not go in any direction save

along the straight path which leads

from Merripit House to the Grimpen

Road, and is your natural way home.

SIR HENRY

I will do as you say.

Watson has on his face an expression of astonishment, but

when Sir Henry glances his way, he tries to put on a more

reassuring expression. Holmes finishes a cup of coffee.

THE PRETENDED TRIP TO LONDON

EXT. Train platform at Coombe Tracey station. A train is

boarding. Holmes and Watson spot Cartwright.

CARTWRIGHT

Any orders, sir?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

You will take this train to town,

Cartwright. The moment you arrive

you will send a wire to Sir Henry

Baskerville, in my name, to say

that if he finds the pocketbook

which I have dropped he is to send

it by registered post to Baker

Street.

CARTWRIGHT

Yes, sir.

Cartwright gets on the train.

DR. WATSON

You’re using Sir Henry as bait?

We’re not really going to London?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

In fact Lestrade is coming here

from London, we may need his

assistance. Now, Watson, I think

(MORE)

106.

SHERLOCK HOLMES (cont’d)

that we cannot employ our time

better than by calling upon your

acquaintance, Mrs. Laura Lyons.

SECOND INTERVIEW WITH LAURA LYONS

INT. Mrs. Lyons’s sitting room, early afternoon. Laura Lyons

types the last line of a document and then removes the paper

from the typewriter. Holmes barges in, followed by Watson.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

I am investigating the death of Sir

Charles Baskerville. My friend

here, Dr. Watson, has informed me

of what you have communicated, and

also of what you have withheld in

connection with that matter.

Laura Lyons is amazed, and for a brief moment, silent.

LAURA LYONS

(defiantly)

What have I withheld?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

The connection between your asking

Sir Charles to be at the gate at

ten o’clock and that being the

place and hour of his death.

LAURA LYONS

There is no connection.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

I wish to be perfectly frank with

you, Mrs. Lyons. We regard this

case as one of murder, and the

evidence may implicate not only

your friend Mr. Stapleton but his

wife as well.

Laura Lyons springs from her seat.

LAURA LYONS

His wife!?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

The woman who has passed for his

sister is really his wife.

Laura Lyons sits back down and angrily grips the armrests of

the chair.

107.

LAURA LYONS

His wife! Prove it to me!

Holmes draws from his pocket a photograph of Stapleton and

Miss Stapleton, embracing like a married couple, and gives

it to Laura Lyons, who looks at it and then turns it over

and sees something scribbled on the back.

LAURA LYONS

(reading)

Mr. and Mrs. Vandeleur?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

That was in York, four years ago.

He was schoolmaster at St. Oliver’s

private school.

LAURA LYONS

This man had offered me marriage on

condition that I could get a

divorce from my husband. He has

lied to me, the villain, in every

conceivable way. I was never

anything but a tool in his hands.

Why should I try to shield him from

the consequences of his own wicked

acts? Ask me what you like, and

there is nothing which I shall hold

back. One thing I swear to you, and

that is that when I wrote the

letter I never dreamed of any harm

to Sir Charles, he had been my

kindest friend.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

I entirely believe you, madam. To

make it easier for you, I will tell

you what occurred, and you can

check me if I make any material

mistake. The sending of this letter

was suggested to you by Stapleton?

LAURA LYONS

He dictated it.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

The reason he gave was that you

would receive help from Sir Charles

for the legal expenses connected

with your divorce?

108.

LAURA LYONS

Yes.

Laura Lyons looks a little more relaxed now.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

And then after you had sent the

letter he dissuaded you from

keeping the appointment?

LAURA LYONS

He told me that it would hurt his

self-respect that any other man

should find the money for such an

object, and that though he was a

poor man himself he would devote

his last penny to removing the

obstacles which divided us.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

And he made you swear to say

nothing about your appointment with

Sir Charles?

LAURA LYONS

He did. He said that the death was

a very mysterious one, and that I

should certainly be suspected if

the facts came out. He frightened

me into remaining silent.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

I think that on the whole you have

had a fortunate escape. You have

had him in your power and he knew

it, and yet you are alive.

Holmes leaves as brusquely as he came in, followed by

Watson.

CONFRONTATION WITH THE HOUND

EXT. Train platform at Coombe Tracey station, late

afternoon. Holmes and Watson wait. The train comes in.

Lestrade gets off, recognizes Holmes and Watson, the three

shake hands.

EXT. The moor, early evening. A hired wagonette carrying

Holmes, Watson and Lestrade is on the way to Merripit House.

Watson and Lestrade want to talk about the case but

understand they should not do so within earshot of the

driver.

109.

LESTRADE

Chilly weather tonight, huh?

DR. WATSON

Yes, quite.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

We will take the London fog out of

your throat, Lestrade.

The wagonette stops far short of Merripit House. Holmes pays

off the driver, who then goes back in the direction he came.

Holmes, Watson and Lestrade tiptoe a little closer to the

house. They hide behind some rocks.

LESTRADE

(whispering)

We are to wait here?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(whispering)

Yes.

(to Watson)

What are those latticed windows at

the end?

DR. WATSON

(whispering)

The kitchen windows.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(whispering)

And the one beyond?

DR. WATSON

(whispering)

The dining room.

Watson creeps towards the house for a closer look. He sees

through the window that Stapleton and Sir Henry are smoking

cigars, and that Stapleton is talking a lot while Sir Henry

looks distraught. Stapleton excuses himself, goes outside.

Watson hears the SOUND of a key turning in a lock, then some

SCUFFLING NOISES. Watson sees Stapleton rejoin Sir Henry in

the dining room. Watson creeps back towards Holmes and

Lestrade.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(whispering)

Is the lady there?

110.

DR. WATSON

(whispering)

No.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(whispering)

Where could she be?

A look at the house confirms that only the kitchen and the

dining room have lights on. A dense white fog is moving

towards the house.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(whispering)

It’s moving towards us.

DR. WATSON

(whispering)

Is that serious?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(whispering)

Our success and even his life may

depend upon his coming out before

the fog is over the path.

The fog starts to envelop the house. They faintly see Sir

Henry leaving the house. Sir Henry gets closer until they

can see him. Sir Henry is constantly looking over his

shoulder yet fails to notice Holmes, Watson or Lestrade. Sir

Henry goes past the three of them.

LESTRADE

(yelling)

Oh my God!

Lestrade throws himself face downward upon the ground.

Holmes and Watson spring up from behind the rocks. Through

the fog, they see the HOUND coming towards them, an enormous

coal-black animal, with fire bursting from his open mouth,

his eyes glowing with a smouldering glare, his muzzle and

hackles and dewlap outlined in flickering flame.

The Hound passes by Holmes and Watson, who stand amazed.

Then Holmes fires one bullet at the Hound, but misses.

Watson fires another bullet, and the Hound lets out a

hideous HOWL but continues on track for Sir Henry.

Holmes runs frantically towards the Hound, and then Watson

starts running in the same direction, followed by Lestrade.

The Hound hurls Sir Henry to the ground. Holmes fires five

bullets at the Hound. With a last HOWL OF AGONY and a

vicious snap in the air, the Hound rolls upon his back, four

feet pawing furiously, and then falls limp upon his side.

111.

Watson, now caught up, stoops, panting, and presses his

pistol to the dreadful, shimmering head, but does not press

the trigger, realizing that the giant Hound is dead. Holmes

tears away the collar of Sir Henry’s shirt. Sir Henry gasps

for air.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Are you alright?

SIR HENRY

(barely able to talk)

What was that?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

It’s dead, whatever it is. We’ve

laid the family ghost once and

forever.

Watson places his hand upon the Hound’s glowing muzzle, then

holds up his fingers to see that they smoulder and gleam in

the darkness.

DR. WATSON

A phosphorescent.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Quite a cunning preparation of it.

(to Sir Henry)

We owe you a deep apology, Sir

Henry, for having exposed you to

this fright. I was prepared for a

hound, but not for such a creature

as this.

SIR HENRY

You saved my life.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Having first endangered it. Are you

strong enough to stand?

Watson gives Sir Henry a sip of brandy. Sir Henry staggers

to his feet, and with Holmes and Watson’s help, sits down on

a rock.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Watson, take him back to the Hall.

Lestrade and I will go after

Stapleton.

INT. Merripit House, night. Holmes and Lestrade clear each

room until finding one that is locked. Lestrade kicks down

the door. The room’s walls are covered with preserved

112.

butterflies. In the middle of the room, there is a post,

with a woman tied to it and covered. Holmes and Lestrade

untie her and ungag her, revealing Miss Stapleton, with the

red weal of a whiplash across her neck. Holmes and Lestrade

get her on a chair, Lestrade gives her a bit of brandy.

MISS STAPLETON

(struggling to speak)

Is he safe? Has he escaped?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

He can’t escape us, madam.

MISS STAPLETON

I meant Sir Henry. Is he safe?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Yes.

MISS STAPLETON

(genuinely relieved)

Thank God.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Where can we find your husband?

MISS STAPLETON

(with a little more strength)

There is but one place where he can

have fled. There is an old tin mine

on an island in the heart of the

Mire. It was there that he kept his

Hound and there also he had made

preparations so that he might have

a refuge. That is where he would

fly.

Lestrade goes look out the window.

LESTRADE

There is no way to chase him in

that fog.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

We’ll have to wait till morning.

INT. Baskerville Hall, Sir Henry’s bedroom, night. Sir Henry

is in bed, delirious with fever. Dr. Mortimer is listening

to Sir Henry’s heartbeat through a stethoscope. Holmes comes

in.

113.

SIR HENRY

What about Beryl?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

She’s alright, but there is

something you must know. She is

Stapleton’s wife, not his sister.

But she refused to help him in his

scheme against you, and for that he

beat her.

Sir Henry tries to sit up.

DR. MORTIMER

You should rest, Sir Henry.

SIR HENRY

Tell her that--

Sir Henry passes out.

THE MORNING AFTER

INT. Baskerville Hall, Sir Henry’s room, morning. Sir Henry

is sitting up in bed. Barrymore brings breakfast in bed.

SIR HENRY

Thank you, Barrymore.

DR. MORTIMER

A week’s bed rest and you will be

good as new.

SIR HENRY

A whole week?

DR. MORTIMER

Doctor’s orders.

Sir Henry bites a muffin.

SIR HENRY

Where are Holmes and Dr. Watson?

DR. MORTIMER

They went with Miss Staple, I mean,

Mrs. Stapleton, to the Grimpen

Mire, where her husband might have

fled.

114.

SIR HENRY

(almost a question)

She tried to warn me.

DR. MORTIMER

Yes, she did.

EXT. The Grimpen Mire, morning. Miss Stapleton guides Holmes

and Watson, as they go through the bog ankle-deep in the

mud.

MISS STAPLETON

We planted the guiding wands

together, he and I, to mark the

pathway through the Mire. Oh, if I

could only have plucked them out

yesterday.

She points to a wand and goes towards it, followed by Holmes

and Watson. Then she stops and looks around puzzled.

MISS STAPLETON

There should be another one right

about here.

From amid a tuft of cotton grass, there is a black boot

projecting up out of the slime. Holmes sinks to his waist as

he steps from the path to seize it, and Watson and Miss

Stapleton drag him out before he can sink. Holmes holds the

old black boot in the air.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Meyers, Toronto. It was worth the

mud bath.

A little further away than where the boot was, they notice

Stapleton’s hat.

DR. WATSON

He got at least this far.

Holmes, Watson and Miss Stapleton walk back to firmer

ground. Watson takes a last look at the Grimpen Mire.

DR. WATSON

Somewhere in the heart of that

great mire, that cold and

cruel-hearted man is forever

buried.

115.

A RETROSPECTION

EXT. Baker Street, a raw and foggy night in November.

INT. 221B Baker Street. The fireplace blazes brightly,

Holmes sits to one side of it and Watson to the other.

DR. WATSON

There are some details of the

Baskerville case that are still

unclear to me.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Such as?

DR. WATSON

There is no doubt in my mind that

Stapleton was a Baskerville, and

yet, I’m not sure how he fits into

the family treee.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

As you remember, Dr. Mortimer said

that Sir Charles’s youngest

brother, Rodger, fled to South

America, and everyone assumed he

died there unmarried and childless.

But he did in fact have a son, also

called Rodger. The young Rodger

married Beryl Garcia, one of the

beauties of Costa Rica, and after

embezzling a considerable sum of

public money, came to England under

the name of Vandeleur, and started

a school in Yorkshire.

DR. WATSON

So Sir Henry and Stapleton were

cousins?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Yes. When you first met Stapleton,

as I will continue to call him, he

let it slip that he had been a

schoolmaster. Once I read that in

your report, I was able to trace

his progress from South America to

Dartmoor.

DR. WATSON

When did you first realize that a

real flesh and blood, natural hound

was involved?

116.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Oh, that’s an easy one, Watson!

When Sir Henry’s new boot was

returned and his old boot stolen.

INT. Northumberland Hotel, Sir Henry’s room, view from the

floor, under the bed. We see two pairs of boots, one new,

one old. A THIEF with a stump leg comes into the room and

puts one of the new boots on his good leg.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(voice-over)

To wear it, a thief would of course

prefer the new boot.

With the boot securely on his good foot, the thief leaves

the room.

EXT. By the Northumberland Hotel, night. Stapleton puts the

new boot the nose of an ordinary BLOODHOUND.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(voice-over)

But to give Sir Henry’s scent to a

hound, the new boot was of course

useless.

Stapleton takes the new boot away, but the Bloodhound,

instead of giving chase, lies down like he’s going to go to

sleep.

INT. Northumberland Hotel, staff office. Stapleton, with his

fake black beard, is holding the new boot in his hands as he

talks to the SHOESHINER.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(voice-over)

This also demonstrates that

Stapleton had the boots or

chamber-maid of the hotel well

bribed to help him in his design.

Stapleton angrily tosses the new boot in the air, the

Shoeshiner catches it.

INT. 221B Baker Street.

DR. WATSON

And what of the Hound when his

master was here in London, dogging

Sir Henry?

117.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

I believe he was cared for by

Stapleton’s servant Anthony, who

knew the Stapletons from his

school-mastering days.

DR. WATSON

I’ve also wondered about how you

lived in that inhospitable stone

hut upon the moor.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

My hardships were not so great as

you imagined, though such trifling

details must never interfere with

the investigation of a case. I

stayed for the most part at Coombe

Tracey, and only used the hut when

it was necessary to be near the

scene of action.

DR. WATSON

There only remains one difficulty.

If Stapleton came into the

succession, how could he explain

the fact that he, the heir, had

been living unannounced under

another name so close to the

property? How could he claim it

without causing suspicion and

inquiry?

SHERLOCK HOLMES

From my conversations with Mrs.

Stapleton, it appears that her

husband had considered three

possible ways to go about it.

EXT. The British Embassy in Panama. Stapleton is walking

towards the gate.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(voice-over)

He might claim the property from

South America, establish his

identity before the British

authorities there and so obtain the

fortune without ever coming to

England at all.

EXT. A tailor’s shop in London. Stapleton walks out, with a

fake limp, wearing glasses and a mustache.

118.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(voice-over)

Or he might adopt an elaborate

disguise during the short time that

he need be in London.

INT. A room at the Northumberland Hotel. Stapleton is

reviewing some documents with an ACCOMPLICE.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

(voice-over)

Or, again, he might furnish an

accomplice with the proofs and

papers, putting him in as heir, and

retaining a claim upon some

proportion of his income.

INT. 221B Baker Street.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

We cannot doubt from what we know

of him that he would have found

some way out of the difficulty.

DR. WATSON

Well, I think that explains

everything.

The fire in the fireplace has dwindled and Watson makes a

move towards stoking it.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

I have a box for "Les Huguenots".

Might I trouble you then to be

ready in half an hour, and we can

stop at Marcini’s for a little

dinner on the way?

We hear the Overture to "Les Huguenots".

FADE OUT.