Der Hund Von Baskerville (1914)

After murdering his uncle, his nephew (Friedrich Kuhne) plots to kill the heir (Erwin Fichter) to the Baskerville fortune so that he, as the last surviving heir, will inherit the Baskerville castle and lands. Loosely based on the classic novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and directed by Rudolf Meinert. Conan Doyle's novel has seen countless adaptations for the stage, film and television. This one is one of the weakest. There's no mystery because at the very beginning of the movie, we see the nephew using a dog to perpetuate the myth of the Baskerville curse so he can inherit the fortune. As for the "ferocious" hound, he's rather a playful sweetie. So it's rather disappointing when Sherlock Holmes (Alwin Neub) enters the story because we know more than he does. The film benefits from the expressionistic cinematography of Werner Brandes and Karl Freund which gives the film a visual style like the human eyes staring out of a statue or when Holmes slides down a long curved tube like waste being discharged by the human body. The character of Doctor Watson is a mere walk on, so much so that the actor playing him doesn't even get a film credit. Of archival interest to Sherlock Holmes completists. With Hanni Weisse and Andres Von Horn.