As much as I love the CBS Radio Mystery Theater it's hard for me to warm to their adaptations of Sherlock Homes. The reason that CBSRMT waited until 1977 to even attempt Holmes was probably the difficulty in casting Homes. To me Kevin McCarthy was not a convincing Holmes. In this particular episode there is a lack of decisiveness in the way Holmes speaks. This improved in the later adaptations in which he retained the role, but still not as satisfying as voices like Sir John Gielgud, or Orson Welles in The Mercury Theater.

Holmes is Holmes. As far as I am concerned, the casting is secondary. My beef with with Radio Mystery Theatre is how dressed the stories up with extraneous elements that did not appear in the Canon.

Sherlock Holmes investigates the legend of a ghostly hound that haunts the moors that surround the Baskerville estate.

Sherlock Holmes. I've never been a huge fan... always felt that Holmes was too inbelievable. Guess I'm just a Watsonian type person but not as impressed! hahaha. The story of Henry Baskerville, the heir to a fortune after the death of his wealthy uncle. An old legend about a huge evil hound leads everyone to believe that his death was not an accident and Holmes is brought in to solve the problem.

A Sherlock Holmes mystery.

Convoluted and confusing. Characters & situations pop in and out as this episode rolls along to its conclusion. Bright spot Robert Dryden is always a delight, but this radio play attempts to cover too much. I'm not a fan of Sherlock Holmes stories on Mystery Theater and this episode cements my opinion. 1 star our of 5. JUROR #4

CBSRMT always did justice to Holmes.

I rate this episode ★★★★☆ for GOOD. I give props to Murray Burnett for writing many adaptations of Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Since this story is based on a novel, it would’ve been great if it was expanded to 5 parts just like the CBSRMT episodes of NEFERTITI, THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII, THE LEGEND OF ALEXANDER, and LES MERABLES. You have the main characters of course, but not every minor character, such as Laura Lyons and Mr. Frankland (Laura’s father). Read the novel or see the film adaptations and you’ll know who they are. Our Host’s contributions were short, but plain simple. In E.G. Marshall’s Prologue, he said he remembers “The Hound of Heaven” poem by Francis Thompson. Were those his own words or Murray Burnett’s? In ACT-1, he gets our attention by focusing on Holmes & Watson: 2 undying legends from 221B Baker Street. In ACT-2 he quoted someone about Doyle’s work by saying, “Be they ever so humble, there’s no police like Holmes.” It’s a mystery if that was a pun or a comment. But then later, he talks about the seeds of our own destruction; which make sense because of the way these characters react based on their predicaments. In ACT-3, not only he focused on thresholds, but also Doyle’s life. In his Epilogue, he mentions Doyle again that he wanted to kill off Holmes, but was brought back by popular demand. SPECIAL NOTE: check out #1271-THE SILVER MIRROR that’s about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his mysterious journey after killing off Holmes. The sound effects of the ringing doorbell, pages of the manuscript, the wagonette to Baskerville, the howling wind, cups clinking, door tapping code, gun fire, and of course the howling of the mysterious hound were truly effective in this tale. The music was captivating as well. Tunes filled with tension, suspense, and curiosity where CBSRMT fans can tune in and become as pensive as Holmes & Watson. Speaking of which, bravo to our talented cast: Kevin McCarthy (as Sherlock Holmes), Lloyd Battista (as Dr. John H. Watson), Carol Teitel (as Mrs. Harrison & Beryl Stapleton), Robert Dryden (as Sir Henry Baskerville), and Court Benson (as Dr. James Mortimer & Jack Stapleton). Only 3 actors in the CBSRMT series got to play Sherlock Holmes and I believe that Kevin McCarthy was the best, even the way he said, “Elementary, my dear Watson” made it sound like he was Holmes. The other actors were John Beal (#1153-THE VANISHING HERD) and Gordon Gould (#1238-THE MUSGRAVE RITUAL, #1310-THE NAVAL TREATY, and #1396-THE REIGATE MYSTERY). Check out the other episodes where Kevin McCarthy played Holmes (#0613-THE SIGN OF FOUR, #0623-A STUDY IN SCARLET, #0641-THE ADVENTURE OF THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE, #0657-THE BOSCOMBE POOL MYSTERY, #0673-THE ADVENTURE OF THE SPECKLED BAND, #0680-A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA, #0688-THE ADVENTURE OF THE BLUE CARBUNCLE, #0721-THE ADVENTURE OF THE BERYL CORONET, and #0740-THE GLORIA SCOTT). Until next time…pleasant dreams. =0)

Sherlock Holmes. Going to make my girlfriend listen to this tonight. (Evil laugh)

Sherlock Holmes played by Kevin McCarthy from #0609-THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES.is my favorite one

Good adaptation of the book. Enjoyed the listen.

One of my favorite episodes! I appreciate you leaving the news and the commercials in the show, what a glimpse of history. Thank you.