I love this movie so much

Simply A Masterpiece

Overrated

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

This classic film had been listed in the television schedules a number of times, but I kept either missing it, but I finally got the opportunity to watch it, based on the book by Robert Louis Stevenson (Treasure Island, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), directed by Robert Wise (The Day the Earth Stood Still, West Side Story, The Sound of Music). Basically set in the year 1831, in Edinburgh, Scotland, renowned surgeon and now teacher Dr. Wolfe "Toddy" MacFarlane (Henry Daniell) runs a medical school. MacFarlane's prize student is Donald Fettes (Russell Wade), he is interested in helping young girl Georgina (Sharyn Moffett), she has lost the use of her legs, Fettes is certain that MacFarlane's surgical skills could help her, but MacFarlane is reluctant to do so. MacFarlane is hiding a dark secret, that is slowly becoming obvious to Fettes; he is paying a local cab driver, John Gray (Boris Karloff), to supply him with dead bodies for anatomical research and classroom demonstration purposes. Gray constantly harasses MacFarlane, but graverobbing from cemeteries is difficult with them being increasingly guarded, Gray turns to murder to provide MacFarlane with fresh bodies. Fettes realises how Gray is obtaining the corpses, he discovers his involvement during the infamous Burke & Hare crimes, he is covering the fact that it was in fact MacFarlane that was the real perpetrator. MacFarland's other assistant Joseph (Bela Lugosi) overhears many of their secret discussions, he attempts to blackmail Gray to keep quiet about the body snatching operation, but he chokes Joseph to death. Later, MacFarlane tries to bribe Gray, to stop his tormenting, he refuses to take it, and vows that the doctor will never be rid of him, MacFarlane is enraged, and beats Gray to death. Following an operation on Georgina earlier, Fettes rushes to tell MacFarlane that it was successful, she is able to stand up, but his housekeeper and secret wife Meg Camden (Edith Atwater) tells him the doctor has gone. Fettes finds MacFarlane at a tavern, and they travel in Gray's horse and carriage through a storm, MacFarlane is haunted by the taunting voice of Gray, Fettes checks the corpse in the back of the carriage. MacFarlane sees Gray's the vision of corpse, the horse is spooked, and the carriage breaks loose and falls over a cliff with MacFarlane and the corpse, Fettes looks down at the wreckage and sees MacFarlane's corpse, next to that of a woman. Also starring Rita Corday as Mrs. Marsh and Donna Lee as Street Singer. Karloff is magnificent being the evil cab driver supplying the cadavers, Daniell is good as the desperate anatomist, and Lugosi does well in his moment of support. It does have an overall feeling of creepiness and macabre throughout, it is admittedly a bit slow in places, but when you know that things like this actually happened in the 19th century, it is an atmospheric shocker, an interesting classic horror. Good!

It is one of the strangest Hollywood cases, the way that Boris Karloff became most famous for a role that relied basically more on prosthetics and giant shoes than the actor that wore them. If "Frankenstein" were made today, the monster would probably be played by a stunt man. Hell, they'd probably just use CGI and film the actors talking to a tennis ball.This is strange, you see, because Karloff was an amazing actor. This is probably better witnessed nowhere other than "The Body Snatcher", one of the low-budget horror films produced by Val Lewton for RKO. Watching this, it is hard to believe that anyone ever thought it would be a good idea to restrict Karloff so completely to stilted movement and barely any speech. Some of Lewton's productions, such as "The Leopard Man" and "The Ghost Ship", were hamstrung by the apparent necessary to sell their thriller titles as straight-forward horror films, though there is little of the supernatural in either movie. With "The Body Snatcher", Lewton had a tale of Stevenson's to work with, and the horror is wholly natural.Stevenson was apparently inspired by the true story of Burke and Hare, Scottish graverobbers who graduated to murder and were paid, by doctors, for their handiwork. This story doesn't take a real life case as its inspiration, and then carry on as if that reality never existed. Instead, the real-life case of Burke and Hare hangs over the characters of "The Body Snatcher" like a pall. And what a pall."The Body Snatcher" has to be one of the most atmospheric of all movies. It's black and white... but really more black. Characters seem to disappear into the murk. Some scenes of violent action are not shown, but merely hinted at, and this is one movie where this doesn't seem like a tribute to the censors: it works better unseen, and you are glad it is that way. One moment in particular is both harrowing and heartbreaking.You may have noticed that I have not mentioned the other titan of classic horror films who appears in "The Body Snatcher". If "The Body Snatcher" has an undeniable flaw, it's that Bela Lugosi is pretty much wasted. Apparently there was some acrimony behind the scenes that made Karloff insist he be sidelined for much of this production. He does, however, have one great scene alone with Karloff.And if the chance to see both Dracula and Frankenstein's monster together on screen isn't enough to make you want to watch this classic, nothing will.

lots of carnage in the camera and on docs floor. sad about Bela. carnage pure carnage these guys sure are picky about their reviews so i would take all of this with a grain of salt. its pure pornography given that it is val lewton. send your kids to school and teach your parents well.

The story of this movie is incredibly simple. We have doctor McFarlane who is more of a teacher of medical science than practicing doctor and than there cabbie Gray who is making much more money as a gravedigger for McFarlane. At one day a woman comes to see the doctor with her daughter who is suffering from a paralyzed back. The little girl can be cured by surgery but the doctor has no time and not the appropriate body parts to do so. Gray challenges the doctor to do the operation and even provides him with a fresh dead body. The conflict between the two men escalates, they cannot live with but not without each other either. When the doctor thinks he got rid of the annoying Gray and thinks he can continue his work without the cabbie he is in for a surprise and we as viewers are in for a great finale. Wonderful performances by Boris Karloff as Gray and Henry Daniell as MacFarlane. Other horror icon Bela Lugosi also has a small role.