In THE BODY SNATCHER, Robert Wise’s creepy, intricate horror film, a 19th-century Edinburgh doctor and medical school professor, Dr. MacFarlane (Henry Daniell), has been relying upon unappeasable grave robber John Grey (Boris Karloff) to provide him with corpses for his experiments. His young assistant, Donald Fettes (Russell Wade), is shocked when he learns how they come to be in possession of their cadavers, but his admiration for MacFarlane leads him to keep the doctor’s illegal dealings a secret. However, when their supply of fresh cadavers begins to dwindle, Grey taunts the doctor with a secret even greater than their body snatching. Meanwhile, Fettes must keep up his hardworking, moral front for Mrs. Marsh (Rita Corday), whose crippled little girl, Georgina (Sharyn Moffett), he’s treating. Based on the famous Robert Louis Stevenson story, THE BODY SNATCHER incorporates a subplot based on the actual account of 19th-century Edinbugh murderers Burke and Hare. This chilling, atmospheric film features what is arguably one of Karloff’s greatest performances as the menacing, murderous Grey. It also features a fantastic scene between Karloff and the legendary Bela Lugosi (as MacFarlane’s servant Joseph), the only one the two ever filmed together.

release year: 1944

star(s): Boris Karloff