Robert Louis Stevenson's Scottish Gothic tale of murder and medicine seems so right for Val Lewton to make, not to mention the cast Lewton assembled for RKO in roles that seem so right for them.
Stevenson's not gone back a century for adventure as he did in Treasure Island and Kidnapped. He's stayed in his own century and in this case in his own Scottish background, locating the story in Edinburgh.
Although you wouldn't think so, the film has much more resemblance to Treasure Island than you would think in its characters. The Jim Hawkins of the piece is Russell Wade, a young man whose father is a vicar who has come to study medicine with the great Doctor Henry Daniell, a brilliant surgeon.
In film Henry Daniell is cold and studied arrogance whether he's playing Professor Moriarty, Baron DeVarville, or even the Creole gentleman who wants Stuart Whitman to stay and be hanged rather than violate the code duello in The Commancheros. He's certainly not a lovable rogue, but he and Wade bond as surely as Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver do because Wade like Hawkins realizes this guy for all his faults can teach me something.
Back in the day teaching doctors needed cadavers for illustration and experimentation and would look the other way and not ask too many questions where they come from. This is the part of medicine that Wade gets good and squeamish over. Boris Karloff plays John Grey in the title role of The Body Snatcher. He has a hold over Daniell and Karloff is not real particular where and how he gets his corpses.
Playing Daniell's servant in a supporting role and not getting as much screen time as Karloff and Daniell is Bela Lugosi. I'm not sure why he took a supporting part here, he certainly is not called on for his usual bag of ghoulish tricks. Still it's nice to see him with Karloff and Daniell in what is their picture.
Val Lewton did a fabulous job in creating the mood and tone of the underside of 19th century Edinburgh. This one is a must for fans of the principal players.
Stevenson's not gone back a century for adventure as he did in Treasure Island and Kidnapped. He's stayed in his own century and in this case in his own Scottish background, locating the story in Edinburgh.
Although you wouldn't think so, the film has much more resemblance to Treasure Island than you would think in its characters. The Jim Hawkins of the piece is Russell Wade, a young man whose father is a vicar who has come to study medicine with the great Doctor Henry Daniell, a brilliant surgeon.
In film Henry Daniell is cold and studied arrogance whether he's playing Professor Moriarty, Baron DeVarville, or even the Creole gentleman who wants Stuart Whitman to stay and be hanged rather than violate the code duello in The Commancheros. He's certainly not a lovable rogue, but he and Wade bond as surely as Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver do because Wade like Hawkins realizes this guy for all his faults can teach me something.
Back in the day teaching doctors needed cadavers for illustration and experimentation and would look the other way and not ask too many questions where they come from. This is the part of medicine that Wade gets good and squeamish over. Boris Karloff plays John Grey in the title role of The Body Snatcher. He has a hold over Daniell and Karloff is not real particular where and how he gets his corpses.
Playing Daniell's servant in a supporting role and not getting as much screen time as Karloff and Daniell is Bela Lugosi. I'm not sure why he took a supporting part here, he certainly is not called on for his usual bag of ghoulish tricks. Still it's nice to see him with Karloff and Daniell in what is their picture.
Val Lewton did a fabulous job in creating the mood and tone of the underside of 19th century Edinburgh. This one is a must for fans of the principal players.