IMDb > The Doctor and the Devils (1985)

The Doctor and the Devils (1985) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
5.9/10   333 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
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Director:
Freddie Francis
Writers:
Dylan Thomas (earlier screenplay)
Ronald Harwood (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Doctor and the Devils on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
4 October 1985 (USA) more
Genre:
Horror | Drama more
Plot:
Grave robbers supply a doctor with bodies to test on. | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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User Comments:
THE DOCTOR AND THE DEVILS (Freddie Francis, 1985) **1/2 more (17 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Timothy Dalton ... Doctor Thomas Rock

Jonathan Pryce ... Robert Fallon
Twiggy ... Jennie Bailey

Julian Sands ... Dr. Murray

Stephen Rea ... Timothy Broom
Phyllis Logan ... Elizabeth Rock
Lewis Fiander ... Dr. Thornton
Beryl Reid ... Mrs. Flynn

T.P. McKenna ... O'Connor

Patrick Stewart ... Prof. Macklin
Siân Phillips ... Annabella Rock
Philip Davis ... Billy Bedlam

Philip Jackson ... Andrew Merry-Lees
Danny Schiller ... Praying Howard
Bruce Green ... Mole
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
93 min
Country:
UK | USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby
Certification:
Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (cut) | USA:R
Filming Locations:
Lee International Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK
Company:
Brooksfilms more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Last cinema film of Jack May. more
Quotes:
Doctor Thomas Rock: I set myself up as a God over death. more
Movie Connections:
Version of The Greed of William Hart (1948) more
Soundtrack:
TAINTED HANDS more

FAQ

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
THE DOCTOR AND THE DEVILS (Freddie Francis, 1985) **1/2, 19 October 2008
6/10
Author: MARIO GAUCI (marrod@melita.com) from Naxxar, Malta

This is the third historical grave-robbing film I've watched after THE BODY SNATCHER (1945) and THE FLESH AND THE FIENDS (1960) – for the record, other cinematic versions of the same events out there are the Tod Slaughter vehicle THE GREED OF WILLIAM HART aka HORROR MANIACS (1948) and BURKE AND HARE (1972). While certainly the least of the three I'm familiar with (due perhaps to its graphic wallowing in the lurid details of the plot), it's pretty good for a product of its time (incidentally, the mid-1980s produced an unexpected but all-too-brief outburst of Gothic Horror which also included Franc Roddam's THE BRIDE [1985] and Ken Russell's Gothic [1986]).

The film was produced by Mel Brooks' company which had also been behind David Lynch's THE ELEPHANT MAN (1980) – which, incidentally, had marked Freddie Francis' own return to being a director of photography! Timothy Dalton as the overzealous doctor has a couple of good scenes in the first half, but he is clearly overshadowed by the more flamboyant turns of Jonathan Pryce and Stephen Rea as the nefarious night diggers. The impressive cast is completed by Twiggy, Sian Phillips, Beryl Reid, Julian Sands and Patrick Stewart; Twiggy (as another whore with a heart of gold) gets to sing as well and, predictably, medical student Sands falls for her charms.

I recall the film playing theatrically but, needless to say, I was too young to catch it back then. It's based on an original, unproduced script by celebrated Welsh playwright Dylan Thomas – adapted here by future Oscar-winning screenwriter Ronald Harwood; curiously, the names of the characters have been changed from the real ones of Knox, Burke and Hare – so had been the case with THE BODY SNATCHER, for that matter, but that one had the excuse of being based on a Robert Louis Stevenson novella! Apart from the starry cast and the film's undeniably evocative look, its main asset is a spare, unusual but effective score provided by longtime Mel Brooks collaborator John Morris.

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