A ruthless doctor and his young prize student find themselves continually harassed by their murderous supplier of illegal cadavers.A ruthless doctor and his young prize student find themselves continually harassed by their murderous supplier of illegal cadavers.A ruthless doctor and his young prize student find themselves continually harassed by their murderous supplier of illegal cadavers.
- Awards
- 3 nominations
Paula Corday
- Mrs. Marsh
- (as Rita Corday)
Ted Billings
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Bobby Burns
- Mourner
- (uncredited)
Robert Clarke
- Richardson - Medical Student
- (uncredited)
Aina Constant
- Maidservant
- (uncredited)
Mary Gordon
- Mrs. Mary McBride
- (uncredited)
Carl Kent
- Gilchrist - Medical Student
- (uncredited)
Milton Kibbee
- Dan
- (uncredited)
Ethan Laidlaw
- Pub Patron
- (uncredited)
Jim Moran
- Angus - Horse Trader
- (uncredited)
Jack Welch
- Boy
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis film featured the 8th and last on-screen teaming of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. Filming took place October 25-November 17 1944, delaying the completion of Karloff's Isle of the Dead (1945).
- GoofsAt the very beginning, they show a castle during the credits, then "In Edinburgh In 1831-" then show a closer up of the same castle and a horse and carriage, and you can clearly see two or three automobiles parked next to the castle.
- Quotes
Cabman John Gray: I am a small man, a humble man. Being poor I have had to do much that I did not want to do. But so long as the great Dr McFarlane comes to my whistle, that long am I a man. If I have not that then I have nothing. Then I am only a cabman and a grave robber. You'll never get rid of me, Toddy.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits prologue: In Edinburgh, in 1831-
- Alternate versionsFive cuts were made by the British censors on its initial release, mainly references to Burke and Hare, the original bodysnatchers. This cut print has been the only one available in the UK until 1998, when a complete version appeared on the budget video label 4-Front.
- ConnectionsEdited into Mondo Lugosi - A Vampire's Scrapbook (1987)
- SoundtracksHuntingtower
(uncredited)
("When Ye Gang Awa, Jamie")
(Traditional Scottish folk song)
sung by Donna Lee
Featured review
Good terror movie with with excellent dark and light atmosphere creating an eerie and creepy scenario
This interesting story is adapted from a novel by Robert Louis Stevenson . It concerns John Gray (Boris Karloff) , he's a cabman who provides dead bodies for illegal medical research in charge of Dr. MacFarland (Henry Daniell) . Then Gray is blackmailed by MacFarland's servant (Bela Lugosi) . Meanwhile , his doctor assistant Donald (Russell Wade) tries to help a mother and her paralytic daughter , and for experiments , he asks for help John Gray in order to get corpses.
This is a fine , suspenseful and intriguing terror movie based on the actual characters of the nasty gravediggers Burke and Hare that have been adapted a number of times . Tension , horror, thriller appear lurking , menacing in graveyard , dark slums , home stairs , rooms and cementery . The film gets the expressionist German atmosphere , thanks to cameraman Robert De Grasse . He along with photographers Nicholas Musuruka and John Alton are the main artificers of noir cinema atmosphere . Casting is frankly outstanding . Terrific Boris Karloff as a sinister graverobber , he creates authentic frightening and panic , impressive Bela Lugosi , both of whom share the last creepy scenes together and Henry Daniell does an equally compelling turn . Usual musician RKO , Roy Webb , composes an adequate musical score with habitual musical director Bakaleinikoff . Exciting screenplay by Philip McDonald and Val Lewton -under pseudonym Carlos Keith- . The motion picture was well directed by Robert Wise and magnificently produced by Val Lewton . RKO's Lewton is a great producer of horror classics , such as : ¨Cat people¨, ¨Leopard man¨, ¨I walked with a Zombi¨,¨Ghost ship¨, among others . Rating : Better than average , well worth checking out. The tale will appeal to Boris Karloff fans and cinema classics buffs.
This is a fine , suspenseful and intriguing terror movie based on the actual characters of the nasty gravediggers Burke and Hare that have been adapted a number of times . Tension , horror, thriller appear lurking , menacing in graveyard , dark slums , home stairs , rooms and cementery . The film gets the expressionist German atmosphere , thanks to cameraman Robert De Grasse . He along with photographers Nicholas Musuruka and John Alton are the main artificers of noir cinema atmosphere . Casting is frankly outstanding . Terrific Boris Karloff as a sinister graverobber , he creates authentic frightening and panic , impressive Bela Lugosi , both of whom share the last creepy scenes together and Henry Daniell does an equally compelling turn . Usual musician RKO , Roy Webb , composes an adequate musical score with habitual musical director Bakaleinikoff . Exciting screenplay by Philip McDonald and Val Lewton -under pseudonym Carlos Keith- . The motion picture was well directed by Robert Wise and magnificently produced by Val Lewton . RKO's Lewton is a great producer of horror classics , such as : ¨Cat people¨, ¨Leopard man¨, ¨I walked with a Zombi¨,¨Ghost ship¨, among others . Rating : Better than average , well worth checking out. The tale will appeal to Boris Karloff fans and cinema classics buffs.
helpful•60
- ma-cortes
- Jul 23, 2008
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Robert Louis Stevenson's Der Leichendieb
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $125,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 18 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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