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The Body Snatcher ()

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A ruthless doctor and his young prize student find themselves continually harassed by their murderous supplier of illegal cadavers.
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Photos and Videos

113 photos | 1 video

Cast verified as complete

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Cabman John Gray
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Joseph
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Dr. Wolfe 'Toddy' MacFarlane
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Meg Cameron
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Donald Fettes
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Mrs. Marsh (as Rita Corday)
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Georgina Marsh
Donna Lee ...
Street Singer
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ted Billings ...
Townsman (uncredited)
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Mourner (uncredited)
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Richardson - Medical Student (uncredited)
Aina Constant ...
Maidservant (uncredited)
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Mrs. Mary McBride (uncredited)
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Gilchrist - Medical Student (uncredited)
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Dan (uncredited)
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Pub Patron (uncredited)
Jim Moran ...
Angus - Horse Trader (uncredited)
Jack Welch ...
Boy (uncredited)
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Salesman (uncredited)
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Survis - Medical Student (uncredited)

Directed by

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Robert Wise

Written by

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Robert Louis Stevenson ... (short story)
 
Philip MacDonald ... (written for the screen by) and
Val Lewton ... (written for the screen by) (as Carlos Keith)

Produced by

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Jack J. Gross ... executive producer
Val Lewton ... producer

Music by

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Roy Webb

Cinematography by

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Robert De Grasse ... director of photography

Editing by

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J.R. Whittredge ... (as J. R. Whittredge)

Art Direction by

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Albert S. D'Agostino
Walter E. Keller

Set Decoration by

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Darrell Silvera
John Sturtevant

Costume Design by

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Renié

Makeup Department

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Mel Berns ... makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Harry Scott ... assistant director
Nate Levinson ... assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department

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Bailey Fesler ... recorded by
Terry Kellum ... rerecording by

Stunts

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Carey Loftin ... stunt double: (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department

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Charles Burke ... camera operator (uncredited)

Music Department

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C. Bakaleinikoff ... musical director

Additional Crew

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Mario Besesti ... italian voice dubbing: Bela Lugosi (uncredited)
Lola Braccini ... italian voice dubbing: Mary Gordon (uncredited)
Dhia Cristiani ... italian voice dubbing: Rita Corday (uncredited)
Mario Ferrari ... italian voice dubbing: Boris Karloff (uncredited)
Tina Lattanzi ... italian voice dubbing: Edith Atwater (uncredited)
Giuseppe Rinaldi ... italian voice dubbing: Russell Wade (uncredited)
Sandro Ruffini ... italian voice dubbing: Henry Daniell (uncredited)
Crew verified as complete

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

In Edinburgh in 1831, Dr. Wolfe MacFarlane runs a medical school where Donald Fettes is a student. Fettes is interested in helping a young girl who has lost the use of her legs. He is certain that MacFarlane's surgical skills could be put to great use but he is reluctant to do so. The good Dr. MacFarlane has a secret that soon becomes all too obvious to young Fettes, who has only recently been promoted as his assistant: he has been paying a local cabbie, John Gray, to supply him with dead bodies for anatomical research. Gray constantly harasses MacFarlane and clearly has a hold over him dating to a famous trial many years before where Gray refused to identify the man for whom he was robbing graves. Fettes isn't aware of any of this but soon realizes exactly how Gray obtains the bodies they use in their anatomy classes. Written by garykmcd

Plot Keywords
Taglines INVADED!...the sanctuary of the Dead!...by the Hero of Horror!...and the Master of Menace! See more »
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Parents Guide View content advisory »
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Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • El profanador de tumbas (United States, Spanish title)
  • Robert Louis Stevenson's The Body Snatcher (United States)
  • Robert Louis Stevenson's The Body Snatcher (United Kingdom)
  • Le Récupérateur de cadavres (France)
  • Der Leichendieb (Germany)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 78 min
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Filming Locations

Box Office

Budget $125,000 (estimated)

Did You Know?

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Trivia Although based on a fictional short story by Robert Louis Stevenson, the author came up with the idea from actual events occurring in 19th century England and Edinburgh, Scotland in 1827, called the West Port murders of 1828. At that time, medical schools lacked sufficient funding or the resources to provide their students with cadavers for study. Seeing a financial opportunity there, William Burke suggested to his landlord, William Hare, that they sell the body of a recently deceased boarder to Dr. Robert Knox, an instructor at a Surgeon's Square anatomy school. Knox was grateful to have a specimen for his class and Burke and Hare began a lucrative operation that quickly moved from grave-robbing to murder. They killed their victims by suffocating or "burking" them. Estimates were that they murdered up to 28 people, preying on drunks, prostitutes, and the destitute elderly. See more »
Goofs At the beginning, a castle is shown during the credits, then "In Edinburgh In 1831-"; then after that there is a closer view of the castle and a horse and carriage. Two or three automobiles are parked next to the castle. See more »
Movie Connections Edited into Mondo Lugosi - A Vampire's Scrapbook (1987). See more »
Soundtracks Huntingtower See more »
Crazy Credits Closing credits epilogue: "It is through error that man tries and rises. It is through tragedy he learns. All the roads of learning begin in darkness and go out into the light" Hippocrates of Cos See more »
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.
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