Two men go into business supplying medical colleges with cadavers by robbing graves.
From "Dexter" to The Suicide Squad, here are our picks for the reboots and remakes we're most excited for in 2021 and beyond.
From the iconic to the eclectic, relive the most memorable moments from the Oscars red carpet.
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Share this Rating
Title: Burke & Hare (1972)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
Edit
Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Paul Luty | ... | Cruncher | |
 |
Roy Macready | ... | Merrilees |
| Derren Nesbitt | ... | Burke | |
|
|
Susan Coates | ... | Polly |
| Françoise Pascal | ... | Marie | |
|
|
Christine Pilgrim | ... | Rosie |
|
|
Joan Carol | ... | Madame Thompson |
| Robin Hawdon | ... | Lord Angus McPhee | |
|
|
Kenneth Thornett | ... | Councillor Gordon |
| Yutte Stensgaard | ... | Janet | |
|
|
Katya Wyeth | ... | Natalie (as Katya Wyath) |
|
|
Caroline Yates | ... | Annie |
| Glynn Edwards | ... | Hare | |
| Yootha Joyce | ... | Mrs. Hare | |
| Dee Shenderey | ... | Mrs. Burke | |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
Storyline
Two men go into business supplying medical colleges with cadavers by robbing graves.
Taglines:
The pimps and the prostitutes and the body-snatchers. The brothels and dens of iniquity.Genres:
HorrorParents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents »
Edit
Dr. Knox: He was a great barrel-chest of a man - heart like a steam engine, lungs like a pair of bellows. "Slip your trews down, man," I say. So he lets his trews fall down round his feet. "And your under-drawers," I say. "How can I examine you with your drawers on?" "I'd rather not," he says. "I'm very sensitive - it's my person, it's very small". "Good heavens, man!" I say, "That's nothing to worry about. I see dozens of them every day - big ones, small ...
[...]
See more »
(uncredited)
Lyrics by Thomas Moore
Performed by Glynn Edwards
[Tune: "The Moreen" (Irish traditional)]
See more »
Did You Know?
Goofs
When Daft Jamie is being shown at the medical school, in the close-up of his foot, his toes move. See more »Quotes
[telling an anecdote over dinner with Dr Selby]Dr. Knox: He was a great barrel-chest of a man - heart like a steam engine, lungs like a pair of bellows. "Slip your trews down, man," I say. So he lets his trews fall down round his feet. "And your under-drawers," I say. "How can I examine you with your drawers on?" "I'd rather not," he says. "I'm very sensitive - it's my person, it's very small". "Good heavens, man!" I say, "That's nothing to worry about. I see dozens of them every day - big ones, small ...
[...]
See more »
Alternate Versions
The UK cinema version was cut by the BBFC to remove a shot of Hare stabbing a man with a broken bottle during a fight and a scene where a prostitute 'corrects' her male client by beating him with a cane. See more »Soundtracks
The Minstrel Boy(uncredited)
Lyrics by Thomas Moore
Performed by Glynn Edwards
[Tune: "The Moreen" (Irish traditional)]
See more »
Frequently Asked Questions
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
Edit
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
UKLanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
3 February 1972 (UK) See more »Also Known As:
The Bodysnatchers See more »Filming Locations:
Twickenham Film Studios, St Margarets, Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UKCompany Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Two men go into business supplying medical colleges with cadavers by robbing graves.
What you might recall about this film more than anything else is its theme song, which is certainly rather fun and moving. Bringing this tale to life is important and a great addition to horror cinema. Sure, it had been done before as "The Body Snatcher" and "The Flesh and the Fiends"... but it is my understanding that this was the first to be so explicit in the title.
The film also asks another question, perhaps philosophical or ethical: do dead bodies have value? Certainly murder is a terrible crime, but what of people who died naturally? Certainly their owners do longer need them -- why not be taken for medical science? (We now have donor cards and the like, but indeed, how were surgeons to learn their craft without practice?)