The Doctor and the Devils (1985) User Reviews

Fresh corpses don't come by to easily.

[lost-in-limbo · 7/10 · 1 February 2007]

Dr Thomas Rock is an unorthodox anatomist who runs Edinburgh's School of Anatomy in the 1800s. Although his associates of the trade see his work as outrageous, as he discards tradition framework of the medical establishment. To encourage such knowledge and to dig a little deeper into his work Rock receives corpses from grave-robbers to make up for the few he only receives. Things take a turn for the worst when the slum of Robert Fallon and Timothy Broom find out there's good money in the job, and go one step further by providing on every occasion a 'fresh' corpse for the unconcerned doctor.

I couldn't help but be slightly disappointed by this Mel Brooks produced Gothic take on the true exploits of the infamous grave robbers of the 19th century, Burke and Hare. I believe Val Lewton's "The Body Snatcher (1945)" and "The Flesh and the Fiends (1959)" to be far superior, especially the way they seem to grab you and take you along for the ride. On this effort, I just couldn't get totally involved. The depressingly glum story was shaped off the late Dylan Thomas' rather old screenplay and is very similar to "The Flesh and the Fiends" in plot devices. The cerebrally literate script has plenty layers to work around with and genuinely makes some interesting observations on characters' behavioural habits, social status and the moral high ground of science. With the latter, we've heard it all before, but somewhat it still compels. Although some of sub-plots don't seem to gel and feel rather empty or under written (like the romance between Twiggy and Julian Sands and the affair between Rock's sister and wife). There's a dankly realistic and more an old-fashioned view within its martial and visual craftsmanship.

Directed Freddie Francis competently illustrates the picture with great aplomb and creates a solid period setting that resembles something out of Hammer studios. There's a nitty gritty vibe drummed up on the grimy sets by such gruesome perversion and dread. Where it lingers on it successfully. The dynamic factor of directing the actors and story seemed a little lacking, despite a suspenseful climax and hearty conclusion. This can be really attributed to John Morris' score, which really hangs there in such an mournfully haunting fashion. Focal photography was atmospherically well-etched by Gerry Turpin and Norman Warwick. Now what a cast! Timothy Dalton, Jonathan Pryce, Julian Sands, Twiggy, Stephen Rea and Patrick Stewart. A convincing Dalton is excellent as the work heavily sterile and egotistical Dr Rock. The undoubtedly superb Pryce and Rea are truly disquieting as the scummy lowlifes turned cold-blooded killers, Fallon and Broom. There's a wicked morbid sense of humour running through most of their dialogues. A classy Sands, is simply too one-note and a tailor made Twiggy is quite strong in her part as a prostitute.

A hot and cold fable that I only wished it could keep me engaged throughout the whole experience, rather than in patches. Well-made and acted, but bleakly weary and flat.

Stylish Drama

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 22 September 2014]

In the Nineteenth Century, the renowned professor of anatomy Dr. Thomas Rock (Timothy Dalton) gives classes to neophyte medicine students in the local university. Dr. Rock uses his assistant Dr. Murray (Julian Sands) to buy corpses for his experiments from body snatchers paying a little fortune for the cadavers. When the alcoholic scum Robert Fallon (Jonathan Pryce) and Timothy Broom (Stephen Rea) overhear the conversation of grave-robbers about Dr. Rock, they decide to supply fresher corpses that worth more to the doctor, killing the poor inhabitants. Dr. Murray has unrequited feelings for the cockney whore Jennie Bailey (Twiggy) that usually hangs around with the also prostitute Alice (Nichola McAuliffe). When Dr. Murray discovers that Fallon has just sold the corpse of Alice, he seeks out the worthless Fallon and Broom to stop them from murdering Jennie. Will he arrive in time o save Jennie?

"The Doctor and the Devils" is a stylish drama, but not a horror movie. The costumes, sets and art direction are amazing, with a great reconstitution of the period with muddy streets and dirty people. The excellent cast has great performances, with great names of the British cinema and the story is also good. Unfortunately the screenplay is not good and does not offer the adequate pace for this film. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

Very good flick.

[jetan · 7/10 · 24 February 2000]

The Dylan Thomas screenplay finally makes it to the screen with a few minor alterations. Based on the Burke and Hare vivisectionist murders, this film has a lot of the feel of the old Hammer movies though for the most part it is played quite a bit straighter. Credible performance by 1960's icon Twiggy. Very good, under-rated small feature.

Cushing and Pleasence did it better.

[BA_Harrison · 6/10 · 13 June 2020]

The Doctor and The Devils is, ostensibly, a remake of the The Flesh and The Fiends (1960), which told of the nefarious true-life activities of infamous bodysnatchers and murderers Burke and Hare in the year 1828. In this telling of the story, the names have been changed, but the crimes remain the same: realising that good money can be made from supplying fresh cadavers to anatomical lecturers at a local medical school, a pair of wretched low-lifes turn to murder.

The pair of villains in this instance are Robert Fallon (Jonathan Pryce) and Timothy Broom (Stephen Rea), and the doctor who asks no questions about the origin of his corpses is Thomas Rock (Timothy Dalton). Julian Sands plays Rock's loyal assistant Dr. Murray, who falls for local prostitute Jennie Bailey (Twiggy). When Fallon brings the body of Jennie's close friend Alice to the school, the young doctor fears that Jennie is to be Fallon's next victim and rushes to her rescue.

The penultimate film from horror director Freddie Francis, The Doctor and The Devils is very much like a Hammer movie in look and feel, and will definitely appeal to fans of the 'studio that dripped blood'. However, despite plenty of atmosphere, good production values, an impressive roster of actors (which also includes Beryl Reid and Patrick Stewart), and a screenplay by noted Welsh writer/poet Dylan Thomas, the film is no match for The Flesh and The Fiends.

The pacing is off, with much of the film feeling like padding until such time as Murray is ready to leap to the rescue of Jennie, and, despite a fine cast, no-one is able to rival the brilliance of Peter Cushing and Donald Pleasence, whose memorable turns gave the earlier film such a wonderful, darkly humorous edge. Dalton and company are all fine actors, but even they have their off days, and there are some really dodgy accents on display in this film (Reid is particularly bad and I was glad when her character was finally silenced).

That said, the film is worth a shot for fans of historical horror and those particularly interested in the crimes of Burke and Hare, although I highly recommend seeing The Flesh and The Fiends first.

Great title, great ambiance.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 27 October 2013]

This is a grim, oppressive, stylish take on the Burke and Hare story that has also inspired such films as Robert Wises' "The Body Snatcher". As has been pointed out, this production by Mel Brooks's company Brooksfilms is clearly inspired by Hammer films of the past - right down to the use of renowned cinematographer and sometime director Freddie Francis. The look of this film is incredible, with intense period recreation & depictions of squalor, and limited use of colour. The actors couldn't be better; the roles are well cast all the way down the line. It also poses the kind of moral questions that would naturally arise from such a story: just what should be permissible in the pursuit of knowledge and hopefully betterment of mankind? How far is too far; what should constitute the "moral" thing to do? Francis and his cast & crew do a solid, if not altogether memorable, job of putting it all together.

This is based on a 1940s screenplay by the great playwright Dylan Thomas, which was then revised by Ronald Harwood ("The Dresser", "The Pianist"). It stars a distinguished Timothy Dalton as Thomas Rock, a doctor / researcher / instructor frustrated with having to settle for the bodies of hanged men for study purposes. So he's supplied with bodies by grave robbers including despicable lowlifes Robert Fallon (Jonathan Pryce) and Timothy Broom (Stephen Rea), who recognize the profit to be made from such an activity. Now, when it becomes a matter of bodies needing to be as "fresh" as possible, Fallon and Broom turn out to be willing to turn to murder to achieve the right product.

The wonderful group of actors also features Julian Sands as Murray, Rocks' young associate who falls in love with world weary prostitute Jennie Bailey (Twiggy), Phyllis Logan as Rocks' wife, Sian Phillips as his sister, Beryl Reid as old Mrs. Flynn, and Patrick Stewart as Professor Macklin. They're all convincing in the kind of environment that Hammer always created so well. Pryce is a standout as the depraved Fallon of whom even Broom becomes wary, convinced that Fallon is enjoying the act of murder much too much. The tale ultimately turns rather conventional, but it's still a tale well told, and Rock is commendably played as a two- dimensional character, no true villain but a man with his own sense of right and wrong, and an attitude of "the ends always justify the means". Often the most intriguing characters are ones that occupy "grey areas", and Rock is just such a man.

Highly recommended to those who favour the Gothic horror of decades past.

Seven out of 10.

THE DOCTOR AND THE DEVILS (Freddie Francis, 1985) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 19 October 2008]

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.

Very acceptable take on Dr Knox and Burke and Hare.

[jamesraeburn2003 · 15 October 2018]

Dr Thomas Rock (Timothy Dalton) is a brilliant anatomist who refuses to conform to the rules of the Victorian medical establishment. In order to prove his scientific theories he acquires the services of the body snatchers Fallon (Jonathan Pryce) and Broom (Stephen Rea) who turn to multiple murder to provide him with the raw materials for his research purposes - fresh corpses. But, things go horribly wrong for them after they pick a local prostitute called Jenny Bailey (Twiggy) as a potential victim, whom one of Rock's assistants, Dr Murray (Julian Sands), is in love with and his intervention not only saves her life but brings the pair to justice. Only one of them turns king's evidence while the other is sent to the gallows. But what will all of this mean for Dr Rock's career as a lecturer at the Academy and his pursuit of furthering his profession's knowledge of anatomy?

A very acceptable retelling of Dr Knox and Burke and Hare the grave robbers, which this is in all but name. For anybody who has seen other versions of this story such as John Gilling's marvellous 1959 film, The Flesh And The Fiends, this will provide nothing new. It is also disappointingly tame by comparison since the horrific elements are played down. Nevertheless, the first rate cast does fine work with Pryce and Rea of exceptional note as Burke and Hare, here renamed as Fallon and Broom. Timothy Dalton, who shortly after appearing in this would be selected to succeed Roger Moore in the long running James Bond series, is excellent as Dr Rock skilfully bringing out the ambiguity of his character. For instance, he displays a strong humanitarian concern for the poor and the destitute people who live in the marketplace area of his city whereas his rather pompous and self-satisfied upper class friends and medical colleagues are ignorant of its existence and drown on about how prosperous and "cultured" the city is. Yet, in the pursuit of his obsessive quest for knowledge and expanding the progress of his profession, he has little remorse or concern for the fact that his suppliers of corpses are killing those very unfortunate people in pursuit of profit. Throughout the film the question is posed as to whether the doctor's actions can be justified to a certain degree by the fact that his intention to advance his profession's knowledge in defiance of convention are well intentioned and could potentially save millions of lives. In the acting stakes, only Julian Sands and Twiggy slow the work down as the medical man and prostitute who fall in love, only the latter rejects him because she does not believe that because of her background she can fit in to being an upper class doctor's wife. This is supposed to provide the emotional centre to the story, which was superbly handled by a young Billie Whitelaw and John Cairney in the 1959 Gilling picture; but here it is poorly worked out in the script and Sands and Twiggy appear rather wooden in the roles.

The film is rich in period detail thanks to the superb set design of Robert Laing and the lavish colour Cinemascope camerawork of Gerry Turpin and Norman Warwick, which enhances it with a strong feeling for place (Victorian Edinburgh) and period. Ronald Harwood's script was based on an original screenplay by the poet Dylan Thomas, which at one time was due to be made as a film starring Sir Michael Redgrave and directed by Fritz Lang (and later Nicholas Ray). But, in the end it was never filmed. This interesting but overlooked film was a personal project for veteran cinematographer-director Freddie Francis, but sadly at the time it disappeared without trace due to poor promotion and distribution.

Slow and boring period horror film

[slayrrr666 · 6/10 · 1 November 2006]

"The Doctor and the Devils" is a slow and very underwhelming horror drama.

**SPOILERS**

Needing corpses for his anatomy class, teacher Dr. Thomas Rock, (Timothy Dalton) asks grave-robbers Robert Fallon, (Jonathan Pryce) and Timothy Broom, (Stephen Rea) to supply him with fresh corpses for his class. Complaining about the lack of bodies for him to teach with, his demands for fresher bodies gives Fallon and Broom a license to commit murder, and sell the bodies back to Dr. Rock as simply dead bodies. As the bodies in the class pile up and the controversy over the validity of his experiments continue, Dr. Rock is forced to make a drastic choice regarding the subjects of his class.

The Good News: There are several things in here that are quite nice. This could have been a film of the old Hammer school. The presentation of Edinburgh as a grim and grimily realistic Victorian ghetto. The time frame of the film is expertly captured, with the right Gothic feel in the streets, the general feel from the surroundings, and the overall mood fit right in with the old films of before.

The Bad News: There are several noticeable things off about this one. The pace of the film is the biggest culprit, going off at times on useless tangents. There are so many scenes in here that are inserted for no reason make the film so slow and padded out that it's mostly a bore to sit through. There's no reason why the film needed to include so many scenes with the two men parting as much as it does. They drag the film out very much and doesn't serve much purpose. They don't make is emphasize with them since they're so tedious. The forced romance between one of the robbers and a potential victim is the main one, wildly out of place and sticking out quite obviously. At one point the action stops altogether to allow a character to sing a song and it really slows it down even more. The fact that nothing happens at all isn't much either, and the film plays like a very boring and drawn out film. That hampers the film incredibly.

The Final Verdict: A very slow and boring film with only a couple nice ideas and a few moments of watch-ability to make it worthwhile. If fans of the Hammer films could stay awake, this would be right up their alley, but only those who like these slower build-ups to horror films would enjoy this one. All others are advised to seek caution with this one.

Rated R: Violence, Brief Nudity, several clothed sex scenes and brief aftermath of dead animals

"My name is a ghost to frightened children..."

[utgard14 · 5/10 · 23 May 2014]

Another version of the Burke & Hare grave robber story. On the surface, this one has quite a few interesting things going for it. For starters, the script was based on one originally written in the 1940s by poet Dylan Thomas. That alone would be worth checking any movie out. Then we have, of all people, Mel Brooks producing it even though it's not a comedy at all. Freddie Francis, famed cinematographer and Hammer director, directs this and gives it that sort of throwback Hammer style. That's the film's strongest asset, by the way. To top it all off, there's a nice cast with Timothy Dalton, Jonathan Pryce, Stephen Rea, Julian Sands, and...um, Twiggy.

So, with all of this, why doesn't the movie work better? Well, the main problem is that it's all so drearily serious to the point of being dull. No excitement, no humor, no suspense. It's definitely not a horror movie, either, in case you were led to believe otherwise. Yes the attention to detail and getting the period right is to be acknowledged but it just reminds me why 'realism' is a double-edged sword in films. This looks realistic to the point of being depressing. I won't say you shouldn't see it because it's intriguing enough to warrant a look. But keep expectations low. If you're really jonesing for a grave robber movie, I would suggest you see the Val Lewton/Robert Wise classic The Body Snatcher starring Boris Karloff instead.

Doctor And The Devils

[Spuzzlightyear · 6/10 · 24 January 2013]

Nice retelling of the Burke and Hare murder case, which was about 2 low- life lads in the early part of the 19th century selling off bodies to an all too eager Doctor Of Anatomy. They started off grave robbing, but realized they could get more money if they had fresher bodies.... Actually, this seems more of a remake of the excellent "The Flesh And The Fiends " movie from 1960.., They've made the right move by trimming the plot and getting rid of some characters, perhaps they put more of a cliff hanger ending in there, but that's OK. Of course, Timothy Dalton is no Peter Cushing, but we'll let that slide. Actually contains a great cast for it's time.

Should have been a lot better

[MoneyMagnet · 4/10 · 11 May 2007]

As others have noted, this should have been an excellent Hammer-style film, and it seems to me that that's how most of the actors were instructed to play it... but the screenplay is so leaden, poorly paced, and filled with a lot of dull soliloquies (poor Timothy Dalton is saddled with most of them) that it's all too overblown and self-important. This is an uncharacteristically weak performance from Dalton, although he quietly nails the climactic scene where Dr. Rock finally realizes what he's done. The only actor who comes off really well is Patrick Stewart who is a most welcome sight. Freddie Francis may have been a great cinematographer, but he was a lousy director.

The Doctor is in ... desperate need of fresh corpses!

[Coventry · 9/10 · 13 September 2006]

Unquestionably one of the most fascinating real-life murder cases in the history of mankind is the story of William Burke and William Hare; suppliers of fresh human cadavers for surgeon Robert Knox to study anatomy upon. The facts took place in the late Victorian era, in other words a strictly religious time where scientists could exclusively dispose of the bodies of executed criminals as study material. The lack of serviceable cadavers spawned the malicious business of "body snatching". For a good price, lowlife criminals would dig up newly buried corpses at night and deliver them secretly to the doctors' houses. Obsessed with the payments, which increased remarkably if the bodies were fresher, Burke and Hare quickly converted to murder and, even though Dr. Knox damn well knew about this, he didn't object because the bodies he got were perfect to experiment with. "The Doctor and the Devils" is no less than the fifth film version of this factual murder case and, for some damn reason, just as obscure and hard-to-find as the other four. Personally, I spent quite a few years finding Val Lewton's "The Body Snatcher" and John Gilling's "The Flesh and the Fiends" and I still haven't managed to pick up decent copies of "Burke & Hare" (1972) and "The Greed of William Hart" (1948). Purchasing "The Doctor and the Devils" was quite a difficult mission as well but, if you're also intrigued by the story, it's an absolute must-see! The screenplay was completed by poet Dylan Thomas (in the 1950's already), who changed the names of the characters but sticked truly close to the timing, setting and accurate little details of the murders. The whole depiction of the murderers as well as their victims (prostitutes, beggars, ill people and drunks) is depressing and raw, yet amazingly accurate and even truly disturbing without becoming explicit or gory.

Despite being mainly an American production (with comedy legend Mel Brooks as the unlikely producer) and released during the flamboyant horror period of the mid-80's, "The Doctor and the Devils" truly feels like a good old-fashioned and solid British Gothic movie. Pretty much the type Hammer Studios used to be specialized in. Surely this is no coincidence, given the subject matter and the origin of the facts, but this feeling is also largely created by director Freddie Francis and his overall professional British cast. Francis actually did quite a lot of work for Hammer during the 60's and 70's and has some respectable classics on his repertoire, such as "The Evil of Frankenstein" and "Legend of the Werewolf". The cast, as mentioned before, is pretty great and that only makes it harder to understand why this film is still so under-appreciated. Timothy Dalton is terrific as the ambitious and stubborn Dr. Thomas Rock, constantly battling his superiors and being zealous for the evolution of his profession. But most praise goes out to Jonathan Pryce and Stephen Rea, both playing their roles of greedy and inhuman killers with amazing vigour. Perhaps a bit sad and redundant is the role of Julian Sands ("Gothic", "Boxing Helena") as Dr. Rock's assistant. His pointless romance with the local prostitute Twiggy is the only weak element in the movie. Other than this, the set pieces are very convincing, the cinematography is excellent and the music is downright enchanting. "The Doctor and the Devils" is a great and genuinely chilling movie that urgently deserves to be catapulted out of oblivion.

Slow paced, but creepy and convincing-uncomfortably believable

[mlraymond · 7/10 · 9 November 2007]

This movie is well acted and literate, and boasts a regular Masterpiece Theatre cast. So why is it not more satisfying? The miserable lives of the poor and homeless of 1828 Edinburgh are vividly detailed. I have seldom seen a more alcohol soaked movie. Practically every scene has people drunk already, getting drunk, or scheming to get more liquor. The pervasiveness of alcoholic excess as a way of driving off the demons of poverty and hopelessness has seldom been shown in more graphic detail.

The truly appalling characters of Fallon and Broom are portrayed with utter conviction by Jonathan Pryce and Stephen Rea, with excellent support from other British television and movie stalwarts such as Patrick Stewart and Sian Phillips. Former model Twiggy turns in a very moving portrayal of a young prostitute ,hardened by life at too early an age to accept the love of an earnest young medical student (Julian Sands.) Where the film falls down is in its mixed presentation of gruesome historical reality, lurid horror movie story telling, and the desire to have the film be a class act like something for the BBC.The nasty reality of the real life crimes of Burke and Hare is hardly something that could be overdone, in even the most Grand Guignol of horror movies. This film does not flinch from portraying the ugly reality of the sordid murders, including the two jolly killers getting an old woman drunk, so they can murder her more easily later on. These are matters of historical record.

But there's a sense that the movie wants to be more respectable and holds back a little, unlike the all out Gothic horror of the 1959 Flesh and the Fiends, which conveys the genuine horror of the murders, its chiller movie presentation somehow working to emphasize, rather than diminish, the dreadful catalog of greed and brutality.Oddly, the more conventional horror movie presentation of Flesh and the Fiends tends to work better than its more respectable successor.

One reason might be the large amount of gallows humor and absurdity in it, unlike the extremely serious Doctor and the Devils. The script is very witty, with George Rose and Donald Pleasence delighting in their ghoulishly humorous characters.

The Doctor and the Devils is a well made, serious movie worth seeing. It is a bit long and flat at times, and arguably a little too real for its own good, with a bleak and despairing tone prevailing, rather than the Gothic horror of Flesh and the Fiends. This somber approach may work against the film, in the long run, but it deserves to be seen by a wider audience.

Fresh Bodies, Stale Story

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 26 May 2014]

In murky old Edinburgh, Scotland, during the 19th century, anatomy professor Timothy Dalton (as Thomas Rock) lectures neophyte students by day and experiments on cadavers at night. Alcohol-soaked grave-robbers Jonathan Pryce (as Robert Fallon) and Stephen Rea (as Timothy Broom) provide Mr. Dalton with bodies, but he needs fresher corpses for better experimentation. Dalton's blond assistant doctor Julian Sands (as Murray) inadvertently encourages murder and hooks up with former skinny 1960s model Twiggy (as Jennie Bailey), playing an cockney prostitute. Since warn bodies fetch a higher premium, it's not too difficult to discern how the grave-robbers obtain fresher corpses. Executively produced by Mel Brooks, this film has some advantages – a stylish look due to good costumes, sets and accessories is obvious. But the story, adapted from an old Dylan Thomas screenplay, is dreadfully boring.

***** The Doctor and the Devils (10/4/85) Freddie Francis ~ Timothy Dalton, Jonathan Pryce, Twiggy, Julian Sands

Mel Brooks One Attempt at Producing a Serious Film

[theowinthrop · 7/10 · 11 January 2007]

For my money THE DOCTOR AND THE DEVILS is a worthy horror film for several reasons. It has a good cast, including Timothy Bottoms, Jonathan Pryce, Twiggy, Sean Rea, Patrick Stewart, Sian Phillips, Beryl Reid, and Patricia Neal (whose name I did not note in the cast - she was the mother-in-law of Dr. Rock). Secondly, it had a screenplay that was legendary for decades as one of the great unpublished screenplays by a prominent writer (Dylan Thomas, of all people). Finally, for the only time in his career comedy king Mel Brooks decided to produce this work. Despite the occasional dab at horror that was in some of his spoofs (the Holacaust in THE PRODUCERS - both versions; anti - Semitism in "the Inquisition" segment of HISTORY OF THE WORLD, PART I; the monsters in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN and Dracula, DEAD AND LOVING IT; the murder conspiracy in HIGH ANXIETY all come to mind), Brooks always showed the spoof or satire behind the familiar sequences. Here, for the only time, he showed the grimness of serial killings.

Those points said I have to limit the success. One misses Brooks' humor which leavens even the worse of his films. Still one can excuse it because Brooks did not direct the film (or at least it is not apparent if he did suggest anything). His production standards are high - he is creating the Edinburgh of 1828 - 29. For THE DOCTOR AND THE DEVILS is the retelling of the Burke and Hare story.

As such it lacks the conciseness and tensions of the fictional retelling via Val Lewton and Robert Louis Stevenson of THE BODY SNATCHER (still the best version of the story), and the best historical account, MANIA. Also it lacks the blank verse approach of Thomas' original screenplay (which was never totally completed). It has been retouched here to make it more approachable as a movie project - which explains why it finally made it to the screen.

The story does show how the murders were committed by Burke and Hare (Fang and Broome: Pryce and Rea), and even goes in greater detail about the luring of the victims and the method of suffocation used. But the variety of the victims seemed better shown in MANIA, and the chilliness of the killings were best shown in THE BODY SNATCHER in the sequences where the blind street singer and the blackmailing Joseph were both killed. Also here the capture of Fang is tied to his attempted rape of Jennie Bailey (Twiggy), a good set piece but not historically truthful at all. But the betrayal of Fang by Broome is correct - and here we see Broome smilingly getting away with it (not like the blinding of Hare - Donald Pleasance - in MANIA, which is not proved as true as of yet). Still, with all the changes, the story is still compelling enough, and the acting still first rate. It is a respectable attempt (as I said earlier) if not the best version of the horrible tragedy of the West Port.

A Later Freddie Francis Masterpiece?

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 6 October 2014]

Grave robbers supply a doctor (Timothy Dalton) with bodies to test on.

Coming from a screenplay by Dylan Thomas with modifications from playwright Sir Ronald Harwood, directed by experienced horror director and cinematographer Freddie Francis and produced by Mel Brooks.

Now let us mention the cast: besides Dalton, we have a pre-Trek Patrick Stewart as a higher-up doctor who suspects Dalton of doing something wrong, and Julian Sands as Dalton's assistant. Sands actually has a rather large subplot of being romantically involved with a prostitute before he starts to think his boss is a little shady.

Coming from Francis' background with Hammer, there should be no surprise this has some Hammeresque qualities to it. And thank goodness!

HUGE Timothy Dalton fan

[chrisaltman-1 · 7/10 · 1 December 2007]

I wonder if this movie was made the same time as Jane Eyre. Timothy Dalton (I LOVE HIM!) had the same character type as Edward Rochester (only some of his lines in this movie were hysterical). Not that this is bad....BUT it's weird because the two movies are so different. I love Timothy's performance enough (LOVE Jane Eyre BETTER) to buy the movie.

It was also a pleasant surprise to see Patrick Stewart, though he wasn't in it very much.

The movie wasn't as "horrific" as I thought it'd be, which again was a pleasant surprise. Fans of Timothy, Patrick, Stephen Rea and Jonathan Pryce should check it out.

Good terror movie with dark scenarios , being loosely based on the horrifying Burke and Hare case.

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 13 August 2023]

A decent horror movie packing thrills , chills , suspense, eerie events and grisly killings. Terror romp about two men go into business supplying Edinburgh medical college with cadavers by robbing graves or killing. Containing terrific acting from Jonathan Pryce and Stephen Rea as the sinister graverobbers , they create authentic set pieces of evilness, as well as displaying frightening and panic . It is set in Edinburgh , Scotland , Dr. Rock (Timothy Dalton) uses his young assistant Dr. Murray (Julian Sands) to provide him corpses by buying them. They're utilized for medical research, without questioning the unethical procurement methods. When the drunk scum Robert Fallon (Jonathan Pryce) and Timothy Broom (Stephen Rea) -playing Burke and Hare under fictitous names- aware the lucrative business, they replace Murray and delivering a lot of cadavers. The peculiar couple of no-count grave robbers and murderers are supplying fresh anatomical specimens to the esteemed college professor Dr. Rock of the Edinburgh Medical College in 19th century Scotland by embarking on a beneficial killing spree. Meanwhile , officials begin suspecting the grisly origin of the numerous corpses. Murder was their business!.Coffins Looted! Cadavers Dissected! No Job Too Small !. No Body Too Big !. No Questions Asked !. They're making a killing !. True love costs an arm and a leg !. The pimps and the prostitutes and the body-snatchers !. The brothels and dens of iniquity !. A man of medicine...A pair of murderers...An unholy alliance !. It's murder shopping for Dr. Rock !. Murder was just the beginning !.

This is a fine, suspenseful and intriguing horror movie based on the actual characters of the nasty gravediggers Burke and Hare providing dead bodies for illegal medical research in charge of an ambitious Doctor, this true story has been adapted a number of times , in fact this interesting tale was recounted by prestigious writer Robert Louis Stevenson himself in the novel ¨The Body Snatcher¨. Here The Doctor and the Devils (1985) medical horror meets two rogue crooks who will stop at nothing to get their purports for some coins. Tension , horror, intrigue and thriller scenes appear lurking , menacing in graveyard, dark slums, homes, rooms and brothels. Main and secondary cast are frankly outstanding. All characters in the story are present and partially correct , though changing their names , with Jonathan Pryce and Stephen Rea actually doing very well as the villainous duo and both of whom share the successively eerie scenes of murders .This pair really convey the whole sleaziness/perversity of the subject, and do so in a fun way , too ; it's a good double-act . They give deliciously hammy portrayals, displaying a lively and engaging chemistry as our titular gruesome twosome, while the model Twiggy plays a sweet and gorgeous prostitute, lending fine support . And is on hand to ham it as the stubborn Doctor Thomas Rock/Timothy Dalton -who in real life was called Doctor Knox . Furthermore , Phyllis Logan and Julian Sands do equally compelling turns . Secondary cast is full of familiar faces, doing brief appearances , such as : Lewis Fiander , Beryl Reid , T. P. McKenna, Siân Phillips, Phil Davis , William Morgan Sheppard, David Bamber , Philip Jackson and pre-captain Pickard : Patrick Stewart.

Musical score is nicely composed by John Morris , delivering the necessary grim and suspenseful atmosphere . The film gets adequate and evocative environment , thanks to cameramen Gerry Turpin and Norman Warwick , designing a colorful but sinister scenario, though a perfect remastering being really necessary . This eerie and creepy motion picture was uneven but professionally directed by Freddie Francis , though it has some shortcomings and flaws . Francis was a craftsman , expert on horror genre , shooting a number of films of this sort , such as : ¨Nightmare¨, ¨Doctor Terror's House of Horrors¨ , ¨The Skull¨, ¨Torture Garden¨, ¨Dracula has risen from the Grave¨ , ¨The Creeping Flesh¨ , ¨Craze¨ , ¨The Ghoul¨, ¨The Doctor and the devils¨, among others . Rating : 6/10. An acceptable horror movie ; however, displaying a plot we have already seen several times .

This Buke and Hare story has been also rendered in the following films : ¨The Body Snatcher¨ by Robert Wise with Boris Karloff , Bela Lugosi, Henry Daniel ; ¨The Flesh and the Fiends¨ (1960) by John Gilling with Peter Cushing, June Laverick, Donald Pleasence , George Rose ; ¨Burke & Hare¨ (1972) by Vernon Sewell with Darren Nesbitt , Harry Andrews , James Hayter , Yutte Stensgaard , among others. And last version was ¨Burke and Hare¨ (2010) by John Landis with Simon Pegg , Andy Serkis, Tom Wilkinson , David Schofield , David Hayman , Hugh Bonneville, Pollyanna McIntosh .

Mel Brooks tries (and fails) for serious hit #2

[LCShackley · 5/10 · 12 June 2007]

In 1980, THE ELEPHANT MAN opened to critical acclaim; a stunning period drama with a little horror mixed in. Mel Brooks was the driving force behind it, but he remained anonymous (except for the use of the company name "Brooksfilms") because he didn't want the movie to suffer from his comedic reputation. (Remember, John Hurt paid him back with the cameo at the end of SPACEBALLS.) My guess is that he was so pumped up by his success that he thought he'd try the same formula again: 19th century period drama, ghoulish story, dark and eerie sets, UK actors. And this time he dared to put his own name on the screen as executive producer. But it's a flop. Why? First of all, compare the directors: David Lynch for ELEPHANT, Freddie Francis for DOCTOR. Look at their credits, enough said. The photography in DOCTOR is murky; ELEPHANT was crisp and visually stunning. John Morris's score for ELEPHANT was spot on and memorable; his work on DOCTOR is undistinguished and almost unnoticeable. And despite the pre-bond Dalton and pre-Picard Stewart, the cast of DOCTORS can't measure up to Gielgud/Hopkins/Hiller/Hurt. The ELEPHANT script was poetic; the DOCTOR script (did Dylan Thomas REALLY write this?) is hackneyed and repetitive. The later movie just didn't have the ingredients for a successful follow-up.

It's interesting, if you want a visualization of the famous 1820s case of Burke and Hare, but it goes on way too long and spends too much time following Jonathan Pryce as he giggles his way into madness. If the central character (Dalton) had REALLY been at the focus of the plot, and the script spent more time delving into HIS thoughts, motivations, and relationships, this could have been a good film.

'The Doctor and the Devils' is a great look with one hell of a cast and crew at some of the most horrific murders ever to grace the newspapers

[bryank-04844 · 7/10 · 11 August 2015]

Back in 1985, Mel Brooks produced a Gothic horror film with a former 007 agent and a former Captain of the Starship Enterprise. That film was called 'The Doctor and the Devils', and is based on real events from a few 19th century murderers in England. And I'm not talking about the infamous Jack The Ripper, but rather 'Burke and Hare', who went on a big killing spree, where they took their deceased victims and sold them to a Dr. Knox, who would experiment on the cadavers to further the knowledge of science and the human anatomy.

That is more or less of what is going on with 'The Doctor and the Devils' here. You can add to that with the iconic poet Dylan Thomas writing the screenplay for the film, who was recently seen in the film 'Interstellar' with the 'Do not go gentle into that good night' piece of dialogue. The film centers mostly on one Dr. Thomas Rock (Timothy Dalton), who is a a professor and doctor who examines and studies the human body.

Dr. Rock wants to further the science and research of the human body, while others think that his methods aren't exactly kosher, including Professor Macklin (Patrick Stewart), who constantly tries to expose and stop Dr. Rock. Since Dr. Rock is needing more and more dead bodies to do his experiments on, he enlists the help of Robert Fallon and Timothy Broom (Jonathan Pryce and Stephen Rea), who hear about the "good" doctor's needs. Fallon and Broom both embark on a killing spree and deliver the newly dead to the doctor for a hefty fee and no questions.

It seems like a reasonable deal, but Broom and Fallon (Burke and Hare) start murdering innocent people wherever they are, instead of doing the deed more rationally. There is an unfleshed out side story with Dr. Rock's apprentice (Julian Sands) and his lover (Twiggy), but it doesn't go anywhere really. To add to the Gothic horror tones, Thomas focuses on the religious themes of what happens to people's souls and bodies after death. And Rock must struggle with whether to keep accepting these dead bodies when he finds out that they were innocent murders.

Everyone does a great job here with their roles, even if it seems a little too Gothic, but the dialogue is delivered perfectly. 'The Doctor and the Devils' is a great look with one hell of a cast and crew at some of the most horrific murders ever to grace the newspapers, and it still holds up thirty years later.

Pure garbage

[ahart99 · 1/10 · 20 October 2018]

How this movie can be rated as anything other than 1 out of 10 is beyond me. Easily one of the three worst movies I have seen in my life

The Doctor and the Devils

[Scarecrow-88 · 8/10 · 30 September 2006]

"Up the alley and down the street Fallon and Broom sell bones and meat. Fallon's a butcher and Broom's a thief. And Rock's the boy that buys the beef."

At the film's closing, Dr. Thomas Rock(Timothy Dalton)proclaims that he has become a ghost story that frightens children and questioned how it had gotten so far.

A revisionist take on "The Body Snatcher"(..a marvelous film produced by Val Lewton), this film has Dalton portraying a scientist whose skills in anatomy are unsurpassed thanks to his intense study of dead bodies. The law prohibits Rock from using fresh corpses for his research so all he has to use are rotted corpses brought in by grave robbers or criminals hung or animals. He soon enlists the aid of graverobbers Fallon and Broom(Jonathan Pryce and Stephen Rea)to bring him fresh bodies for proper research not knowing they are supplying him with victims they murder. Julian Sands plays Dr. Murray, Rock's assistant, who falls in love with a prostitute named Jennie(Twiggy)and discovers when he goes to see her how Broom and Fallon get their corpses so fresh.

The whole business of delivered bodies provides a special moral dilemma within the story(..which worked quite well in "The Body Snatcher"). Also, the film is quite an indictment on the plight of impoverished "squalor" who lie slowly dying in the streets and alleyways or drift slowly into the abyss of alcoholism. Director Fisher's camera doesn't shy away from the less fortunate as the film seems to show us first-hand their suffering. Dalton's doctor is actually the sympathetic figure in the film in regards to his recognizing the poverty that his colleagues and peers seem to either ignore or just care not to acknowledge. He honestly desires fresh bodies so that he can make a difference in the advancement of the medical profession moving it from the dark Ages to the 19th Century. It's just unfortunate he has to resort to paying graverobbers for specimens. But, the film does recognize(..like in "The Body Snatcher")that Rock knew very well that some of his specimens may've been attained beyond reasonable means. Thomas' sister provides a detrimental problem to the furtherance of his work as she believes his ways are the works of the devil. His wife is also seen as immoral by the sister for she artistically portraits anatomical charts of the human body. Others question Thomas' work as well, specifically Prof. Macklin(Patrick Stewart, whose role and character is underwritten)who wishes for his unusual methods to be grounds for dismissal.

The major moral crisis, though, comes when a deranged Fallon attempts to murder Jennie and is sought after by Dr. Murray where Rock's illegal researching in accepting bodies murdered might soon be discovered. While he only wishes to advance anatomy to save lives, his accepting murdered bodies is indeed considered immoral and unlawful.

While the material of the film might seem familiar, considering it just really feels like a remake of "The Body Snatcher" and is just difficult not to think of the previous film while watching "The Doctor and the Devils", Fisher's marvelous direction makes up for it. Unlike his Hammer years, Fisher doesn't have to hold back. He isn't held down by restrictions and can display the cruel realities of life such as the squalor in the streets as the epidemic it was. The period cinematography feels fresh and completely genuine. It is quite grim and bleak which might put off many with no hope seemingly in sight for many in this film. Fisher keeps the film, for most of the way, on the dreaded streets so that we have a hard time looking away from the truth.

Interesting and accurately presented true story

[killercharm · 7/10 · 27 July 2022]

Interesting and accurately presented true story based on Burke and Hare, the murdering grave robbers, and the doctor they sold their wares to. This is the tale of a 19th century doctor who is disgusted with the ban on using cadavers to teach surgeons anatomy. He is certain that it is better to cut up the dead than to fock up the living. To address this dearth he pays anyone, from any background cash monies for fresh bodies, no questions asked. This is an interesting cast with Timothy Dalton and Julian Sands, who are peculiarly similar and complementary.

Slightly Disappointed in Lack of Dalton

[folsominc2 · 5/10 · 26 May 2020]

On my Timothy Dalton phase, I decided to watch The Doctor and the Devils. Frankly, it was a very informative film with the unfortunate reality of the lower classes during the setting of the early 1800s.

I, of course, had seen the 1945 The Body Snatcher with Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Henry Daniell so the plot was not really surprising to me.

The Doctor and the Devils gave good representation on how the murderers came to be and their motivation in killing. Timothy Dalton's character, Dr. Thomas Rock, was the disappointment. He was given very little in the film to examine his character and complete motivation behind why he wanted/needed "fresh bodies" to dissect.

We are given a few speeches which gives an inkling behind the doctor's motivation, however, we are not shown what happens when the doctors do not have the proper "materials" to examine. We are given only a brief contact with the doctor's wife, but the viewer understands the feelings and inner spirit of the doctor's sister better than the doctor almost.

The viewer should also have been given more in depth into Dr. Rock's attraction to his students. There was only one less than thirty second shot of Dr. Rock presenting to his students a "sheep's" kidney and how entertaining it was.

As in many historical movies as such, I researched the background for this movie and learned that it was based on the true story of William Hare, William Burke and Dr. Robert Knox. It was more or less close to the actual facts of the case (except the assistant's obsession with a prostitute) - not excluding that William Hare was released as were the two women conspirators.

However, this movie dealing with such a subject could have concentrated more on the life of Dr. Knox before and after the events of 1828 rather than of the portrayal of the debauchery of the murderers and their lifestyle.

It was not a murder mystery; it was not a scientific study in the development of medical research; it was not even very interesting once you knew the set up (hence why they included the subplot of the doctor's assistant and prostitute). And what it lacked the most was the opportunity for Timothy Dalton to shine in more passionate scenes as a dedicated doctor and more interaction with patients that he could not heal for lack of research opportunities.

Too bad. What a great REAL story that needed better script and direction. I will go back to The Body Snatcher. Henry Daniell's inner torture and final mental breakdown, even as a talented physician, was amazingly done!