"The Body Snatcher" tells the story of a 19th century doctor (Henry Daneill) in Edinburgh who enlists the help of a grave robber (Boris Karloff) to provide him with the spare organs he needs to perform difficult operations. It's possibly the best performance Karloff ever gave. He evokes a character who is unquestionably evil, but clever and more worldly than the people he deals with. (A subplot involving the doctor's attempt to heal a crippled girl is a bit sentimental, but thought-provoking. Karloff asks Daniell if in healing her body, he forgot to heal all of her, which is almost spiritual.) Bela Lugosi has a supporting role as one of Daneill's assistants, and while his character could use a little more shading, his scene with Karloff is a fitting send-off for the on screen duo, who would never work together again after this.That said, the most compelling aspect of any Val Lewton film is the atmosphere, and this movie has that in spades. There is a moment involving a street singer that is as heart-stopping as anything in Lewton's oeuvre, and the final scene in a coach is unsettling on a deep psychological level. It's still not quite as good as "Cat People", though. That one had a solid script to go with the brilliant acting and direction, but this one stumbles a bit, doing away with one of the major characters a bit too early on. The film can't help but suffer for it. Still, it's a fine film, and definitely one of the better horror movies of the 1940s. Recommended to fans of the genre.

Attempting to teach anatomy, a doctor and his idealistic protegee's search for a cure to a patient lead them into contact with a brutish graverobber who holds a deadly secret over him and tries to continue holding it over him as they try to find a way of continuing their lectures.This here was quite the disappointing and rather overrated effort. What really holds this one down is the fact that there's just so little time spent here on the actual horror that there's just not a lot of interest to be had here for long stretches of time. The beginning to this one plays off like an utterly banal medical ethics drama where the child's case gives them the impetus to start bucking the established medical doctrines of the time by wanting more specimens against the wishes of their superiors which leads to numerous amounts of philosophical debates to be had about the kind of people they want to be associated with doing this. This isn't horrific and really has little to no interesting elements about it as they go off on endless discussions not only about that but also the quandaries of the benefits of helping the girl which both of these together simply add so much time to the film doing absolutely nothing of interest here that there's really so much time spent on the non-horror elements here that it's sometimes hard to see it as one. It's not really helped by the fact that so much of these scenes here building up to to the final are dependent on him acting rather than doing anything of any horror significance. All told these here here turn this one into such a bland and languid pace that the film is so drab and dull that it renders the film so lifeless that there's little that can be done to fix this, though the film comes admirably close with the final half which features the film's few attempts at action here where he goes out stalking the streets for corpses and manage to begin brawling with the others who attempt to confront him and these actions. The mind-games he plays against them are quite fun at times with the fact that they're somewhat demented and cruel which makes the final fight and the psychologically- chilling finale coming back into town being the film's best and only worthwhile moments. Even still, the fact that these here are highly psychological rather than being based on action is what really undoes this one by not being all that interesting as the very nature for tormenting him for his nicknames is quite a ridiculous manner for the tormenting and it's long past the point of caring once they reveal the truth about the relationship with the backstory that ties them together. Overall, it's way too flawed to really be considered much of a classic.Today's Rating/PG: Mild Violence.

"I wouldn't do it Toddy, I wouldn't be heavy-handed... it might become known that when the great Dr. McFarlane finds his anatomy school without subjects, he provides them himself, from the midst of his own household."The Body Snatcher is without doubt my favorite of the Val Lewton horror films of the 40's, a first-rate reworking based upon the well known case of Burke and Hare. With GREAT casting (Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Henry Daniell) and terrific looking sets, that make for a faultlessly convincing grim and moody 19th century Edinburg. The Body Snatcher is a true pleasure to watch again and again and has what is easily one Karloff's best performances (some say it IS his best) and is among the very best of vintage black and white horror films. Strong proof that Universal wasn't the only studio that could put together a good horror flick back then.With his cane and crooked smile and crowned with a top-hat, Karloff certainly cultivated a great "look" for his character and proves to be a scene-stealer in virtually every scene he's in; a potent malignantly evil presence in the film who's always plotting, scheming and blackmailing usually at the expense of Henry Daniell who, quite marvelously, plays the role of the depressed and overwrought Dr. McFarlane. These two are sparring with each other throughout the movie. I just don't know, but whatever the reason, perhaps he's empowered by that top-hat of his, in any case Karloff's dialogue and delivery comes off note-perfect in every scene.A word on the visuals, aside from the aforementioned sets, The Body Snatcher is suitably grim and murky with its gas-lit streets, night mists, thunderstorms and howling wind; there are several terrifically atmospheric night scenes, always involving some ill-deed of a kind - often in cemeteries. A British reviewer would probably make the quip "those bloody ghouls". Great shadow play, especially in those midnight cemetery visits.Once it's all said and done, one gets the sense that, if they did this good on a small budget, just think how amazing the movie may have been with a more lavish budget. A few good action sequences, in grim Gothic locales, probably would've notched this feature into 4 star territory, that and if Lugosi had more of a role, he's a decidedly secondary character in this one. That poor, poor Bela.....and he still had yet to endure the infamously terrible movies he would make with Ed Wood in the 50's.Summing things up, The Body Snatcher is a brilliantly made low-budget black and white, Gothic horror film released in 1945, loosely based upon the infamous duo of Burke and Hare. Great casting, great acting, great script, great sets, great photography, great everything. What I'm saying is this movie, The Body Snatcher, is well, great!Note: Pay close attention to what Karloff's doing in this movie, that shouldn't be too difficult, as he's very hard to miss. A brilliant film and one of only a few truly great horror films of the 40's. The 30's were much better for this kind of film.

In 1831, in Edinburgh, the prominent doctor and professor Dr. Wolfe 'Toddy' MacFarlane (Henry Daniell) buys corpses for his studies and classes of anatomy from the notorious cabman John Gray (Boris Karloff), who is also a body snatcher. When his talented student Donald Fettes (Russell Wade) tells that he will quit medical school since his family cannot afford to support him, MacFarlane hires him as his assistant to permit Fettes to proceed his studies. Fettes meets a little girl that cannot walk anymore due to a coach accident, and he tries to convince Dr. MacFarlane to operate her but the doctor is reluctant. Soon Fettes discovers that Dr. MacFarlane has a secret from his past and Gray blackmails him. When Fettes learns how Gray obtains the corpses for Dr. MacFarlane, he has an inner conflict and does not want to continue as Dr. MacFarlane's protégée. But isn't it too late?"The Body Snatcher" is a dark and gloomy horror tale with a creepy story about ethic in medicine, or how far a doctor should go in his researches. Boris Karloff has a magnificent performance, maybe the best I have ever seen of this actor. The direction of Robert Wise is sharp and the cinematography in black and white is impressive. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "O Túmulo Vazio" ("The Empty Grave")