A fantastic little chiller, recounting the events leading up to the trial of Burke and Hare – two infamous grave-robbers from the 19th century who eventually turned to murder when the stiffs stopped turning up fast enough. This black and white chiller-thriller, directed by the reliable John Gilling, has a great atmosphere to it, which really conveys the sleazy side of Edinburgh during the period. The sets are almost exclusively grotty, from flea-pit hovels to sleazy pubs and taverns which have all the look and appeal of a particularly nasty brothel. Such grotesque surroundings are contrasted by the life of Dr. Knox, who lives in stately homes, throws expensive parties for the upper-crust, and who teaches and works in stark, spotless laboratories and lecture theatres.The literate script throws in plenty of murky humour and what is essentially black comedy from the Burke and Hare characters, as well as drawing out the morals of the situation and giving some deep characterisation to the leads. Not only are Knox and the grave-robbers fleshed out, we also get three-dimensional medical students, their respective lovers (including a standout turn from Billie Whitelaw as a drunken young girl) and some bizarre characters thrown into the mix too – from blind street beggars to Daft Jamie, an affectionate village idiot played excellently by Melvyn Hayes.The film has a relatively slow pace to it, but builds up throughout, leading to a climax which also features some of the best acting work of Peter Cushing (as Doctor Knox), who is somewhat relegated to the sidelines midway through the film only to emerge at the finale with some stupendous acting work. Cushing's harsh, cold, proud, vain but ultimately good-hearted Doctor Knox turns a blind eye (both metaphorically and physically, thanks to his atrophied left eyeball) to the sinister grave-robbers he employs to procure fresh corpses. Cushing is outstanding in the part, just as good here as he was as Baron Frankenstein or Van Helsing.Also excellent are George Rose and Donald Pleasence as the twin pairing of Burke and Hare. Rose is the thuggish, brutish side of the partnership, whilst Pleasence excels as the snivelling-but-smart Irish ruffian Hare. Add to this some nice work from George Woodbridge, Esma Cannon, and John Cairney, some explicit grave-robbery and horror involving corpses and brutal murder, and you have a film which is surprisingly adult – and explicit – in its themes for the 1950s. Whatever way you look at it, this is a genre classic and a must for fans of such fare.

John Gilling's (The Mummy's Shroud) film is listed as a horror film, but it is really an exciting thriller about an anatomy teacher (Peter Cushing) and grave-robbers (Donald Pleasence - Halloween, Dracula, & George Rose).Billie Whitelaw (Hott Fuzz, The Omen), with two BAFTA wins and four more nominations, plays a prostitute that falls for one of the medical students (John Cairney).The grave-robbers find that it is easier just to kill someone and sell them, than to dig them up. It wasn't long before Mary (Whitelaw) had a spat with Chris (Cairney) and fell into the clutches of the murderers.Imagine Chris' surprise when she shows up on the slab in class the next day.Soon, the grave-robbers were committing murders to cover up their murders.Excellent performances by Pleasence, who got what he deserved in a weird sense, Cushing, and Dermot Walsh, as Cushing's assistant. A fascinating story that is supposedly based upon a true event.

From what I've read, this movie comes as close as any to featuring a reasonably realistic and true-to-life presentation of the Burke and Hare story. For those unfamiliar with the story, Burke and Hare were grave robbers in 19th Century Scotland. The bodies they stole were sold to a doctor to be used in anatomy classes. Burke and Hare discovered that murder was a much easier and a more profitable way of filling the doctor's demand for fresher bodies. The movie features two horror icons – Peter Cushing and Donald Pleasence – in performances that I consider to be among the best of their careers. The movie may be a little slow and "talky" for audiences used to the MTV style editing, but this only added to the atmosphere as far as I'm concerned. Burke and Hare's total disregard for human life effectively adds a "nastiness" to the movie that I often find missing from British movies from this period.

What a nice surprise this movie was. Director John Gilling surely knows how to make a well build up thriller with a slow pace but never a dull moment.The movie is extremely well written and has some at times incredibly good dialog. The fact that this movie is based on the true story of Burke and Hare-, two murderers who sold their victims to professor Knox, who uses them for his research, makes the movie even more interesting to watch.This movie is not really an horror movie, I would prefer to describe it as a dark-thriller. The movie doesn't have any scares but it has some well build up tension and a great thriller-story. I think it is more because of the fact that Cushing and Pleasance are in this, that people consider this a horror movie. But please, when watching this movie, don't expect a movie with walking death people or Cushing in a role of a 'Frankenstein' like professor.The movie is shot in atmospheric black & white. It was wonderful to see both Cushing and Pleasance in black & white for a change. My only complaint about the style is that it is a bit too dark at times, which makes the movie sometimes hard to follow.Peter Cushing is most certainly good in his role as Dr. Robert Knox but it really is Donald Pleasence who uplifts the movie with his performance. This might very well be the best performance of him I have ever seen in a movie. He plays a slimy-tramp who is the lead-murderer of the movie. His character is portrayed so powerful and believable without ever going over-the-top.It really is the way the movie is build up and the wonderful directing by John Gilling that makes this movie an absolutely great thriller that deserves to be better known.9/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/