“People Are So Concerned About…Dogs”

 

 (imdb)

THE BODY SNATCHER-1945-Edinburgh 1831-Dr. MacFarland (Henry Daniell), a clinical no nonsense teacher at a medical school has cab man Grey (Boris Karloff; in ISLE OF THE DEAD the same year) steal bodies from cemeteries for medical experiments. MacFarland's new assistant Fettes (Russell Wade) has a conscience and doesn't like his boss’ methods. He wants MacFarland to do an operation on a crippled child but he refuses. Grey seems to have something on the doctor. When MacFarland says he needs a new body to work on, Fettes goes to Grey who kills a young female street singer (Donna Lee). When Fettes wants to tell the police, MacFarland convinces him not too. 

Meanwhile, handyman Joseph (Bela Lugosi; also in ZOMBIES ON BROADWAY the same year) hangs around, listening. He tries to blackmail Grey but Grey kills him. Later MacFarland has had enough of Grey and kills him but unfortunately for the good doctor Grey isn't done with him! 

This is probably the best of the Val Lewton-Karloff collaborations with Boris giving a command performance and Daniell a close second. Edith Atwater co-stars along with bits by Robert Clarke, Mary Gordon and Bill Williams. This was director Robert Wise's second film for producer Lewton (who co-wrote the screenplay based on a story by Robert Louis Stevenson) after THE CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE (1944). Henry Daniell (who was later in several episodes of the Boris Karloff hosted “Thriller” on TV) played Prof. Moriarty against Basil Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes in THE LADY IN GREEN the same year. 

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