This is a surprisingly good movie. Having recently watched the Mummy (1932), I stumbled upon this forgotten gem as part of a DVD double feature to see Boris Karloff in a lesser known role. I had assumed I would be bored with a period piece film that I had never heard, and that this would be a plodding vehicle banking on Karloff's name recognition.. I could not have been more pleasantly surprised. Body Snatchers is very entertaining. I had second thoughts initially, but the pace picked up and moved briskly to a very rewarding climax. The cinematography was well done, especially in lighting Karloff's face. The use of lightning is especially effective for the payoff shots. A dark period piece set in early 1831 Scotland, Karloff plays a cab driver who supplies a medical school with cadavers. The doctor of the school is involved in the uneasy relationship with Karloff, and is blackmailed as Karloff's John Gray eschews digging for fresh corpses.
Boris Karloff is the reason I took a chance with this film, and he turns in a great performance. Karloff is surprisingly adept at being able to convey some depth here. He is very kind to a young crippled girl, and seems to be able to genuinely care as he helps her interact with his horse. Karloff was able to imbue his Frankenstein with a similar humanity that was much missed when other actors took the role. Karloff was more humanized with Frankenstein, particularly in such scenes as with he blind girl and the flowers. His characterization doesn't go for that depth here, but his cab man John Gray is much more than a single dimensional embodiment of evil. I am particularly impressed by Karloff here, as Karloff's John Gray exudes a certain uneasy charisma. His manipulative leer is the embodiment of evil that lurks in mans heart. Smiling and leering through many of his lines is enjoyable to see unfold. Gray is a snake, showing both great charm and a genteel veneer, coupled with the ability to menace and bully his Dr. McFarlane. He toys with McFarlane, and is able to coerce the doctor throughout. It's especially enjoyable as he harasses McFarlane with the too familiar 'Toddy'. The doctor is being black mailed, and Karloff knows a dark secret he holds over his head, and being on a first name basis is a little much for the doctor. Karloff is known to go a bit far and often careens into a hammy self parody, but here his voice and leering evil eyes are a guilty pleasure.
Body Snatcher was produced by Val Lewton who was brought to work for RKO studio in the Forties to make horror movies that would compete with Universal. He never was able to produce an iconic franchise monster, but nonetheless he was able to produce what were generally artful productions, and is hailed as one of the leading names in horror movies. With Cat People (1942), audiences were deliberately left with the uncertainty of what was happening in the minds of the characters, or was part of the reality of the film. This ambiguity was used to great effect by Darren Aronofsky in Black Swan (2010). Lewton utilized a variation of this approach in other notables efforts such as I Walked with a Zombie (1943), The Leopard Man (1943), Isle of the Dead, (1945), and Bedlam (1946). Bedlam would be Lewton's last horror film for RKO. Body Snatcher and Bedlam would be less concerned with the supernatural and more oriented in dark period piece settings. Lawton's films tend to be able to suggest terror and rely on the implied rather than the implicit. Lewton was able to progress the genre, and his style fit perfectly with RKO's financial woes and subsequent budget limitations. Here he brought Robert Lewis Stevenson's short story to the screen by providing the screenplay and employing Robert Wise.
Body Snatcher is the first movie directed by Wise. Wise worked with Orson Welles as an editor on Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons before co directing Lewton's The Curse of the Cat People (1944). Wise can be called one of cinemas great directors without such a loft remark being construed as hubris. Wise directed landmark films West Side Story, and The Sound of Music. He went on to direct The Day the Earth Stood Still, and Star Trek The Motion Picture. Each of these films are considered to be landmarks, and are indicative of a master at the height of his craft. It is mind boggling to consider the unrelated styles and genres from these successes, with only a high level of acumen from Wise as the common denominator. It would be hard to imagine that another director worked so successfully in such a varied number of genres.
This was a very enjoyable film. It is well acted, well directed and well produced. What more can you ask for? I fully expected this to a be a slow paced dated affair. It wasn't. Much impressed with this movie, I am looking forward to watching Val Lewton's other film here: I walked with a Zombie (1943). While there are several compilations available highlighting his films, after watching Body Snatcher I will be purchasing the other bargain bin double feature which includes Isle of the Dead (1945) and Bedlam (1946), both of which pair him with Boris Karloff.
Bottom Line: I would give this a 78. This film is more appropriate for those with a little more attention span, although the pacing is brisk. It starts a little slow, but builds itself well, and has a very good climax. For those relying on special effects, and explicit graphics should have already be warned off by the release date, and the black and white film. Karloff is in fine form, and it is a special treat for those looking for more than his high profile roles from this icon of the Horror genre.
Boris Karloff is the reason I took a chance with this film, and he turns in a great performance. Karloff is surprisingly adept at being able to convey some depth here. He is very kind to a young crippled girl, and seems to be able to genuinely care as he helps her interact with his horse. Karloff was able to imbue his Frankenstein with a similar humanity that was much missed when other actors took the role. Karloff was more humanized with Frankenstein, particularly in such scenes as with he blind girl and the flowers. His characterization doesn't go for that depth here, but his cab man John Gray is much more than a single dimensional embodiment of evil. I am particularly impressed by Karloff here, as Karloff's John Gray exudes a certain uneasy charisma. His manipulative leer is the embodiment of evil that lurks in mans heart. Smiling and leering through many of his lines is enjoyable to see unfold. Gray is a snake, showing both great charm and a genteel veneer, coupled with the ability to menace and bully his Dr. McFarlane. He toys with McFarlane, and is able to coerce the doctor throughout. It's especially enjoyable as he harasses McFarlane with the too familiar 'Toddy'. The doctor is being black mailed, and Karloff knows a dark secret he holds over his head, and being on a first name basis is a little much for the doctor. Karloff is known to go a bit far and often careens into a hammy self parody, but here his voice and leering evil eyes are a guilty pleasure.
Body Snatcher was produced by Val Lewton who was brought to work for RKO studio in the Forties to make horror movies that would compete with Universal. He never was able to produce an iconic franchise monster, but nonetheless he was able to produce what were generally artful productions, and is hailed as one of the leading names in horror movies. With Cat People (1942), audiences were deliberately left with the uncertainty of what was happening in the minds of the characters, or was part of the reality of the film. This ambiguity was used to great effect by Darren Aronofsky in Black Swan (2010). Lewton utilized a variation of this approach in other notables efforts such as I Walked with a Zombie (1943), The Leopard Man (1943), Isle of the Dead, (1945), and Bedlam (1946). Bedlam would be Lewton's last horror film for RKO. Body Snatcher and Bedlam would be less concerned with the supernatural and more oriented in dark period piece settings. Lawton's films tend to be able to suggest terror and rely on the implied rather than the implicit. Lewton was able to progress the genre, and his style fit perfectly with RKO's financial woes and subsequent budget limitations. Here he brought Robert Lewis Stevenson's short story to the screen by providing the screenplay and employing Robert Wise.
Body Snatcher is the first movie directed by Wise. Wise worked with Orson Welles as an editor on Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons before co directing Lewton's The Curse of the Cat People (1944). Wise can be called one of cinemas great directors without such a loft remark being construed as hubris. Wise directed landmark films West Side Story, and The Sound of Music. He went on to direct The Day the Earth Stood Still, and Star Trek The Motion Picture. Each of these films are considered to be landmarks, and are indicative of a master at the height of his craft. It is mind boggling to consider the unrelated styles and genres from these successes, with only a high level of acumen from Wise as the common denominator. It would be hard to imagine that another director worked so successfully in such a varied number of genres.
This was a very enjoyable film. It is well acted, well directed and well produced. What more can you ask for? I fully expected this to a be a slow paced dated affair. It wasn't. Much impressed with this movie, I am looking forward to watching Val Lewton's other film here: I walked with a Zombie (1943). While there are several compilations available highlighting his films, after watching Body Snatcher I will be purchasing the other bargain bin double feature which includes Isle of the Dead (1945) and Bedlam (1946), both of which pair him with Boris Karloff.
Bottom Line: I would give this a 78. This film is more appropriate for those with a little more attention span, although the pacing is brisk. It starts a little slow, but builds itself well, and has a very good climax. For those relying on special effects, and explicit graphics should have already be warned off by the release date, and the black and white film. Karloff is in fine form, and it is a special treat for those looking for more than his high profile roles from this icon of the Horror genre.