Review of The Doctor and the Devils

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