| Photos (see all 12 | slideshow) | Videos |
| Boris Karloff | ... | Cabman John Gray | |
| Bela Lugosi | ... | Joseph | |
| Henry Daniell | ... | Dr. Wolfe 'Toddy' MacFarlane | |
| Edith Atwater | ... | Meg Camden | |
| Russell Wade | ... | Donald Fettes | |
| Rita Corday | ... | Mrs. Marsh | |
| Sharyn Moffett | ... | Georgina Marsh | |
| Donna Lee | ... | Street singer | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Ted Billings | ... | Townsman (uncredited) | |
| Bobby Burns | ... | Mourner (uncredited) | |
| Robert Clarke | ... | Richardson (uncredited) | |
| Aina Constant | ... | Maidservant (uncredited) | |
| Mary Gordon | ... | Mrs. Mary McBride (uncredited) | |
| Carl Kent | ... | Gilchrist (uncredited) | |
| Milton Kibbee | ... | Dan (uncredited) | |
| Ethan Laidlaw | ... | Pub patron (uncredited) | |
| Jim Moran | ... | Angus, the horse trader (uncredited) | |
| Jack Welch | ... | Boy (uncredited) | |
| Larry Wheat | ... | Salesman (uncredited) | |
| Bill Williams | ... | Service (uncredited) | |
Directed by | |||
| Robert Wise | |||
Writing credits | ||
| Robert Louis Stevenson | (short story "The Body Snatcher") | |
| Philip MacDonald | (written by) and | |
| Val Lewton | (written by) (as Carlos Keith) | |
Produced by | |||
| Jack J. Gross | .... | executive producer | |
| Val Lewton | .... | producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| Roy Webb | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Robert De Grasse | |||
Film Editing by | |||
| J.R. Whittredge | |||
Art Direction by | |||
| Albert S. D'Agostino | |||
| Walter E. Keller | |||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Darrell Silvera | |||
| John Sturtevant | |||
Costume Design by | |||
| Renié | |||
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Harry Scott | .... | assistant director | |
| Nate Levinson | .... | assistant director (uncredited) | |
Sound Department | |||
| Bailey Fesler | .... | sound recordist | |
| Terry Kellum | .... | sound re-recordist | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| Charles Burke | .... | camera operator (uncredited) | |
Music Department | |||
| C. Bakaleinikoff | .... | musical director | |
| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
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| About Gray.. | Freku |
| Nickname Toddy? | carehm |
| Is this Karloff's best performance? | A_Roode |
| Henry Daniell | norm_gillespie |
| The Ending (spoilers) | PigeonPanic |
| classic! | ciaran122-1 |
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Val Lewton's THE BODY SNATCHER is one of the most "literate" films in the horror genre. Based on a short Robert Louis Stevenson shudder tale, it is the story of a young medical student, Fettes, in 1820s Scotland. Fettes is a promising doctoral candidate who has taken on an apprenticeship of sorts with a Dr. MacFarlane, a prestigious physician who runs a medical college. Todd MacFarlane is a very talented medical scholar of the academic sort, whose own past is tainted by an earlier acquaintance with the grave robbers Burke and Hare, who provided human specimens to his mentor, a Dr. John Knox.
Haunted by his past, MacFarlane is tormented and blackmailed by a "jack of all trades", a cab-man and grave robber John Gray. Gray, a working class man from the most impoverished sections of the urban poor, takes great delight in this power, and lords it over MacFarlane's household, which includes the doctor's wife- also privy to MacFarlane's secret- who poses as MacFarlane's housekeeper, in an awkward attempt to hide the roots of MacFarlane's own social climb. MacFarlane is also in need of Gray's continued "services", which Gray attends to with a sardonic relish. The younger medical student Fettes is pulled into the secrets of the household, which in the end, devour MacFarlane and his efforts to survive in the class structure of Scotland.
With THE BODYSNATCHER, Boris Karloff displayed his true depths as a performer, and outside of his original performance as the Frankenstein's monster and perhaps Columbia's THE BLACK ROOM (1935), there are few other films in his immense resume that really display what he was capable of as an actor. In THE BODYSNATCHER, he is at the top of his form. He is supported by actors Henry Daniell, Russell Wade and Edith Atwater, and the movie also marks his final appearance with Bela Lugosi. All of Val Lewton's technique is brought to bear in this work to offer the audience effective atmosphere, and tight pacing under the direction of Robert Wise. All in all, it is a remarkable work, an impeccable contribution to the genre that calls itself horror.