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Burke & Hare (1972 film)
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Wikipedia article
'Burke & Hare', sometimes called 'Burke and Hare' or 'The Horrors of Burke and Hare', is a 1972 horror film, directed by Vernon Sewell, and starring Derren Nesbitt, Harry Andrews, and Glynn Edwards. It is based on the true life story of the Burke and Hare murders, and was the last film to be directed by Vernon Sewell. Typically for its time the film is considerably more sexual that most of its counterparts, and much of the plot focusses on brothel activities.
It was shot at Twickenham Studios in London. The film's sets were designed by the art director Scott MacGregor.
Plot
In Edinburgh, in 1828, there are two sides to society: men living in dirty hovels and grave robbing to make a living; and rich men going to the brothels. Meanwhile, the doctors dine together and drink wine.
Surgeon Dr Robert Knox (Harry Andrews) needs bodies for dissection to satisfy the training needs of his medical students. As only hanging victims may be used, bodies are in short supply. In order to serve the greater good of medical science he employs grave-robbers Burke and Hare (Derren Nesbitt and Glynn Edwards) to supply fresh corpses for his anatomical lectures at the medical academy. The authorities turn a blind eye knowing that stemming the crime would lessen the medical training.
The pair of "resurrectionists" are paid 7 10s for their first body - a truly large sum at that time.
The students in the anatomy theatre appreciate Knox's lectures and demonstrations.
However, when graveyard supplies run low, the industrious pair turn to murder to keep the business going and simply claim to have robbed the bodies. They start with the poor people who co-habit their lodging house on West Port, and these people may have might have legitimately died. Due to greed they gradually get bolder picking younger victims.
Their wives are aware of the murders and indeed encourage and watch the crimes.
But when Mrs Hare brings Daft Jamie home to murder things start to go wrong.. as Jamie is well known. When is body reaches Knox it is seen Jamie has been in a fight. Two of the city guard arrive looking for Jamie. Knox destroys Jamie's head and tells the guards it is a boy killed in a factory accident.
The local brothel burns down and the girls need to find new accommodation. Prostitute Marie and her friend meet Burke in a bar who offers them accommodation. Mary fails to turn up for her rendezvous with her medical student lover... who is shocked when he sees her next on the anatomy table. He asks to speak to Knox. Knox tells the student that he did an autopsy and she died of alcoholism.
The student sneaks into Knox's private dissection room at night. He then goes to Madame Thompson and tells her Marie id dead. She directs him to a tavern in the West Port.
Meanwhile, in the tavern Burke meets an old match-seller, Mary Docherty. He takes her back to his house at Tanners Close to join their Halloween party. A drunken fight breaks out as the student arrives having tracked them down. He calls the City Guard who break up the fight and find the dead body of Mary Docherty.
A voice over explains what then happened to each character.
Cast
* Derren Nesbitt as Burke
* Harry Andrews as Dr Knox
* Glynn Edwards as Hare
* Yootha Joyce as Mrs Hare
* Franoise Pascal as Marie
* Yutte Stensgaard as Janet
* Robin Hawdon as Lord Angus McPhee
* Alan Tucker as Arbuthnot
* Dee Shenderey as Mrs Burke
* Joan Carol as Madame Thompson, owner of the brothel
* Paul Greaves as Ferguson
* David Pugh as Daft Jamie
* James Hayter as Dr Selby
* Thomas Heathcote as Knox's assistant, Paterson
* Duncan Lamont as Dr Saint
Theme Song
The eponymous theme song, which opens and closes the film, was written by Roger Webb with lyrics by Norman Newell, and performed by English comedy/musical trio The Scaffold, with uncredited vocal assistance by Vivian Stanshall.
Critical reception
'Allmovie' wrote, "the producers opted for sexploitation over gruesome horror, but the end result is decidedly dull"; and the 'Radio Times' agreed, writing, "the accent is on sleazy sexploitation and bawdy comedy rather than anything truly macabre or frightening. Arguably the worst film adaptation of the exploits of the notorious West Port serial killers"; whereas 'Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings' wrote, "I like it well enough, largely due to some interesting dialogue and energetic direction from Vernon Sewell, whose credits include 'The Blood Beast Terror' and 'Curse of the Crimson Altar'...The performances are also fun; in particular, Harry Andrews gives a memorable performance as Dr Knox, who wears an eyepatch and regales his friends with off-colour jokes. I was pleasantly surprised by this one, as I wasn't expecting much."[http://scifilm.org/musing1793.htm ]
See also
* 'The Greed of William Hart' (1948)
* 'The Flesh and the Fiends' (1960)
* 'The Doctor and the Devil' (1965)
* 'The Doctor and the Devils' (1985)
* 'Burke & Hare' (Comedy, 2010)
References
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