pointyfilippa The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

hillbillyhatfield This movie shows why Karloff makes the ultimate evil person. He just oozes nasty. I was hoping for a painful death for him because he killed the dog.A man who will kill a dog for no reason other than barking, their is no redeeming quality in him. Even with that, this is quite possible the best preformance of Karloff. This movie has it all, strong story, great dialog, superior actors, creepy atmophere. This is the measuring stick of great movies.

alexanderdavies-99382 "The Body Snatcher" from 1945, is the greatest horror film from producer Val Lewton.Boris Karloff certainly had a character to get his acting chops into, in the title role. Rarely has he played such an evil character. The way he is by different turns, sly, cunning, ruthless and vindictive makes for a fine performance from Karloff.Henry Daniell offers excellent support. This film was the last time those two horror legends Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi would work together. The latter has a handful of brief scenes but the plot allows the two actors one last time to share a scene. It is a highlight as well.The dialogue is better than usual and the director Robert Wise does a fine job.The film works best as a horror film of atmosphere and suggestion.

pniemeyer-47222 "The Body Snatcher" tells the story of a 19th century doctor (Henry Daneill) in Edinburgh who enlists the help of a grave robber (Boris Karloff) to provide him with the spare organs he needs to perform difficult operations. It's possibly the best performance Karloff ever gave. He evokes a character who is unquestionably evil, but clever and more worldly than the people he deals with. (A subplot involving the doctor's attempt to heal a crippled girl is a bit sentimental, but thought-provoking. Karloff asks Daniell if in healing her body, he forgot to heal all of her, which is almost spiritual.) Bela Lugosi has a supporting role as one of Daneill's assistants, and while his character could use a little more shading, his scene with Karloff is a fitting send-off for the on screen duo, who would never work together again after this.That said, the most compelling aspect of any Val Lewton film is the atmosphere, and this movie has that in spades. There is a moment involving a street singer that is as heart-stopping as anything in Lewton's oeuvre, and the final scene in a coach is unsettling on a deep psychological level. It's still not quite as good as "Cat People", though. That one had a solid script to go with the brilliant acting and direction, but this one stumbles a bit, doing away with one of the major characters a bit too early on. The film can't help but suffer for it. Still, it's a fine film, and definitely one of the better horror movies of the 1940s. Recommended to fans of the genre.

tomgillespie2002 Producer Val Newton's output while working in the horror unit of RKO studios produced some of the finest American B-movies made between 1942 and 1946, delivering creepy tales that not only had the ability to frighten, but also explored the darkest regions of the human psyche, backed by Gothic sets and brooding cinematography. Newton's work with Jacques Tourneur undoubtedly produced the studios best work, but even slighter films such as The Body Snatcher yearned to break out from its low-budget trappings. Reuniting horror icons Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi for the final time, The Body Snatcher is a work of surprising complexity and sly wit.Edinburgh, 1831, and surgeon Dr. MacFarlane (Henry Daniell) finds his work hampered by a lack of cadavers to experiment on and to use to teach his students. He is visited by Mrs. Marsh (Rita Corday), who hopes that MacFarlane's skills can help cure her paraplegic daughter and allow her to walk again. He refuses, citing the surgery as too dangerous. His young student Donald Fettes (Russell Wade) urges him to do it, but learns that the bodies required for experimentation are in short supply and the fresh cadavers brought into the school do not always come from the morgue, but instead are bought for a small price from the shady John Gray (Karloff).With the disturbing story of Burke and Hare lurking very much in the characters minds, The Body Snatcher focuses less on the grisly work of grave-robbing and murder, and more on the destructive relationship between MacFarlane and Gray, two old acquaintances who loathe each other but have become co-dependent. MacFarlane longs to be rid of the old brute, but Gray's sadistic hold over his respected colleague means that he won't give up that easily, and soon Gray's midnight antics digging up the dead turns to murder as the city catches wind of his heinous deeds. This may be Karloff's finest performance, adding a smirk and a wicked sense of humour to his evildoer, with Daniell more than holding his own as the conflicted doctor.Directed by Robert Wise, whose career covered almost everything from low-budget horror (The Curse of the Cat People (1944)), to hugely successful musicals (West Side Story (1961) and The Sound of Music (1965)), to sci-fi of varying quality (The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) and Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)), he employs RKO's terrific sets to their maximum potential, bringing 19th century Scotland to life in all its murky glory. Lugosi always appears as one of MacFarlane's assistants, but his billing on the poster is slightly misleading given his slender screen-time. Karloff states that Newton helped resurrect his career and move him away from Universal type-casting, and, although it is still within the same genre, The Body Snatcher allows him to shake off the make-up and allow his natural screen presence to shine through.