- Robert Wise's The Body Snatcher is a welcome reminder that Boris Karloff was actually a pretty compelling actor. Given his association with strong, silent types like Frankenstein's Monster and the Mummy, it's easy to forget the value his eerie, lisping voice could bring to a role. Certainly that is true in this film, where Karloff plays the diabolical John Gray, a graverobber devoted to tormenting his benefactor, Dr. MacFarlane (Henry Daniell). You see, MacFarlane and his conscience-stricken understudy Fettes (Russell Wade) need bodies for practicing surgery, but they're having trouble procuring a steady supply through the usual legal means. Unconcerned with such formalities, Gray can deliver fresh bodies to the doctors on a regular basis. In fact, some of the bodies are so fresh that they were alive right up until they met Gray.
- Despite this mutually beneficial arrangement, Gray constantly hounds Dr. MacFarlane, whom he insists on addressing as "Toddy". You see, Gray remembers back when the now-esteemed doctor did his own bit of graverobbing, an illicit activity that the public pinned on Gray and MacFarlane's former mentor. Now, Gray wields this "dark secret" like a bludgeon, constantly forcing MacFarlane to buy him drinks and begrudgingly pretend to be his friend. Fettes is naturally suspicious of Gray, as any reasonable person would be, but fears that his own unwitting association with the man may threaten his future. He's also concerned that interrupting the flow of bodies might adversely affect a young girl's (Sharyn Moffett) upcoming spinal surgery.
- The most memorable scenes in The Body Snatcher are murders, two of which occur offscreen when endearing characters suddenly stop making the sounds they were known for. In contrast, Gray's murder of MacFarlane's assistant (Bela Lugosi) is a surprisingly messy onscreen affair, complete with an overturned chair and pinched nostrils. The rest of the film features a few great scenes with Karloff, the completely inconsistent employment of Scottish accents, and one of the most amusingly bad bedside manners ever put on film. Gray also shows up again after his character dies, which one imagines is a stipulation in Karloff's contract. Incidentally, this was the last onscreen pairing of Lugosi and Karloff, which is probably for the best. Seeing the two famous horror actors next to one another leaves no doubt as to which was the more talented performer.
- Based on a story by Robert Louis Stevenson.
