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The Body Snatcher (1945)

1/24/2013

 
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The psychological horror films produced at RKO by Val Lewton, in the brief but fertile span from 1942 to 1946, are really something special. They stand apart from the more flamboyant, monster-dominated thrillers that came out of Universal Studios in the 1930s. Lewton was a highly-educated, sensitive man who brought a subtlety and finely-tuned artistic sensibility to what was considered by many in the industry as a crass, "lowest common denominator" genre. He was far more interested in the horrors of the mind, and the kinds of psychological violence that man perpetuates on to others and torments himself with, than in any outright presence of the supernatural. There are plenty who might prefer the grab-you-by-the-throat monster menaces of Universal over the ambiguous, "is it real or imagined?" horrors that populate Lewton's works, but few can dispute the skill with which Lewton and his crew of talented collaborators made such powerful films out of such low means.

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Starting with Cat People in 1942, Lewton created 9 short, polished little gems of unease and quiet, slowly-escalating terror, several of which are minor masterpieces of mood and atmosphere. Lewton and his directors (Jacques Tourneur, Robert Wise and Mark Robson), managed to eke out maximum production value from low budgets, through a combination of carefully-composed shots, inventive cinematography and a deliberate, thoughtful blending of the poetic and the macabre. Lewton's films are revered by fans of classic horror, who love to argue over the relative merits of his output. I happen to be partial to I Walked with a Zombie (a classy update of Jane Eyre set in Haiti, more melodrama than horror but gripping nonetheless) and Isle of the Dead (a somber meditation on war, disease, death and madness). All nine - even the comparatively unloved The Ghost Ship - remain fascinating works, and offer many rewards for the patient viewer.

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Fettes is drawn to the widowed Mrs. Marsh and her crippled daughter.
The Body Snatcher came near the end of this 5-year cycle, and is more of a historical drama than a traditional horror film, though it contains enough grisly, disturbing elements to certainly qualify.

Young medical student Donald Fettes (Russell Wade) becomes assistant to the famed Dr. Wolfe MacFarlane (Henry Daniel) at his medical school in Edinburgh. Fettes soon finds that the much-needed bodies for dissection and study, being provided by the sinister Cabman John Gray (Boris Karloff) have actually been robbed from their freshly-dug graves. Fettes learns that Gray has some strange hold over Dr. MacFarlane, related to dark events shared in their past. In order to help cure a crippled young girl, Fettes soon finds himself making moral compromises as well, which threaten to send him down the same path as his mentor, into a cycle of crime, guilt and murder...


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Karloff vs.Lugosi once again.
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Cabman Gray flexing his power over MacFarlane.

Despite its small scale, The Body Snatcher is a compelling drama about human greed, malice and the corrupting influence of evil deeds done with good intentions. The elegant script, co-written by Lewton and Phillip McDonald (adapted from a short story by Robert Louis Stevenson), cleverly acknowledges the historical precedent of its central premise by name-checking the notorious Burke and Hare murders (even making Dr. MacFarlane a former protege of the real-life Dr. Robert Knox). This adds a sense of realism to the film that, along with some fine art direction and excellent direction from Robert Wise, helps camoflauge the fact that the film was made in Hollywood and at the RKO Ranch, and not actually in Scotland. The story and mood are so effectively executed, I doubt many viewers would even notice this artificiality.

The real highlight of the film is the masterful central performance by Boris Karloff, who brings to life one of the most chilling and believable depictions of malevolence and cruelty in horror cinema. Karloff's Cabman Gray is an unforgettable creation, all smiling bonhomie masking a murderous, controlling, predatory mind. Karloff uses his wonderful, silky voice to good effect, lulling his prey into a sense of false security before he slips his hands around their throat. Gray toys with MacFarlane, the lower-class killer enjoying his power games over the upper-crust, highly-educated doctor, one of his so-called betters. You can tell that Karloff relished this script and role, and reigns in any tendencies to ham things up. His performance is reptilian, cold, tightly-controlled, and all the more effective for its subtlety (a Lewton trademark).
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One of the most haunting images from the film, as the young street singer walks into the darkness to her death.

Henry Daniel matches Karloff as the arrogant, essentially well-meaning but morally compromised MacFarlane. Conflicted and tormented by his connection to the evil Gray, he eventually slips over the line into darkness and rage, and from there on to murder and the madness that awaits. The script makes it clear that MacFarlane was once like the idealistic Fettes, and that time, bad decisions and Gray's corrupting influence turned him into the tortured soul he has now become. This is easily one the best parts in Daniel's career, and he and Karloff crackle in their scenes together.

Bela Lugosi, as Joseph, the dim-witted assistant to MacFarlane, receives much higher billing than his tiny role warrants, but with such a modest production, you can't blame the filmmakers for milking their two big horror marque names for all they were worth. Lugosi makes the most of his big scene with Karloff, but unfortunately for him, it's the latter actor who we can't tear our eyes away from. Still, this remains one of Lugosi's better late-career parts (before his last hurrah as Dracula in 1948's delightful Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein).


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Russell Wade as Fettes

Russell Wade is fine in the pivotal role of the young, naive Fettes. He's our entree into the weird, twisted relationships and dark world of the film, and remains a sympathetic character, despite his increasingly maddening indecision towards the end. Wade was an extremely busy actor, racking up a whopping 80 film roles in his 15-year career. The rest of the small cast do nice work as well (including Edith Atwater as MacFarlane's housekeeper/secret wife), but the film really belongs to the three leads.
Special mention should also be given the evocative camera work by Robert De Grasse, who also did sterling work on another Lewton horror film, The Leopard Man.

The only hint of a possible supernatural effect in the film comes during the storm-lashed finale, but to my mind it's pretty clear that these ghostly overtones are the product of a mind suddenly unhinged, rather than anything to be taken at face value. But that's typical Lewton, who never prefers to spell things out clearly one way or the other when he can leave it up to the audience to decide. His is a world of suggestive horror, and any way you slice it, the final, nightmarish hansom cab ride down a treacherous, lonely stretch of road that concludes The Body Snatcher is beautifully constructed and executed with flair. It acts as a fittingly dramatic crescendo to a taut, 77-minute film that will likely haunt you for days after seeing it.
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DVD Note: Part of the 5 disc, 9 film  (plus documentary) Val Lewton Horror Collection boxed set, The Body Snatcher looks just fine on a DVD that gives a decent gloss, if not remarkable sharpness, to its striking black-and-white cinematography.
Rod Croft
1/25/2013 12:51:16 pm

Jeff,
Your comment on Producer, Val Lewton's film, "The Body Snatchers" was well-written, interesting and I particularly enjoyed your informative introduction. Inclusion of "The Stalking Moon" in Sergio's nominations for "Blogger of the Year, 2012 ", in the company of such other eminent bloggers, is well deserved. Congratulations!

The sometimes lurid titles that RKO required Lewton to "build stories around", were probably a disincentive for many critics to take his films seriously, and it is only due to Lewton"s skill, (in close consultation with his Directors), that has ensured that his work still remains appreciated today.

Jeff
1/26/2013 08:01:07 pm

Thank you for the kind words, Rod! Much appreciated.

I think you make a good point re: the "lurid" titles Lewton was given to work with. I wonder what 1940s audiences thought when they bought tickets to these films with such melodramatic titles and went in expecting one thing and getting something else entirely. Hopefully pleasantly surprised. I have no idea how well these films did at the box office; I'm assuming they at least returned on the studios investment, as they kept making them.

Colin link
1/25/2013 06:23:32 pm

Your reading of the movie is spot on Jeff. It's one of the best by Lewton and Robert Wise composes some lovely scenes.
This contains what is easily the finest performance by Karloff in the 40s, and is close to being his best work of any decade.

Jeff
1/26/2013 08:06:50 pm

Cheers, Colin! I agree with you re: Karloff's work here. It's really a marvelous performance, and indeed rivals his best stuff from the 30s. I'm also partial to his performance in the Peter Bogdanovich film TARGETS.

Robert Wise is a really interesting director who succeeded in many different genres. I probably should have spent more time talking about him here, but will definitely come back to him when I write about some other films of his I admire - for example, THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN.

Sergio (Tipping My Fedora) link
1/25/2013 11:56:38 pm

This is a great movie and well worth celebrating - well done Jeff, and excellent overview. Don't know if you ever saw HALLOWEEN H20 by I always though that the ending to that film owed a lot to the climax of this one.

Jeff
1/26/2013 08:12:15 pm

Hey, Sergio - thanks for that! I have seen HALLOWEEN H2O but it's been a while, so the connection to THE BODY SNATCHER isn't leaping out at me....remind me, will you? All I remember is something of a final car crash, then Jamie Lee Curtis decapitating Michael Myers. Good ending to a so-so film.

What I haven't forgotten is your strong recommendation of Lewton's THE 7TH VICTIM, and plan to get to that one someday.

Gary
1/26/2013 10:29:50 pm

It's one of my favourite movies. It has by far the best script of any of the Lewton horrors of the 40s, and the direction and acting really does lift it into being something special. The characters are fascinating because no-one is entirely good or entirely bad. Even Karloff's murderer has moments of kindness and tenderness (and his promise to let the young girl pet his horse is responsible for her getting out of the wheelchair). Russell Wade's hero is pretty forgettable, though. He seems to have been put in simply to fulfil the young hero role, but is weak willed and indecisive. The one time that he acts decisively he actually sets a murder in motion!

Jeff
1/27/2013 10:22:10 am

Hello, Gary! Thanks for the comment. You make a good point that even Cabman Gray, for all his terrible acts and sadism, does show kindness to the little girl (and his horse, too), and this adds nuance to his character. Hitler loved dogs and all that.

As for Russell Wade...yes, I agree his character's indecision does become a bit ridiculous and trying as events unfold; still, he comes across as a sympathetic if rather weak-willed individual.

R.A. Kerr link
1/27/2013 03:19:47 am

Nice job! I really enjoyed reading your comments about Val Lewton and "The Body Snatcher" in particular. It's great to see that he (Val) is getting recognition for his work in the 21st Century.

Jeff
1/27/2013 10:24:49 am

Hi Ruth! Thanks for the comment, as always! Are you a fan of Lewton's? I'm not sure how much you're into horror films, but I will say that Lewton's, while containing some scary or disturbing moments, are mostly just very effective dramas. I find his work pretty impressive overall.

Rod Croft
1/27/2013 03:22:02 pm

Jeff,
I understand that most of Lewton's films made a modest profit, enough to keep RKO Studio Chief at that time, Charles Koerner, happy.

Unfortunately, Lewton's final film for the studio. "Bedlam" (1946), although receiving favourable reviews from the critics, failed at the box-office.

Combined with the facts that - (1) the cost of "B" films had increased considerably since the end of WW2
and (2) audience interest in horror films was considered by the Studio to be in decline, Val Lewton's services were terminated by Koerner's replacement at RKO.

Jeff
1/28/2013 10:59:34 am

Rod - thanks for that info regarding the box office performance of Lewton's RKO films...fascinating stuff! His treatment at the hands of the new head of RKO was typically shabby. His remaining years seem to have been difficult ones, though he did get 3 more films produced before his untimely death. I haven't seen any of those 3, but have heard good things about APACHE DRUMS and hope to catch up with it some day. He's yet another example of a talent unappreciated in his lifetime. At least he has enjoyed a great reputation after his passing.

Rod Croft
1/29/2013 08:12:55 am

Jeff,

In case you have missed it, Colin has done an informative and interesting review of Lewton's "Apache Drums" in his "Riding the High Country" Blog - entry was dated September 17, 2012.

Jeff
1/30/2013 06:59:34 pm

Thanks, Rod - I did catch Colin's post. It's what brought APACHE DRUMS to my attention; until his post, I was unaware that Lewton had a western on his resume.

Ruth link
1/30/2013 05:27:42 am

Hello Jeff! I'm not a big fan of psychological horror genre, but wow, this one stars two of the most famous horror stars of their time!

Jeff
1/30/2013 07:01:33 pm

Hi Ruth! Yes, I'm sure having Karloff and Lugosi in the cast helped sell this film to horror audiences. I can understand how psychological horror might not be your bag, but this is a fine film if you're in the mood for such a thing.


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