The Flesh and the Fiends (1960)

Plot
In the 1820s, Dr Knox is a professor of anatomy in Edinburgh whose research requires him access to fresh corpses. Know begins accepting corpses from body snatchers Burke and Hare, whose sources prove to be dubious at first. But when Knox asks for fresher corpses on a more regular basis, Burke and Hare turn to murder in order to provide the good doctor with bodies. When they realise they are onto a good thing, Burke and Hare become more daring and less choosy about who they kill.

Review
Based upon the true story of notorious grave robbers Burke and Hare, The Flesh and the Fiends is old school horror film making at it's best. Almost impossible to find and with few people ever knowing of it's existence, it's one of the most underrated films of it's time and very violent and cold-hearted. Despite being made in an era more famous for pushing the boundaries of horror in glorious colour for the first time (this was the Hammer era after all), this one was shot in black and white to give it an old school 30s or 40s feel.

It's good if you're in the mood for a talky affair because the horrors are of the man-made variety. The real horror of the film is the way in which the wealthy and influential Knox uses the duo to his advantage, letting them do all of the dangerous work and then reaping the rewards for himself. He knows where the bodies are coming from but turns a blind eye because he knows he won't take the rap for it if Burke and Hare are caught. It's sad and a little to think what life was like at the time if you didn't have an education - Burke and Hare's sole purpose in life is to get money to drink and entertain women. They have no ambition. No plans for the future. They wake up every day and wonder how they're going to get their next drink. Men without hope or a future can be dangerous because they've got nothing to lose and this film explores the lengths to which some would go in order to eek out a living. There are some unnecessary sub plots which just take up screen time and go nowhere including one of Knox's students undertaking a romance with a local whore although when the story goes full circle there is some relevance.

Cushing is outstanding once more. He was born to play these cold, calculating scientists and provides us with another chilling performance of intelligence and ruthlessness. Its a role that is not a million miles away from his portrayals of Dr Frankenstein. Both men of science, devoted so much to their work and making progress that their ethics and morals go out of the window. The scenes in which he cuts down his fellow doctors with a barrage of venomous quips is awesome. Donald Pleasance portrays Hare, the more crafty of the two grave robbers. It doesn't matter whether it was from the 50s, 60s, 70s or 80s, Pleasance is one of those actors who has never altered. He looks exactly the same here as he did in Halloween nearly 20 years later! I've always rated Pleasance as a good actor and it's a shame that his career has never been as well received as it deserves to be. He did make some stinkers in his later career but he's always performed excellently (look at him in The Great Escape for instance - people forget he was in that). It takes two to tango in this film though and George Rose is equally as slimy as Burke who is the lesser intelligent of the two and prone to caving in to Hare's demands. Together the two men create one of the most formidable and frightening duos in history.