Burke & Hare (1972)
Directed by Vernon Sewell
Genres - Horror, Comedy |
Sub-Genres - Docudrama, Period Film |
Release Date - Feb 3, 1972 (USA - Unknown), Feb 3, 1972 (USA) |
Run Time - 94 min. |
Countries - United Kingdom |
MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Cavett Binion
Roger Corman's New World Pictures took a stab at the tale of the nefarious real-life graverobbers -- and filled it with the studio's usual quota of nudity, softcore sex and tacky humor. The result is pretty much as one would expect -- nothing to rival the excellent Flesh and the Fiends, or even Tod Slaughter's campy The Greed of William Hart. Harry Andrews plays the unscrupulous Dr. Knox, who enlists the aid of grave-plundering dirtbags Derren Nesbitt and Glynn Edwards in obtaining fresh cadavers for the medical academy. When the demand increases and local cemeteries begin to run dry, the industrious pair turn to the living to keep the doctor supplied. This time out, Burke and Hare are particularly randy fellows, who spend more time carousing in Edinburgh whorehouses than stalking their prey. Despite the macabre subject matter, the producers opted for sexploitation over gruesome horror, but the end result is decidedly dull.
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Keywords
research, graverobber, doctor, murder, rampage, brothel