The Doctor And The Devils (1985)

A doctor (Timothy Dalton) who teaches at a medical school has no ethics when it comes to the cadavers supplied to him, He insists it's all in the name of science, even when the evidence indicates they have been deliberately murdered by his suppliers (Jonathan Pryce, Stephen Rea) for the money he pays them. Based on the real life exploits of Burke and Hare, almost 32 years passed from the time Dylan Thomas (UNDER MILK WOOD) wrote the screenplay and the film actually came to fruition, this time with screenwriter Ronald Harwood (an Oscar winner for THE PIANIST) updating Thomas's earlier screenplay. Directed by Oscar winning cinematographer (SONS AND LOVERS, GLORY) turned director Freddie Francis, the film is an unpleasant ghoulish affair, not unlike Val Lewton's 1945 THE BODY SNATCHER only more graphic. Still, there's no denying the compelling nature of the subject. The production design by Brian Ackland Snow and Robert W. Laing does a splendid job of recreating early 19th century England squalor (though the actual Burke and Hare murders took place in Scotland). With Julian Sands, Twiggy (quite likable as a cockney whore), Patrick Stewart, Sian Phillips, Beryl Reid, T.P. McKenna and Jennifer Jayne.