Grade: C-
Synopsis: A cold-hearted doctor and his promising protégé find themselves increasingly beholden to the murderous cabman (Boris Karloff) who provides them with cadavers.
The Body Snatcher is a well-produced thriller that, unfortunately, lacks any real edge.
Karloff is great in the titular role, a dark, amoral man whose greatest pleasure is blackmailing a respected surgeon. His performance single-handedly makes the film worth watching.
The rest of the cast is serviceable. Henry Daniell and Russell Wade work well as a heartless doctor and promising student, respectively and Bela Lugosi has a throw-away role in what would be his final on-screen pairing with Karloff.
Unfortunately, while director Robert Wise and producer Val Lewton deliver in spades on atmosphere, they fail to infuse the film with any real edge. Karloff’s character talks too much and acts too little, and the film drags when he’s off screen for too long. Further, there’s a whole subplot with a paralyzed little girl that fails miserably (the girl is downright annoying from the get-go), and a hinted-at romance that also seems misplaced. This film should have been much, much, darker.
Bottom Line: While far from perfect, Karloff fans won’t want to miss The Body Snatcher, as it contains one of his finest performances.
