THE DOCTOR & THE DEVILS is one of the best examples of a movie that I didn’t appreciate the first time I saw it. The fact that the original script is by Dylan Thomas and that it was directed by Freddie Francis, celebrated cinematographer (THE INNOCENTS, THE ELEPHANT MAN) and occasional mainstream horror film director (DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE, THE CREEPING FLESH) raised my expectations to such a degree that I was bound to be disappointed. The cast is an impressive one…Timothy Dalton (in one of his best performances), Jonathan Pryce & Stephen Rea (who are truly unsettling as Burke & Hare surrogates Fallon & Broom), Twiggy, Sian Phillips, and Patrick Stewart. The seediness of the 1828 Edinburgh West Port setting is well captured and the photography and editing are first rate. However I was too busy comparing it to THE FLESH & THE FIENDS the first time around to fully appreciate it but since it came out on DVD, I’ve now seen it 4 times and I keep finding more to admire.
First a little background on the film. The screenplay by Dylan Thomas was written in the late 1940s when British censors and a descendant of Hare’s refused to allow the names of Burke & Hare to be used (a problem Tod Slaughter ran into with THE GREED OF WILLIAM HART in 1948) so he takes the Thomas Wolfe approach of telling the real story only changing the names (hence the aliases of Fallon, Broom & Dr. Rock). The unused screenplay was published after Thomas’ death in 1953 but there were no immediate takers. By the time John Gilling made THE FLESH & THE FIENDS in 1959, he used his own screenplay and the ban on Burke & Hare had been lifted. Flash forward to 1985. Mel Brooks was coming off the highly successful film version of THE ELEPHANT MAN which was produced as a vehicle for Brooks’ wife Anne Bancroft. He was looking around for another 19th century setting when he came across the Dylan Thomas screenplay. He then hired playwright Ronald Harwood (THE DRESSER, QUARTET) to adapt it and asked Francis (who had shot ELEPHANT MAN) to direct.
Francis has said in interviews that he considered most of his horror films beneath him and here was an opportunity to make a serious film with a literary pedigree (like THE INNOCENTS) and that is exactly what he did. While Gilling’s FLESH & THE FIENDS crackles with energy and life, D&D is loaded with period detail and well acted but lacks the engagement and exuberance of F & F. I’m sure that Thomas wouldn’t have minded more of a penny dreadful approach to his screenplay considering the subject material. While I have come to admire Francis’ meticulous approach, it’s a little too reverent to be a mainstream horror film. This is a horror film for MASTERPIECE THEATRE enthusiasts. A movie that takes multiple viewings to fully appreciate its virtues certainly has its merits but it will not sit well with today’s horror fans. THE FLESH & THE FIENDS “remains” the number one Burke & Hare film but because of its literate screenplay (optional subtitles enhance Thomas’ pungent dialogue) and committed performances, THE DOCTOR & THE DEVILS is a worthy successor.
The Capsule Critic 