Burke & Hare, sometimes called Burke and Hare or The Horrors of Burke and Hare, is a 1972 horror film, directed by Vernon Sewell, and starring Derren Nesbitt, Harry Andrews, and Glynn Edwards. It is based on the true life story of the Burke and Hare murders, and was the last film to be directed by Vernon Sewell. Typically for its time, the film is considerably more sexual that most of its counterparts, and much of the plot focusses on brothel activities.
It was shot at Twickenham Studios in London. The film's sets were designed by the art director Scott MacGregor.
Plot
In Edinburgh, in 1828, there are two sides to society: men living in dirty hovels and grave robbing to make a living; and rich men going to the brothels. Meanwhile, the doctors dine together and drink wine.
Surgeon Dr Robert Knox (Harry Andrews) needs bodies for dissection to satisfy the training needs of his medical students. As only hanging victims may be used, bodies are in short supply. In order to serve the greater good of medical science he employs grave-robbers Burke and Hare (Derren Nesbitt and Glynn Edwards) to supply fresh corpses for his anatomical lectures at the medical academy. The authorities turn a blind eye knowing that stemming the crime would lessen the medical training.
The pair of "resurrectionists" are paid £7 10s for their first body - a truly large sum at that time.
The students in the anatomy theatre appreciate Knox's lectures and demonstrations.
However, when graveyard supplies run low, the industrious pair turn to murder to keep the business going and simply claim to have robbed the bodies. They start with the poor people who co-habit their lodging house on West Port, and these people may have might have legitimately died. Due to greed they gradually get bolder picking younger victims.
Their wives are aware of the murders and indeed encourage and watch the crimes.
But when Mrs Hare brings Daft Jamie home to murder things start to go wrong.. as Jamie is well known. When is body reaches Knox it is seen Jamie has been in a fight. Two of the city guard arrive looking for Jamie. Knox destroys Jamie's head and tells the guards it is a boy killed in a factory accident.
The local brothel burns down and the girls need to find new accommodation. Prostitute Marie and her friend meet Burke in a bar who offers them accommodation. Mary fails to turn up for her rendezvous with her medical student lover... who is shocked when he sees her next on the anatomy table. He asks to speak to Knox. Knox tells the student that he did an autopsy and she died of alcoholism.
The student sneaks into Knox's private dissection room at night. He then goes to Madame Thompson and tells her Marie is dead. She directs him to a tavern in the West Port.
Meanwhile, in the tavern Burke meets an old match-seller, Mary Docherty. He takes her back to his house at Tanners Close to join their Halloween party. A drunken fight breaks out as the student arrives having tracked them down. He calls the City Guard who break up the fight and find the dead body of Mary Docherty.
A voice over explains what then happened to each character.
Cast
Derren Nesbitt as Burke
Harry Andrews as Dr Knox
Glynn Edwards as Hare
Yootha Joyce as Mrs Hare
Françoise Pascal as Marie
Yutte Stensgaard as Janet
Robin Hawdon as Lord Angus McPhee
Alan Tucker as Arbuthnot
Dee Shenderey as Mrs Burke
Joan Carol as Madame Thompson, owner of the brothel
Paul Greaves as Ferguson
David Pugh as Daft Jamie
James Hayter as Dr Selby
Thomas Heathcote as Knox's assistant, Paterson
Duncan Lamont as Dr Saint
Madoline Thomas as Mary Docherty
Production
Vernon Sewell had a script written by Ernie Bradford and said Kenneth Shipman wanted to make it. Shipman suggested parts be played by Sewell's wife Joan and Shipman's girlfriend Dee. Sewell says Dee was not up to the role but could not fire her. He added, "Anyhow, the film is made and I cut it and cut a lot of her out you see, of course. I cut it myself. And I put on a guide track and of music by Shostakovich and, music that suited the movie."