The Flesh and the Fiends 1960

In What’s After the Movie, we explore the dark and intriguing history of Edinburgh in 1828, focusing on the notorious Dr. William Hare, a highly skilled anatomist known for drawing large crowds to his lectures on the human body. Despite his dedication to advancing medical knowledge, Dr. Knox often finds himself at odds with his conservative colleagues who oppose his methods. He is deeply respected by his students, who believe his work is vital for progress in the medical field. However, a significant obstacle they face is the scarcity of legal cadavers, as laws from that era restrict the availability of corpses for dissection. This legal limitation leads to the rise of “Resurrection men,” or graverobbers, who illegally supply bodies to the medical school, fueling a dangerous underground trade.

Dr. Knox’s assistant, Dr. Geoffrey Mitchell, and a young student named Chris Jackson are tasked with purchasing these bodies, which are highly valuable—especially when they are fresh. Their work becomes increasingly perilous as the supply of bodies is sourced from the local community, often through unscrupulous and deadly means. The story takes a gruesome turn with the involvement of William Burke and William Hare, two drunken and ambitious men who discover that a lodger at Burke’s boarding house has recently died and owes money—£4 in rent, to be exact. When they realize that the body of this deceased could fetch a considerable sum from the medical college, they abandon any moral restraint and begin a spree of murder, targeting local residents to meet the demand for cadavers.

As Burke and Hare’s killing spree continues, there is a growing suspicion among Jackson and Mitchell that the bodies supplied by Burke and Hare are not naturally deceased, but victims of foul play. Tensions escalate as the young men voice their suspicions, but Dr. Knox dismisses these concerns, refusing to report the gruesome murders to authorities. Meanwhile, Jackson falls in love with a local prostitute named Mary Patterson, a character played by Billie Whitelaw, who is also well known to Burke and Hare. Their relationship becomes complicated when Mary eventually becomes their latest victim.

Jackson’s discovery of Mary’s body in the lecture hall marks a turning point, and in a tragic climax, he confronts Burke and Hare, only to meet his own end in the violent aftermath of their murderous activities. The situation spirals out of control when Burke and Hare murder a mentally ill youth, which leads to their arrest amid a furious mob. Hare agrees to testify against Burke, resulting in Burke’s hanging, though before his death, Burke laments that Dr. Knox never paid him for the final body. Burke’s execution is a grim consequence of their criminal acts, which shock the public and stir outrage.

Despite the public outcry and widespread denunciation, Dr. Knox largely escapes censure from the medical community, with some colleagues, including Dr. Mitchell, defending his actions. Yet, the moral weight of his involvement affects him deeply. He confesses to his niece Martha that the murder victims appeared insignificant in his pursuit of scientific progress but that he was fully aware of how they had died. The movie concludes on a poignant note: Knox, expecting condemnation and the end of his lectures, finds himself unexpectedly greeted by applause from an audience of students. In a moment of remorse and reflection, he begins his next lecture, solemnly reciting the Hippocratic Oath, promising to “never do harm to anyone,” a testament to his complex feelings about his role in one of history’s darkest chapters.