‘The pimps and the prostitutes and the body-snatchers. The brothels and the dens of iniquity.’
Burke & Hare is a 1971 British horror film directed by Vernon Sewell (House of Mystery; The Blood Beast Terror; Curse of the Crimson Altar) from a screenplay by Ernle Bradford. Producer Guido Coen also produced Womaneater in 1957. It is also known as Burke and Hare and The Horrors of Burke and Hare.
In the US, the film was distributed theatrically by Roger Corman’s New World Pictures.
In 2011, real-life murderers Burke and Hare were featured in a black comedy version of their infamous deeds.
The movie stars Derren Nesbitt, Harry Andrews (The Nightcomers; Theatre of Blood), Glynn Edwards (The Playbirds), Yootha Joyce (Frankenstein: The True Story; The Night Digger; Our Mother’s House), Françoise Pascal (Incense for the Damned) and Yutte Stensgaard (Lust for a Vampire).
“Much time is wasted inserting supposedly sexy scenes in equally phoney 19th century Edinburgh brothels and the acting, especially involving the duo’s pushy wives (Shenderey and Joyce), is played for broad comedy instead of incongruous horror…” The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror book
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Cast and characters:
Derren Nesbitt – Burke
Harry Andrews – Doctor Knox
Glynn Edwards – Hare
Yootha Joyce – Mrs Hare
Françoise Pascal – Marie
Yutte Stensgaard – Janet
Robin Hawdon – Lord Angus McPhee
Alan Tucker – Arbuthnot
Dee Shenderey – Mrs. Burke
Joan Carol – Madame Thompson
Paul Greaves – Ferguson
David Pugh – Daft Jamie
James Hayter – Doctor Selby
Thomas Heathcote – Paterson
Duncan Lamont – Doctor Saint
Trailer:
