The Flesh and the Fiends

Peter Cushing’s missing Frankenstein flick, sort of

In 1828 Edinburgh, an ambitious doctor of anatomy (Peter Cushing) needs corpses for his work, which are dubiously supplied by two base men (Donald Pleasence and George Rose). This can’t end well.

Shot in B&W (unfortunately), "The Flesh and the Fiends" (1960) is based on the infamous Burke and Hare murders and has been released under various other titles, like “Psycho Killers” and “Mania.” It was the first horror flick to feature Cushing not produced by Hammer Films, but it was shot at one of the studios that Hammer used in the greater London area and involved some of the same talent (at the time or in the near future), such as director John Gilling. So, naturally, it’s similar to a Hammer film.

It's most comparable to Cushing’s Frankenstein movies since Dr. Robert Knox comes across as a real-life version of Baron Victor Frankenstein, not to mention the events take place just a decade after the publication of Mary Shelley’s Gothic novel. For those not in the know, Cushing starred as Dr. Frankenstein in six Hammer films between 1957-1974.

Being based on a true story, this lacks the sensationalism of Hammer horror; it’s unsurprisingly more dramatic and mundane. Yet I liked how Dr. Knox is fleshed out (similar to Cushing’s Victor Frankenstein), as well as the side story involving one of Knox’s Med students (John Cairney) falling for a wild lower-class lass of the taverns (Billie Whitelaw).

There are two versions of the film with the “continental version” featuring nudity that was surprising for a flick shot in 1959, which mostly consists of female top nudity; but there are also a few shots of a couple women totally nude, like one walking around the tavern in the background. Of course, such (tame) nudity was nothing new in cinema if you’ve seen 1934’s “Tarzan and His Mate,” but the Hays Code put the kibosh on it in America until the late 60s and the BBFC did the same in the UK.

It runs 1 hour, 35 minutes, and was shot at Shepperton Studios, just southwest of London. (The censored version runs a minute shorter while the version called “The Fiendish Ghouls” cuts out some 23 minutes).

GRADE: B-