cinema history class: the body snatcher

Session: Beastly Black and White, Week 4
Movie 2: The Body Snatcher (1945)
Directed by Robert Wise

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL

Plot:
A doctor and his student get dead bodies from the wrong source, leaving them open to blackmail. Hilarity ensues.

Reaction:
The most interesting part of this movie was the way horror was conveyed by showing very little. Brutal beatings are shown in shadows, forcing the viewer to use his imagination. Similarly, a woman becomes victim and instead of seeing it, we just hear that she has stopped singing. It's spooky that way.

Sadly, another thing that we saw too little of was Bela Lugosi. The trailer gives the impression that he's a major star of the film. But that's a case of, shall we say, deceptive marketing. Still and all, Boris Karloff was able to carry the day. The way Joe put it was something along the lines of, even if he had gone into that movie, paying at the theatre and expecting Bela Lugosi, he still wouldn;t have been disappointed.

Ratings:
Me: 9.25
Dave: 10
Ethan: 10
Joe: 10