10. The Body Snatcher (1945) Monster Madness 2009 review

[NickZegBR]

they're climbing in yo' windows snatching you people up

[morrisbrookprod]

Tottey looks like Ben stiller

[ultimatesharpzilla]

STRANGLE!

[mikeduplantier]

You want horror from the 1940s, think swastika and Zyklon-B...

[naedanger123]

@mikeduplantier Fuck, Zyklon-B... Now that's nasty.

[mikeduplantier]

@naedanger123 - Yeah. Well, no disrespect to those who like horror films from this era, but these movies are Sesame Street and Cotton Candy compared to what was happening in East Europe.

[naedanger123]

@mikeduplantier Yup, I know.

[Extacythapsycho]

Can any classic movie buffs out there help me with this question?

This one has been bothering me all night. I was watching the The Body Snatcher on TCM tonight and I could sware I've heard the main reoccuring part of the score in another, more recent film. Anyone out there know what I'm speaking of?

you can hear part of it in the background of this video... starts at about 00:26

[Extacythapsycho]

@Extacythapsycho GOT IT! I was laying in bed later that night and figured it out...

it was in Hellboy during father's funeral. it can be easily found here on youtube

[tf2fan006]

you know who else shit eating grins? joker and the grinch

[gotmilkbob101]

lugosi liked karloff. if you watch a documentary on karloff , you find out that he was a nice guy, and off stage lugosi liked him as a friend

[Hetfieldandhammett1]

i knew burk and hare had something similar about it

[andoc]

Karloff and Lugosi were both extremely talented, but I always thought Lugosi was the better actor of the two.

[molemanninethousand]

Hrm, I expected from the title for it to be similar to "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"

[deathman1021]

I will make a modern day horror flick, give me a time machine, we will have Karloff, Lugosi, Price and all the greats of the old days, we will remake the horror genre

[aquapendulum]

The remake is also awesome as fuck!

[nemozazz]

You know who elese has a s*** eatin grin? gengar >:3

[NodDisciple1]

@nemozazz  Who?

[FamousAquaDragon]

@NodDisciple1 Gengar: the ghost pokemon?

[NodDisciple1]

@FamousAquaDragon Oh.

[FamousAquaDragon]

@NodDisciple1 not to insult you. Didn't mean the question mark

[NodDisciple1]

@FamousAquaDragon  K.

[maggosh]

19 people were...hunting....

[beinghumangirl]

thats kind of like berk and hair(however you spell it) the two famous body snachers i think four years after thr ripper hmm i kinda want to see The Ripper on monster madness that was pretty scary

[kklgnmgkg]

@Cinemassacre whats that dog like monster at the very end? 2:46-2:47

[philipbabb]

@kklgnmgkg looks like a Yehti. 

[TheSuperhalofreak]

Dude, Bela Lugosi is my great grand uncle. No joke that is pretty much the only truly interesting thing about me.

[makon96]

@TheSuperhalofreak dude thats awesome

[TheSuperhalofreak]

@makon96 This also gives a huge hatred towards the Twilight franchise, believing that it disrespects Bela Lugosi in some way. He pretty much got Dracula down pat and now everyone ruins it. Vampires suck blood and murder, no exceptions.

[Lew1826]

@TheSuperhalofreak val lewton is my greatgrandfather!

[TheSuperhalofreak]

@Lew1826 Awesome! We're both related to horror icons no longer relavent today!

[Lew1826]

@TheSuperhalofreak ahahaha thats so true

[FilmForceStudio]

Aw...I thought it was "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" from outer space xD

[SonicTheAk]

How can you say we?i am interested so what

[MrSkyhippowdon]

we dont give a shit about the carriers just review the fucking movies!!!!!!!!

[Mrx2848]

@MrSkyhippowdon learning about the CAREERS and back story are often just as, if not more, entertaining and interesting than the films themselves.

[TheJMPJR]

its based on the case of william burke and william hare I assume

[Leatherbubba]

I found the Body Snatcher/I Walked With A Zombie double feature dvd at Big Lots for 3 dollars. That's what the ancient babylonians called a good deal!

[1Deminator]

Lugosi>Karloff (my opinion)

[femoman]

@1Deminator Eh, I'd say it's a bit of an unfair comparison. They are both horror actors, yes, but they are very different styles. Karloff is more a brutish monster actor, while Lugosi is a more sinister psycho actor. It's like comparing Brian Blessed to Christopher Lee.

[deadwood753100]

You should do "American Phyco" (2007) because it's an original horror movie of the 2000s.

[nbtful]

Toddy the todd. hehe

[Animalguy001]

the rivalry between lugosi and karloff sounds a lot like the sibling rivalry between mario and luigi. hmmmm...sound similar?

[GrimmGrave]

Up the hill

Down the stair

Beat the heels of burke and Hare

Burke the butcher Hare the theif

Bronze is the boy who buys the beef. . .

[Godzie1]

Sorry to correct you...But Lugosi & Karloff never played together in the Raven, That was Boris Karloff & Vincent Price's classic. (Also my favorite movie!)

Otherwise you do a great commentary on these classics! Thank you :)

[AurumVox]

@Godzie1 Lugosi and Karloff were in the 1935 version. Karloff and Price were in the 1963 version.

[Godzie1]

@AurumVox 1935 version? I never saw it or even knew there was one? My apologies..(I thought I saw them all?) :P

[whobody40]

@Godzie1

Uh, wrong. The Raven is a supreme, classic Universal movie from the mid 30's, with an amazing Karloff - Lugosi conflict. Great, bizarre movie. I think it's the only movie where Lugosi gets the best of Karloff; at least until the end.

And yes, there is a 1963 version with Karloff and Price, which is completely unrelated.

[Godzie1]

@whobody40 Sorry but I never saw that movie? But I will try to see it in the future. Thanks for the info!

[whobody40]

@Godzie1 Just type The Raven Karloff in the search on YouTube.

Yeah, the Raven and the earlier Black Cat (1934) were great, sick movies. Body Snatcher is really great too but the supposed 'final teaming' of Karloff and Lugosi' was very misleading; Bela's is a minor cameo role. Henry Daniell is the real co-star here.

[Godzie1]

@whobody40 Two things really surprise me..The fact both films were called The Raven & the fact that Lugosi actually would play in a movie w/ Karloff? Lugosi despised him after the Frankenstien drama & bet their was a lot of tension on the set between both actors. I did watch the "Bubble version" of the 35 Raven & it did look like both were trying to upstage each other. (for what I saw) But I will always favor the 63 version w/Price, Karloff & Laurey. Fantastic movie!

[whobody40]

@Godzie1 They actually appeared in 8 movies together (I happen to be reading 'Lugosi and Karloff: A Haunting Collaboration' which is why this subject really interests me right now!) and there is wide disagreement as to any percieved animosity between them. Much is made of how well they got on while filming Son of Frankenstein (1939; Lugosi's best movie ever, IMO). That was a comeback for both, which Karloff sustained, but not Lugosi; he was reduced to pretty bad crap by the late 40's and 50s

[Godzie1]

@whobody40 That is why Lugosi died a poor man, in fact Ed Wood (the infamouse B cult movie director) was nice enough to pay for Bela's funeral. (He only made $500.00 a week for Dracula itself) During the years though the Lugosi family sued Universal & won millions (that universal made off of him) OMG We see him on tv every Holloween season! They deserve it!

[dltanner99]

Horror novel about two boys who find something strange on the beach one night see video book trailer

[commando2224]

every halloween i go to his site and watch all his videos untill rlly late lol. fuck trick or treating lol

[themovieguy364]

I think the reason Lugosi wasn't shown much was because Lewton hated the idea of working with big names. He was horrified at first at the idea of Karloff starring in three of his films, but came to realize Karloff was also trying something different. The two developed quite alot of respect for one another and became good friends. Lugosi having nothing to do, never got to show he was just as effective. Plus he was declining in peoples eyes around then. Lewton just didn't want it like Universal.

[lermadaniel]

@lawofmatthew because it takes place in the 19th century

[lawofmatthew]

2:31 did James just says nineteen? Not eighteen?

[petrosapien]

wwooo! Edinburgh!

In edinburgh around the time the movie takes place there were 2 bodysnatchers called burke and hare did the same thing for a doctor <-- true story - FACT

[KingOSketchKomedy]

@Wassupuidiots what's your problem man!?

[filmaddict818]

Henry Daniell kicks ass in this film

[balrog13571]

Also the studio actually turned Lugosi down for The Monster not the other way around. He didn't want it, but he still tried out, but the original make-up on him looked so ridiculous Carl Laemmle Jr. burst out laughing so he and the original choice for the director were turned down which at the time was fine with him but as Karloff became more popular he started taking whatever he was offered which led to his decline. He also never had a real rivalry with Karloff according to their kids.

[balrog13571]

It kind of annoys me that he talked about this Lewton produced movie in so much detail, but never even talked about the story of Cat People or any other movie he worked with but whatever. It definately is one of Karloff's best performances and despite the lack of Lugosi screentime the last scene with him has so much tension you can cut the air with a knife.

[MovieDemon]

Making this review about the parallels of Karloff and Lugosi is beyond the point, the film itself is vastly underrated. It is one of the greatest horror films ever made and one of Karloff's best performances. 10/10

[whobody40]

@MovieDemon I agree with you here. The NY local channels would always show the old Universal movies when I was a kid; didn't even know about this one until I was an adult, and the first time I saw it, the end really blew me away; just great. It's hard to find now, still. Was always disappointed at Lugosi's small role, though, when he was second billed. Karloff was never better (except for the Frankenstein monster, which will never be topped).

[romas1995]

in my opinion lugosi was a better actor than karloff , i love them both but for god's sake karloff was a lucky bastard.

[Leatherbubba]

Lugosi got burked.

[Karosanyo]

I'm in love with cinemassacre ! I love all of his reviews and I think he's cute !

[ScaryReviews]

Hard to say, but I'm sure Val Lewton horror films are much different from Universal's. It depends on what kind of classic horror you like either with monsters or with just general suspense!

[BajebusDiabetus]

Karloff does not deserve to smell my shit!

[KelanDWood]

@BajebusDiabetus LOL. I will say that Ed Wood is Tim Burton's masterpiece. I didn't care for Alice in Wonderland and although I enjoyed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory originally but don't fondly look back on it and am skeptical to re watch it. Batman was great,Edward Scissorhands was great and Big Fish was great but Ed Wood in my mind is the clear winner. Such a hilarious quote.

[LilEasterTheTot]

@BajebusDiabetus Karloff? Sidekick? FUCK YOU!!

[skellington15]

Karloff, Lugosi, Lugosi, Karloff, Karloff, Lugos--AAAHHHHH!!! I'm getting such a headache! I can't tell these two apart because they're too damn awsome!

[unloksouls1]

"an RKO Radio picture" looks like Randy orton is the body snatcher lol

[grisom7]

19th? didnt it say 1831 at 2:33?

[KUR1SU]

@grisom7 1831 IS the 19th century. 1800 - 1899 to be exact. Like, imagine when we started counting the years. Like the year 40 is the first century. Being the 0th century would make no sense, would it? So the years 100-199 are the second century, 200-299 the third, 1900-1999 the 20th, 2000-2099 the 21st, and so on.

[davidwigs]

@grisom7 Yeah that's how it works. It's 2010, so we live in the 21st century, not the 20th. It's a weird system, but 0AD-99AD is considered the first century, and 100-199, the second century.

[angeldemonjosh]

hey um i know its not a real monster movie but u should do the cat people its kinda of a good movie

[tokyopanda13]

@angeldemonjosh he did already.

[doctorollie]

I prefer lugosi even though I'm english mostly because of the film ed wood

[TheM9Beretta]

i gotta get laid

[THESUPERCAT64]

i think Karloff looks like George Clooney in a way

[grendelee]

Boris Karloff might of killed in his day, but to me, the legacy goes to Lugosi. Hell always be remembered...

[Jaguar19951000]

so that's how they finish there final appearances together, not fair on Lugosi. But still the highlight the film.

[smeatonlad]

Isn't greyfriars bobby in this movie but gets killed by boris korloff

[abtazz12]

I have a question

what is a cameo

[BlazikenYoshiLink]

its kinda like a famous person or character making an appearance in another thing (movie/game)

[abtazz12]

as him/her self?

[BlazikenYoshiLink]

sometimes

[skinnyhobo]

@abtazz12 A cameo can usually be described as a brief and uncredited appearance by a notable celebrity/person in a movie.

[oneofcompassion]

I might be wrong, but I've noticed that some of Karloff's characters have cats for pets. Has anyone else noticed this?

[Titan990]

u know, at 1:18 to 1:30 why do I picture Jay Leno Strangling Conan O Brien. Idk just some random thought

[SchlossRitter]

Man, Lugosi got punked.

[godzilla964]

Carloff is spelled with a"K".

[Venom3sm]

Wow, a horror film set in my hometown. AWESOME!

[dudeman2184]

@Venom3sm not if it was the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

[HorrorFanDude]

What movie is it on

2:46

That white hairy monster

???

[2ooPnYz]

its the last hammer frankenstien movies

[HorrorFanDude]

thanx man i will check it out Hammer movies rocks!

[TheSonomaDude]

@HorrorFanDude I know its really late, but that shot is from Creepshow.

[xxxOMGSweetxxx]

Look everyone!

It's Karloff's career strangling Lugosi's career!

At least,that's what I saw when I put that scene into perspective........but still,MAKE HIM STOP!!!!

[Cybopath]

Karlof is great in this flick, but being From Edinburgh I always found this film odd that is 1800's Scotland populated by people with English and American accents. Oh well I suppose I don't complain about the German accents in Frankenstein.

[Barraki148]

isnt there a remake? on the dvd it has a half-rotten body almost completely bauried in the desert with ants crawling all over it...

[Cybopath]

Their are numerous films based on the case of 'Burke and Hare' the true story that inspired Stevenson's novel 'The Body Snatcher'. There is a new Burk and hare film in production Directed by John Landis and Tim Burton is planning a re-make of 'The Body Snatcher' so be prepared to see Johnny Depp's Scottish accent.

[ooogmorg]

i really prefer lagosy to karlof

i dont care if i spelt it wrong

[Anidem9]

same here, about Lugosi, not the spelling.

[dougieobern]

yeah...um..Sh*# eating grin is an expresion Far older then both of them.......

Kids today....

[acdctnt38]

who stole it from the nerd.

[cget]

man who reviews bad video games....oh yeah AVGN

[tyca129]

Nerd said it first, retard.

[MikeMarino]

haha, Toddy

[knop95]

The Cinemassacre site isn't working so I'm watching it here.

[SolidSnakeRules]

This is so lame, cinemassacre's videos aren't appearing in my subscription list and I made sure I'm subscribed.

Why does this shit have to happen during October, the best cinemassacre month of the year!?

[Albinotortoise1994]

same happening here

[Kasigi03]

Two things, one, James you seem to think each movie you review with Karloff in it is his best performance. Choose one man. Two, anyone else notice the doctor in this movie is called "Toddy" MacFarlane, aka, the name of the guy who invented Spawn? Thats badass.

[RobMetalCheese]

ONE OF. He said, "One of Karloff's best performances".

[CallumJStewart]

Forgot to mention, this movie is set in my home town!

[CallumJStewart]

While I've never been the biggest Val Lewton fan, I gotta admit, I LOVE this movie. This and "Cat People" are his best.

[greatgallade]

loseing veiewers your awsome how that happened

[Heavyarmorguy]

Well i always liked Bela Lugosi more then Karloff!

Don `t know why.Probably because he played my favorite villain of all time Dracula. Or to me he just seems more charismatic.

[SolidSnakeRules]

I always liked Lugosi more, but that's because as a kid I saw him as Igor and he was great.

[DMaustrap]

"....And he's always got that shit eating grin." LMAO!

Great review for a great creepy film.

[unscenegamers]

This was uploaded on sept. 28th?

[acebunny17]

Is james gonna make reviews of movies from the 50s,60s,70s,80s and 90s?

[catboyjeremie]

Awesome review, this year's cinemassacre monster madness just keeps getting me more interested in horror movies, I recently got the invisible man and I'm now in love with classic horror movies.

The monster madness, the way I see it isn't entirely about monsters, its also simply about horror movies. The first cinemassacre was a good example of this.

[TRKoneAD2]

the YouTube film center is right here

[BaggysAnime]

Sorry for double post but it seems your doing reviews on Horror films rather than monsters...

[MurdertheDawn]

Well, it is almost Halloween.

[BaggysAnime]

Hope we start to get actual monsters. Like Zombies and The Thing(80s) And Stuff like that.. I like watching the classic stuff but. Lets get to the Actual monsters!

[Congest]

Karloff kicks so much ass in this movie. It's one of my favourites.

[Rubberman202]

Or Lugosi...

[1more4carhur]

maaaan, boris karloff and bela legosi were busy guys.

[BaggysAnime]

How is this a monster? its just some grave digger..

[JackKlompus13]

Yeah, and a killer. I guess you could say that a guy who murders people is a monster, but I get what you're saying.

[Alevamltd]

I hope he reviews "The Deadly Spawn"

[Movie06]

Good review. I mean, wow. You're more of a movie geek than I' am. :)

Be proud!

[m2frogger]

About thirty or so year's later...one of the scariest movies of all time, would be realized by Warner Brother's studio's.

[DAFTPUNKletlive]

please do paranormal activity scaaary movie

[Bloodyquill]

I saw some of this movie earlier this year. Now I want to see the whole thing!

[blakninjacat]

this doesnt show up in my subscription box

[mfinlay694]

same here, the past four or so havent in mine. somethings up

[kriitikko]

Without a doubt my favourite Karloff performance. I loved him in Frankenstein, Black Cat and many others, but his role as Gray is my absolute favourite.

[johnnyhorror92182]

There is another similar to "The Body Snatcher" called "The Flesh and the Fiends" starring Peter Cushing.

[TheNoOneChic]

Pretty awesome, I can't want till you do chucky. That doll makes me shit my pants O_o

[Superbeast1954]

Chucky sucks compared to other slashers. Hes not even scary.

[rasengan2122]

Nice video :o

[jonaski08]

Nice One James,

Love your reviews :-)