The Body Snatcher: Cold-Blooded Murder, Robert Louis Stevenson and the Making of a Horror Film Classic

In 1994, historian Scott Allen Nollen published the critically acclaimed Robert Louis Stevenson: Life, Literature and the Silver Screen, the only volume dedicated to screen adaptations of the prolific Scottish author’s work. The Body Snatcher provides the same expansive treatment for this classic 1945 “historical horror” film. Opening with a foreword by Gregory William Mank, Nollen includes a detailed history of the serial murders committed by the infamous Burke and Hare in 1828 Edinburgh, a biography of Stevenson, his writing of the 1881 short story “The Body-Snatcher,” an account of the making, exhibition and reception of the Val Lewton film. a historical and critical analysis of the film, and a look at subsequent motion picture and television films based on the Burke and Hare murders and other Stevenson adaptations featuring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. Illustrated with 150 rare photographs, posters, publicity materials and images from the film. Historian SCOTT ALLEN NOLLEN was educated in film and history at the University of Iowa and served as an archivist with the National Archives and Records Administration. His books on film, literature and music include several involving Scottish history and culture: Robert Louis Stevenson: Life, Literature and the Silver Screen, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle at the Cinema, Robin Hood: A Cinematic History and Jethro Tull: A History of the Band. With his wife, Java native YUYUN YUNINGSIH NOLLEN, he has written Chester Morris: His Life and Career, his third book on Boris Karloff, Karloff and the East: Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern and Oceanian Characters and Subjects in His Screen Career and the forthcoming BearManor Media volume Sons of Charlie Chan: Keye Luke, Sen Yung, Benson Fong. Read more