tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4846293972880517466.post7101301306523956807..comments2024-03-26T10:40:02.173-07:00Comments on Films From Beyond the Time Barrier: Will the real monster please stand up? The Flesh and the FiendsBrian Schuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08463833554200343247noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4846293972880517466.post-74879202432517184062022-11-04T16:36:55.345-07:002022-11-04T16:36:55.345-07:00Thanks Michael! I was happy to see that you chose ...Thanks Michael! I was happy to see that you chose The Flesh and the Fiends for the Donald Pleasance blogathon - the film deserves all the attention it can get! For me, this is one Pleasance's very best, chilling performances as a conscience-less would-be dandy. As for the screen grab - obviously, great minds freeze frame alike! ;-)Brian Schuckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08463833554200343247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4846293972880517466.post-50736858652362046932022-11-04T09:49:31.662-07:002022-11-04T09:49:31.662-07:00Great article, Brian. It is so interesting to see...Great article, Brian. It is so interesting to see, not only how our opinions and impressions match and diverge, but also what aspects of the film we each focused on. One especially fascinating aspect is that we both used the same image of Cushing debating his colleagues. It looks like the exact same frame of the film, despite the fact that I am sure I took that frame grab myself. Eerie.MichaelWDenneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08385982366116957705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4846293972880517466.post-89264183238779519622022-06-20T10:03:54.058-07:002022-06-20T10:03:54.058-07:00I too am skeptical about virtual reality completel...I too am skeptical about virtual reality completely replacing cadavers in medical education. It seems the medical establishment has made great strides in the humane and respectful use of donations. On the other hand, reports of bodies donated to "science" being used as crash test dummies or in military bomb tests is ghoulish in the extreme. Thanks for visiting!Brian Schuckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08463833554200343247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4846293972880517466.post-63332308217843077522022-06-18T16:42:09.046-07:002022-06-18T16:42:09.046-07:00I certainly hope we haven't seen the end of ca...I certainly hope we haven't seen the end of cadavers in medical schools. Some years ago a coworker told me that his fiance, a first year medical student, like those in the rest of her class had been assigned her own cadaver to work with the rest of the year. Also body donations are seen as a contribution to science-- my driver's license stipulates body donation in case of death. The University of Michigan Medical School has a "garden" where the ashes of donor bodies are respectfully interred. On the other hand, I can understand the anger of the young man who learned his grandmother wound up a crash test dummy in simulated car crashes. I would hate to wind up shot out of a.cannon or something myself.geralmarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03453256388942999114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4846293972880517466.post-91829237214715787572022-05-03T09:11:14.448-07:002022-05-03T09:11:14.448-07:00Thanks so much Mike! When I'm in full geek mod...Thanks so much Mike! When I'm in full geek mode, I often try to connect the movies I'm watching with things going on in my life, or life in general. I was the kind of kid who spent rainy Saturday afternoons reading the World Book encyclopedia. 50 years later, it's hard to turn old habits off. :-)Brian Schuckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08463833554200343247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4846293972880517466.post-7297444260663631122022-05-03T09:04:26.981-07:002022-05-03T09:04:26.981-07:00For me, The Body Snatcher is one of Karloff's ...For me, The Body Snatcher is one of Karloff's very best and most chilling performances. It's different from the roles he was getting at the time, in that John Gray is evil to the core with no redeeming qualities. Rose's and Pleasence's Burke and Hare are chilling in that they're perfectly ordinary, and dispatch their victims with carefree abandon. The Flesh and the Fiends is more "modern" in its take that there are few innocents in a corrupt society, and that powerful and influential people often don't pay for their crimes.Brian Schuckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08463833554200343247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4846293972880517466.post-4621383587853134432022-05-02T22:15:47.591-07:002022-05-02T22:15:47.591-07:00This film somehow managed to escape my radar all t...This film somehow managed to escape my radar all these years. I'm not quite sure how that happened. But I would definitely like to see it. Thanks for the spoiler warning! Your writing is wonderful, and you inspire me to try a little harder with my film commentaries. And thanks for the information about the history of the cadaver industry. Things I never knew!!Mike's Movie Roomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15839320118431543221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4846293972880517466.post-18598246104972338722022-05-02T19:44:36.436-07:002022-05-02T19:44:36.436-07:00I haven't seen this film but I've heard go...I haven't seen this film but I've heard good things about it; and your excellent review makes me want to get out right away and find a copy. I've seen the Val Lewton version, The Body Snatcher, which is also excellent (and I think even surpasses the story it's based on); how would you compare the two? It's also irritating, as you note, that Knox in the film essentially gets away with his crimes and the film ends with what sounds like sentmentality. I wonder why it didn't go along with the historical facts - it would have played out much better, I think.grandoldmovieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10773085288675763855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4846293972880517466.post-35748754267401817012022-04-26T09:11:33.282-07:002022-04-26T09:11:33.282-07:00Thanks Barry! I wonder if the British Censorship B...Thanks Barry! I wonder if the British Censorship Board influenced that ending, along the lines of something that grim needing an upbeat ending (although I didn't find anything to suggest that). I kind of stumbled into this one -- I was browsing the new Kino cult app, and was all set to watch the 1972 version, Burke and Hare, when I realized that Flesh and the Fiends was also available. Of course, I will go with Peter Cushing and Donald Pleasence every time! :)Brian Schuckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08463833554200343247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4846293972880517466.post-26514182452298622792022-04-25T20:20:12.628-07:002022-04-25T20:20:12.628-07:00Wonderful review, Brian! Now that you mention it, ...Wonderful review, Brian! Now that you mention it, the parallels between Cushing's Knox and Frankenstein are unmistakable. I also agree with you about the ("means justify the ends") conclusion, which for me was the only sour note. Barry P.https://www.blogger.com/profile/11251536316431708240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4846293972880517466.post-22597907878303845692022-04-24T10:30:57.967-07:002022-04-24T10:30:57.967-07:00Yes, he could do these roles in his sleep. But for...Yes, he could do these roles in his sleep. But fortunately, being the consummate professional, he was always wide awake and fully engaged, whatever the role. :)Brian Schuckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08463833554200343247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4846293972880517466.post-3708623819727167422022-04-24T07:55:21.173-07:002022-04-24T07:55:21.173-07:00Peter Cushing was so good at this sort of thing - ...Peter Cushing was so good at this sort of thing - playing men who are so convinced that they are right that they cannot see that their obsession can lead them to evil. Cushing could play so many variations on this theme.dfordoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02306293859869179118noreply@blogger.com