The Flesh and the Fiends (US title: Mania) is a 1960 British horror film directed by John Gilling. It stars Peter Cushing, Donald Pleasence and George Rose. The film is based on the true case of Burke and Hare, who murdered at least 16 people in 1828 Edinburgh, Scotland and sold their bodies for anatomical research.
Dr. Robert Knox, a renowned anatomy lecturer, enlists the help of Burke and Hare to provide him with fresh cadavers for dissection. Burke and Hare soon realize they can make more money by providing bodies to Knox than they can by selling them to the local medical school. As their greed grows, they begin to murder people to meet the demand for fresh corpses. Dr. Knox remains oblivious to the source of the bodies until a suspicious medical student begins to investigate. When the authorities catch wind of the illegal activities, Burke and Hare are arrested and put on trial for murder, while Knox's reputation is tarnished by his association with them.
Tropes:
- Alliterative Title: The Flesh and the Fiends
- Battering Ram: The angry mob uses a battering ram to break down the doors of the warehouse where Burke and Hare are hiding.
- Broken-Window Warning: The angry mob tosses a rock through the window of Dr. Knox's classroom while he is trying to deliver a lecture on neurology. He calmly continues his lecture.
- Clothing Combat: During their brawl in the tavern, the drunken sailor blinds Jackson with the skirt he ripped off Mary before shoving him to the ground.
- Disposable Vagrant: Burke runs a flophouse which gives him access to unending stream of transients and drifters whom no one will miss that he and Hare murder in order to supply cadavers to Dr. Knox.
- Dramatization: Based on the true case of Burke and Hare, who murdered at least 16 people in 1828 Edinburgh, Scotland and sold their bodies for anatomical research.
- Eye Scream: After Hare agrees to turn King's Evidence against his former partner and is set free, vindictive locals catch him and burn out his eyes with a flaming torch.
- Grave Robbing: Burke and Hare begin as 'resurrectionists'—stealing bodies from graveyards to sell to medical schools— before they decide that murdering Disposable Vagrants will provide them with a much more steady supply.
- Grievous Bottley Harm: Mary saves Jackson from the drunken sailor in the tavern by smashing a bottle over the sailor's head, knocking him out.
- Hard-Drinking Party Girl: Jackson's girlfriend Mary Patterson finds life with the studious medical student boring, and frequently heads out in search of drinking and fun. Her drunken antics are the most frequent source of friction between the two of them.
- Market-Based Title: Released in the US as Mania, which is an odd choice as no one is suffering from any kind of mania.
- Murder Is the Best Solution: Burke and Hare quickly decide that the best way to ensure a steady supply of cadavers for Dr. Knox is to murder Disposable Vagrants rather than waiting for people to die naturally and then digging up their graves. And they then decide that the best way to deal with anyone who discovers their scheme is to murder; in case even selling the body of their victim to Dr. Knox.
- Of Corpse He's Alive: Burke and Hare carry Jackson's dead body between them, pretending that he his too drunk to walk. They fail to notice when Jamie steals a ring off Jackson's finger, which is what ultimately brings about their downfall.
- Public Execution: Burke is executed by public hanging, still complaining that Dr. Knox never paid him for the final body which means that he does not have a decent pair of trousers to wear when meeting the public.
- Serial Killer: Based on the true case of Burke and Hare, who murdered at least 16 people in 1828 Edinburgh, Scotland and sold their bodies for anatomical research.
- Torches and Pitchforks: After they murder Daft Jamie, Burke and Hare hunted down by a torch-bearing angry mob roused by Maggie.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: William Hare, a completely heartless and compassionless murderer, is terrified of rats.
