The Flesh and the Fiends is a 1960 horror film, directed by John Gilling and starring Peter Cushing, Donald Pleasence, and George Rose. The film is based on the true story of notorious 19th-century body snatchers, William Burke and William Hare, and their association with Dr. Knox.
Burke and Hare are struggling to make ends meet in Edinburgh, Scotland, when they discover a lucrative business opportunity - selling human corpses to the city's medical schools, where there is a high demand for cadavers for research. They soon become regular suppliers to Dr. Knox, who is impressed with the freshness and quality of the bodies they provide.
As the demand for corpses increases, Burke and Hare become more ruthless in their methods of obtaining them, and begin killing people themselves. Their crimes eventually attract the attention of the authorities, and they are caught and put on trial for murder.
Dr. Knox, who had turned a blind eye to the provenance of the bodies he received, is also implicated in the scandal, but manages to escape prosecution due to lack of evidence. The film ends with him returning to his work, still eager to further his research into the workings of the human body.
The Flesh and the Fiends is a chilling and atmospheric portrayal of the horror of grave-robbing, and features powerful performances from its lead actors, especially Cushing as the morally ambiguous Dr. Knox. It remains a classic of British horror cinema to this day.