The Body Snatcher is a 1945 American horror film directed by Robert Wise, based on the 1884 short story of the same name by Robert Louis Stevenson. Philip MacDonald adapted the story for the screen, and producer Val Lewton, credited as "Carlos Keith", modified MacDonald's screenplay. The film stars Boris Karloff as John Gray, a cab driver who moonlights as a grave robber, and later murderer, to illegally supply Dr. MacFarlane with cadavers for his classes, and makes mention of Burke, Hare, and Dr. Knox, in reference to the West Port murders of 1828. Alongside Karloff and Daniell, the film's cast includes Russell Wade, Edith Atwater, and Bela Lugosi. It was the last film in which both Karloff and Lugosi appeared.