Brooks, a lifelong horror fan, acquired the rights to Dylan Thomas's unproduced screenplay The Doctor and the Devils (first published in 1953) in the hopes of adapting it into a horror film. He hired director and former cinematographer Freddie Francis, who during the 1960s and 70s had directed a series of horror films for famed British horror productions companies Hammer and Amicus. Brooks' original intention was to simply use the title of the Thomas screenplay, but Francis pushed for a closer adherence to the original script. A compromise was arranged with playwright and screenwriter Ronald Harwood adapting Thomas's more cerebral work into something more genre-friendly. Despite the adaptation, much of Thomas's original dialogue remains. Reception The film struggled to find an audience, and was not well received by critics. Roger Ebert gave the film one-and-a-half stars out of four, writing, "It is impossible to discover, on the evidence of "The Doctor and the Devils," why anybody connected with this movie thought it should be made. It is unredeemed, dreary, boring, gloomy dreck unilluminated by even the slightest fugitive moment of inspiration or ambition," though he praised star Twiggy as the film's "only ray of sunshine." Vincent Canby of the New York Times was more positive, writing the film boasts a "first-rate English cast," and adding that "Mr. Harwood's screenplay, which retains a lot of the original Thomas dialogue, is much more fun to see than the Thomas screenplay is to read." See also The Greed of William Hart (1948) The Flesh and the Fiends (1960) Burke & Hare (1971) Burke & Hare (Comedy, 2010) References External links 1985 films 1985 horror films 1980s serial killer films British horror films British serial killer films Body snatching Films directed by Freddie Francis Films produced by Mel Brooks Films scored by John Morris Films based on works by Dylan Thomas Gothic horror films Brooksfilms films Crime films based on actual events Films set in the 19th century Biographical films about serial killers Cultural depictions of William Burke and Hare Films with screenplays by Ronald Harwood 1980s English-language films 1980s British films