MovieChat Forums > The Body Snatcher (1945) Discussion > Henry Daniell

Henry Daniell

posted 16 years ago by norm_gillespie
17 replies | jump to latest

So much is said about Karloff that Daniell gets lost in passing. Admittedly, Karloff is fantastic, but I have always felt that this is Daniell's film. Another actor you love to hate, especially in THE SEA HAWK and as Moriarty in some Sherlock Holmes films, Daniell has his finest hour here. It's his torment being under Gray's thumb that really drags me in. He wants so much to do the right thing, but he also realizes that he'll "never get rid of me [Gray]." I encourage people to watch this one again, and this time concentrate on Daniell's performance. I really think you will be pleasantly surprised.

[–] cinefool 16 years ago

I have sung Karloff's praises for his work in this film for decades, and maintain it is his best performance (and one of the best films he made). But I've always known that Henry Daniell really rose to the challenge as McFarland, and if I believe that Dear Boris deserved at least an Oscar nomination for his work here, then Daniell comes damn close to earning one too.

Perhaps one thing complicates the issue of Oscar nods for these two fine performances; which Oscar for which actor? I've seen it argued that Karloff's Gray is really more a major supporting role, despite Karloff's star billing and higher marquee value, while Daniell's McFarland is really the movie's lead role, making the character something of an 'anti-hero' years before that that phrase was coined. Anyone who tries to dismiss Daniell's dynamic work here would be foolish, but for some reason this film was, to my knowledge, the most expansive part he ever enjoyed, and it's a mystery to me why his work here didn't lead to better subsequent opportunities for him.

[–] vawlkee_2000 16 years ago

Daniell was always great in any of his roles.....Wonderfully slimy in such an "upper-crust" manner!
Do any of you know that he was the father of "Dead End Kid/Bowery Boy" Gabe Dell??.I was shocked to find that out, yet, if you were put the two of them together you'd see a distinct family resemblance...........Life truly does imitate art!

[–] theowinthrop 16 years ago

It was one of Daniell's best jobs on screen, along with his "Goebbels" clone part of "Garbitsch" in THE GREAT DICTATOR (actually his best comic performance),
and his ruthless Puritan agent against Douglas Fairbanks' Charles II in THE EXILE. But Daniell could do a great deal with very little really. Look at his performance as an aristocratic Junker attached to the Nazi German embassy in Washington, D.C. in WATCH ON THE RHINE. He is plainly upset that he is supporting a regime he detests, but the resident Gestapo chief (Kurt Klatch) slaps his face in a symbolic way by stating that Daniell would not mind doing any nasty thing for the government if a Hohenzollern was running the show. It probably is true, but he has his standards. He is part of the weekly "poker" game at the embassy with Klatch and others, including Americans with materiel to offer the Nazi war machine, and foreigners (like the Roumanian aristocrat/ex-diplomat Teck played by George Coulouris) who have possible information to sell.
Later, when Coulouris knows that Paul Lucas is an anti-Nazi German leader whose papers could assist the Nazis in destroying underground movements, he calls the embassy. Daniell answers, and is annoyed to find it's Coulouris (why? because the latter is a member of really second rate nobility, whereas Daniell's family has been in the Almanach de Gotha for centuries). When Coulouris asks Daniell to give a vital message to Klatch (who Daniell is forced to knuckle under to) Daniell slams down the phone in disgust. One can understand the poor snob's feelings!

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] vawlkee_2000 15 years ago

In an interview with Dell's son published in FILMFAX magazine in '07, he stated categorically that Daniell was indeed Gabe's father.......I Guess Daniell's grandson should know!

[–] misspaddylee 16 years ago

One of my greatest movie pleasures is watching Karloff and Daniell giving their all in "The Body Snatcher".

"I'm almost resigned to living on what I earn."

[–] cinefool 16 years ago

misspaddylee,

I totally agree; If I had to pick just five movies from my ridiculously massive collection to take to a desert island, leaving the rest behind forever, "The Body Snatcher" would be one of them.

I suppose I'd have to tackle the issue of powering the DVD player once I got there...!

[–] vexata 16 years ago

I also loved Henry Daniell in 'Body Snatcher' as well as his subtle work in many other films. I have often wondered why he is uncredited as the court martial judge who takes Trevor Howard's Captain Bligh to task in the 1962 version of 'Mutiny on the Bounty'. Whilst Bligh is aquitted, Daniell's character tells him in no uncertain terms that His Majestie's policy of promoting officers from the ranks of gentlemen, was in his case, a failure. It is just a few lines, but they are devestating to Bligh, and it is a very important scene in the film. So why no mention in the credits? Just curious if anyone knows.

[–] bradford-1 15 years ago

Daniell was Gabe Dell's father-in-law.

[–] joeparkson 15 years ago

Henry Daniell looks more like Richard Nixon than Gabe Dell.

[–] smrhyne-1 15 years ago

I first saw Henry Daniell in "We Are Not Alone" starring Paul Muni. Since then, I have seen him in many movies and I've enjoyed all of his performances.

[–] xnet95 12 years ago

Did we watch the same movie? You say that Daniell's character "wants so much to do the right thing." That's complete, utter hogwash! The whole movie portrays him as somebody who is consistently given the opportunity to do "the right thing" and CHOOSES not to. Go watch this flick again, please!

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] liscarkat-2 11 years ago

Daniell's character does indeed want to do the "right thing," and that "thing" is to further medical research and education in order to help the living. Unfortunately, he must struggle with the legal and moral dilemmas arising from the necessity to steal the bodies of the dead.

[–] catey-49 10 years ago

Toddy isn't trying to do the right thing at all. He knows perfectly well that Gray is not just stealing bodies, he's murdering people he knows no-one will miss to create bodies, but turns a blind eye.

[–] PussyCrusher_Principal 9 years ago

If you wanna see an interesting Daniell performance, ch cj out the Thriller ep where he "plays" a netherworld demon on the moors. A lot of Thriller eps are underwhelming, but this is a good one.

They ruined lives to protect their swimming pools.

[–] jsk32870 8 years ago

Robbing graves is one thing, but he turns a blind eye to the murders of the street singer and of his own assistant Joseph. When Fettes states that he wants to report the murders, Toddy stops him. On top of that, Toddy murders Gray. And while Gray is a despicable character, murder is murder after all. So it's hard to agree with the contention that Toddy wants to always 'do the right thing.' A conflicted character is more accurate.