The Man They Could Not Hang (1939) User Reviews (45)

Several Years Ahead of Its Time!

[bsmith5552 · 6/10 · 4 November 2006]

"The Man They Could Not Hang" is an interesting little film if only for its foretelling of artificial hearts and organ transplants by many years.

Dr. Henryk Savaard (Boris Karloff) has invented an artificial heart that has been successful in bringing animals back to life after they have been clinically dead. Savaard now wants to try the procedure on a human ans medical student Bob Roberts (Stanley Brown) agrees to be the guinea pig. His fiancé, Betty Crawford (Ann Doran), who is Savaard's nurse is fearful for Roberts' life.

As the experiment begins Betty goes to the police in an attempt to stop the experiment. Reporter "Scoop" Foley (Robert Wilcox) overhears Betty's pleas and goes ahead to Savaard's home where he meets Savaard's daughter Janet (Lorna Gray) with whom he strikes up a friendship. Police Lt. Shane (Don Beddoe) arrives at Savaard's laboratory before he can bring the young man back to life, and arrests him for murder. Savaard is tried and found guilty and is sentenced to hang. Before he is sentenced, Savaard vows revenge on those who had a hand in his conviction.

Following his execution, Savaard's body is turned over to his assistant Dr. Lang (Byron Foulger) who following Savaard's procedure, brings Savaard back to life. Weeks later, several of the jurors who voted for Savaard's conviction turn up hanged, apparently suicides.

Using a note from trial Judge Bowman (Charles Trowbridge) as bait, Savaard lures the remaining parties for his revenge to his home and traps them therein. Included are the Judge, DA Drake (Roger Pryor), Jury Foreman Kearney (Dick Curtis), Betty Crawford, the Coroner (Joe De Stefani) and Lt. Shane. "Scoop" Foley is also entrapped having "crashed" the party.

Savaard plans to systematically murder each person at 15 minute intervals. Judge Bowman is the first and dies by electrocution. Next Kearney is poisoned. Betty is targeted next, but before Savaard can complete his murderous scheme, his daughter Janet arrives and......................

Karloff as usual gives a great performance. He moves from a kindly dedicated scientist to a madman bent on murder and revenge with ease.

The use of an artificial heart put this modest little programmer several years ahead of its time.

Intelligent Crime Story Stars Karloff, Who Shines

[atlasmb · 7/10 · 27 August 2016]

"The Man They Could Not Hang" is certainly a very watchable film. On the surface, it appears to be another mad-scientist-defies-nature story, but it has deeper roots.

Dr. Henryk Savaard (Boris Karloff) has designed an artificial heart and has tested it on various animals. A young man volunteers to be the first human recipient, so Savaard and his assistant terminate the man's life only to be interrupted mid-procedure, before they can restore the man's life.

What follows is a courtroom drama, then an Agatha Christie-like murder in a box, with a twist.

At each phase of the film, Dr. Savaard delivers a speech about science vs. ignorance, each with its own perspective. Each speech is well written and takes the story beyond the typical mad doctor genre.

This film does not fall into the horror genre. Perhaps the mere presence of Karloff prompted that labelling. But Savaard may be the most rational character in the film. It is a sci-fi crime story. And it is well worth watching and very entertaining.

Fun and menacingly effective if standard

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 31 October 2013]

The Man They Could Not Hang is a very solidly done film but falls short of greatness. The ending is tacky and felt somewhat like two endings in one. The first third does take its time to get going, it sets things up well but compared to what comes after it was a little dull, while the music is rather stock and you can tell that several composers were responsible. The Man They Could Not Hang looks very good however with fluid photography and creepy settings, while the script is witty and clever with a foreboding tone that really makes its impact, and the story may be standard but it is still very neatly told with the suspense levels appropriately sinister and the fun factor deliciously entertaining. The last third apart from the ending fares by far the best, that's fun and enough to make you bite the nails. The acting is good, Lorna Gray comes off best in the supporting cast, all competent but none make the same impression that Boris Karloff. Karloff is good reason to see any film and he is the best thing about The Man They Could Not Hang. He has an effortless eerie command and does it with his usual style and dignity. The artificial heart and organ transplant stuff is also very ahead of its time, and a further source of interest. Overall, standard with a hokey ending, stock music and a slow start but lots of fun and very effective in atmosphere and as ever Karloff is great. 7/10 Bethany Cox

You Have Fifteen Minutes Left To Live...

[BaronBl00d · 11 February 2000]

Karloff plays Dr. Saavard, a scientist involved in creating an artificial heart and hopefully the means to extend life and perhaps realize immortality. A young man offers his services to him, and accidentally dies. Karloff is brought to trial, convicted and hung. He comes back(as we new he would from the name of the title) and seeks revenge on all those responsible for his "death." The story is fairly conventional and routine, but there are some splendid moments in the house of Karloff menacing his "guests" and letting each one know how long he or she has to live. The only real complaint I have deals with the ending which just cuts the tension that had been built up. The ending is rather make-shift and really spoiled the mood earlier created.

Always remember I offered you life and you gave me death!

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 19 January 2014]

Dr. Henryk Savaard (Boris Karloff) and his assistant are performing an experiment on reviving recently deceased people through use of an artificial heart. Unfortunately, the assistant's girlfriend is scared and runs to the police. They arrive before Savaard can complete the experiment and the assistant dies. Savaard is convicted and executed for murder. However, another assistant uses the artificial heart to bring him back to life. But the good doctor is batspit crazy and out for blood. So he starts killing off those he holds responsible for his death one by one. The first of several movies Karloff made for Columbia where he played a mad scientist type out for revenge. It's formulaic but it works. Karloff carries the movie as always.

The Man They Could Not Hang

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 12 October 2007]

Hell hath no fury like Dr. Saavard! Boris Karloff stars as Dr. Saavard, a scientist condemned to hang for killing a volunteering subject whose artificial heart transplant procedure is interrupted by police. He and assistant Lang(Byron Foulger)had induced death by using gas to stop the test subject's heart when the dead man's fiancé,and Saavard's nurse Betty Crawford(Ann Doran), afraid for her boyfriend's well-being, goes to the police hoping to save him before he is put out. The police and doctor on call would not allow Saavard one hour to save his guinea pig's life and is put on trial for murder. When the jury sentences Saavard to hang, he has one last chance to tell those who ultimately had his life in their hands that they would pay for killing such a scientist who could do good for humanity instead of bad. Once he is dead, assistant Lang resurrects Saavard with the artificial heart..Saavard, full of rage and anger towards those blind with disbelief in the human advancement of science in saving others through medical achievements too narrow-minded to see the future, will see that six of those jury members who were adamant in his execution would die the way he did. Then he tricks the judge, attorneys, coroner, & Betty into meeting at his house, locking them into a living room with booby traps killing them at an appointed time while he torments them across an intercom. Booby traps include an electrical grid that holds them in the room, a poison-needled phone receiver, and plans to shoot Betty with a rifle when he cuts out the lights. The only escape for the group is Saavard's daughter, Janet(Lornay Gray) who arrives to find what her father has done..she had not know that her father was actually alive and will push for the madness to stop.

Moves at such a fast pace, I wished it would continue. The premise is really spectacular considering Karloff could lock away those he deemed a threat to medical progress. I think his Dr. Savaard was more enraged about that than his being executed. In a sense, he wasn't on trial(in his mind anyway)as much as his desire to see the advancement of life for future generations..yet, here are these cynics who believe this isn't feasible and condemn him to death, eliminating a bright mind that could possibly advance human life. I think what was thrilling to me was how Savaard not only proves them wrong using his mere presence as the example, but his having them cornered like rats with no escape. Karloff has two scenes with dialogue he delivers so soundly and painfully, I shuttered. It's so convincing, his argument regarding what they were doing..and did..to him. Great little B-movie that deserves to be seen by Karloff enthusiasts. Yet, in honesty, he was quite mad and any argument he could've made regarding his miracle of science was lost when he decided to seek retribution. I think the final scene was perfect..if they wanted him gone, there was no way in hell the community would benefit from his genius.

THE MAN THEY COULD NOT HANG (Nick Grinde', 1939) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 29 October 2006]

This is the first of Karloff's cycle of "Mad Doctor" B-films for Columbia and, given that somehow I was under the impression that this was considered the least of them, I was surprised to find it great fun throughout. Essentially, all the films had similar plots (and it's interesting to see how the star's looks changed from one title to the next) - with Karloff on the verge of some great discovery or other but who's always thwarted at the proverbial 11th hour by thick-headed police and other figures of authority!; in fact, they're so teeth-grindingly stupid here that Karloff's conversion from dedicated scientist to cold-blooded killer was actually quite convincing!!

The star is in really fine form in this film - especially effective when delivering his threatening final statement before the court passes sentence on him and then, following his resurrection (complete with broken neck a' la Bela Lugosi's Ygor!), when exacting his elaborate and sinister revenge plan. In fact, the second half - intriguingly modeled on Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians/And Then There Were None" - is even more entertaining than the first. seeing how it finds all who remain of Karloff's intended victims being locked up in one room of his house (with all exits having been systematically blocked and wired with electricity!) and allowing 15 minutes between one execution and the next. Of course, his plans go sadly awry in the end as he hadn't counted on the presence of his daughter (alerted to Karloff's reappearance by her snooping reporter boyfriend) and, when she eventually 'sacrifices' her life to save that of Karloff's unwilling guests, he sees the error of his ways and willingly accepts death anew from a bullet wound. Unfortunately, there's a hokey, tacked-on happy ending of sorts - with Karloff's daughter getting resurrected in the nick of time, through the use of his own invention, before he himself expires.

KARLOFF DELIVERS THE GOODS, TOO BAD THE FILM DOESN'T...!

[masonfisk · 6/10 · 25 October 2021]

A Boris Karloff vehicle from 1939. Karloff is a scientist on the cusp of creating a device to bring the dead to life (ironic coming from Frankenstein's monster!) & he already has a willing guinea pig, his assistant's boyfriend, volunteering for the task. On the cusp of completing his experiment, the distressed girlfriend has sent a phalanx of police to halt him in his tracks but the foul deed is done; the boyfriend is dead & the process was never applied. Imploring his assistant to hide the device when he hears the cops at his door, Karloff is arrested, tried (even though he gives an impassioned speech on his potential discovery) & hanged for his trouble. When he's revived by his aide, Karloff constructs an elaborate plan to kill off all the people (the district attorney, the jurors at his trial, even his assistant) in a rigged dining room in a large mansion. When Karloff's daughter, played by Lorna Gray, shows up, his game is thrown, will he succeed in his determination to murder the rest of his guests? Only Karloff's oily ham of a performance saves a rather muddled Agatha Christie-esque yarn which even w/its abridged running time still feels a little too wild for its own good.

Back, Again!

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 30 October 2009]

It isn't such a bad movie. It's just how many times does Boris Karloff get the same script. He is hanged or electrocuted or done in in some way and someone manages to bring him back. Of course, he's not the man he used to be. In this one, his work is compromised, costing a young assistant his life, due to a panic stricken girl. When his partner brings him back, he decides to kill the jury, the judge, the prosecuting attorney. It's a sort of "And Then There Were None" thing but doesn't work as well as the Rene Clair film. The device invented looks silly but is a precursor to an artificial heart. The science is bad but the idea is ahead of its time. There is a great courtroom speech that is hard to deny, but they hang him anyway. Still, I love this guy and am impressed by his acting. It's too bad he got himself typecast so badly. He did have some very nice dramatic roles, but most of it was this kind of thing. See it anyway.

Now a mechanical heart sounds silly...... doesn't it?

[Mike-764 · 10/10 · 7 January 2005]

Dr. Henryk Savaard works with his assistant Lang and medical student Bob Roberts in Dr. Savaard's experiments in the use of a mechanical heart to prolong life. Roberts risks his life in the experiment where Savaard will kill him and bring him back from the dead. This unnerves Dr. Savaard's nurse (and Roberts' girlfriend) Betty Crawford, who sends for the police, and when they arrive arrest Dr. Savaard for killing Roberts. At his trial, Dr. Savaard tries to explain his methods and experiments were in the name of science, but they fall on deaf ears as he is convicted and sentenced to hang. He donates his body to science, and most specifically to Lang, who plans to bring him back to life using Dr. Savaard's process. Scoop Foley, a news reporter who covered the trial (and fell for Dr. Savaard's daughter Janet) notices that six members of the Savaard jury committed suicide by hanging, and that the remaining jurors, and the judge, prosecutor, police inspector, and Ms. Crawford have been invited to the Savaard house where the doctor plans to have all of them die one by one, but he doesn't expect his daughter to arrive. This is one heck of a movie with everything that the B sci-fi/horror flick should have. Watching Karloff, I can only think how much more respected he could be if he didn't have to subject himself to these B movies which he excels in. Grinde makes excellent use of camera-work, as well as shadow and light. The script does seem like it won't differ from anything else in the genre, but it continually goes further into new twists and turns with the Agatha Christie like revenge Savaard plans. My only regret is that the film wasn't longer. Excellent ending. Rating, based on B movies, 10.

The Man They Could Not Hang (1939) ***

[JoeKarlosi · 7/10 · 30 May 2010]

THE MAN THEY COULD NOT HANG (1939) is the first of a few films in the Columbia canon which have been dubbed Karloff's "Mad Doctor Series". Directed by Nick Grinde, here we have Boris as the well-meaning Dr. Savaard, who has developed a method for restoring the dead back to life after temporarily stopping their hearts, which may then allow surgeons to more successfully operate on their patients before bringing them back. Unfortunately, when the local police burst into his laboratory as he is working on his first volunteer, he is accused of murder and is then sentenced to be hanged. But after the execution is carried out, Savaard returns via his own procedure and then seeks revenge on the judge and jurors who convicted him. Karloff is at his menacing best in one of the more fulfilling horrors in this series. *** out of ****

Delicious variant on the "Old Dark House" theme

[wadeboi · 10/10 · 28 December 2004]

First, this film is way ahead of its time in foreshadowing heart transplants and (yet to be achieved) artificial hearts. The first act is all about the artificial heart thing. Act 2 is a courtroom drama about the doctor being sentenced to hang for an accidental killing of his medical student during the experiment. Act 3 is the revenge against the jurors and judge who convicted him. Each act of this melodrama is delicious but Act 3 is by far the best. My only gripe is that it ends too soon. It would have been more fun to have a few more gimmicks to revenge the conviction. This film reminds me of the classic "12 Angry Men" but is a lot more fun and to the point. Great production values for 1939.

Columbia kicks off its Boris Karloff quintet of mad scientists

[kevinolzak · 7/10 · 7 June 2019]

Columbia's 'Mad Scientist' quintet was supervised by line producer Wallace MacDonald, the initial three all scripted by Karl Brown and directed by Nick Grinde, the template set from the start, Boris Karloff a dedicated researcher whose experiments often skirt into illegality, hoping to achieve something positive for mankind even if it means sacrificing a few lives (the actor's previous Columbia SON OF SHOCK titles included "Behind the Mask" and "The Black Room"). 1939's "The Man They Could Not Hang" actually kicks off exactly that way, an artificial heart made of glass designed to pump blood through tubes in an attempt to revive the actual human heart and restore life to a body that has been scientifically put to death to more easily perform surgery without the pressure of a race against time (commonly known today as open heart surgery, the film gets it right). His assistant Lang (Byron Foulger) is present along with a willing test subject (Stanley Brown) eager to do a great benefit for humanity, his complete trust in Karloff's Dr. Henryk Savaard undone by an unthinking fiancée (Ann Doran), her subsequent summoning of the police assuring the young man's demise. Pleas for one hour to save the boy's life fall upon deaf ears, a trumped up trial only a pretense for disbelieving medical authorities to put a stop to Savaard's incredible theories, the title incorrect for they DO actually hang him ("Before I Hang" should have sported this title, this one redubbed "After I Hang!"). Lang claims the corpse and revives Savaard, after which six of his jurors mysteriously suffer suicide by hanging, reporter 'Scoop' Foley (Robert Wilcox) joining the remaining jurors at the supposedly deserted Savaard home to learn the truth. Secure in the knowledge that no one would ever suspect a man legally dead, the now insane medico is determined to gain revenge on the short sighted authorities who denied him justice ("they killed the man I was"). The law of diminishing returns works against the four follow ups, and it's tough to imagine Karloff topping his performance here, from sympathetic entreaties for techniques to preserve life to embittered angel of death, a devoted dispenser of retribution. Interestingly, his Warners debut in "The Walking Dead" found him an innocent man electrocuted for a murder he didn't commit, restored to life by Edmund Gwenn, only his resurrection is a spiritual one, his enemies driven to destroy themselves through their own guilt.

"hang" it high

[lee_eisenberg · 5/10 · 3 July 2005]

Boris Karloff plays a scientist who discovers a way to prolong people's lives. To try it out, he has to kill someone. When his plan is discovered, they arrest him, convict him and execute him. But, as the title identifies, it doesn't end there. To be certain, he invites the jurors to his house and explains how one person will perish every fifteen minutes. Then, it starts happening.

"The Man They Could Not Hang" is outlandish, definitely, but it's kind of a neat movie. The ending was sort of a cop-out, but most of the movie was pretty fun. Karloff's eerie stare is enough to carry a movie all by itself.

Boris Karloff Movies AHEAD of the TIMES!

[whpratt1 · 4 March 2003]

This film was by all means a head of its times with heart transplants and mechanical parts in the year 1939. This films success was encouraged by a Dr. Robert Cornish who was a biochemist hired by Columbia pictures who present the idea of a mechanical heart. Columbia signed Karloff for several more films in the same theme, staring the actor onto his second "crazed scientist" cycle. It is unbelievable that for more than twenty-five years later, human lives were successfully prolonged by surgical heart transplants. Karloff looks less menacing that he has been in the past. Karloff as usual, turns in his usual good performance.

The doctor will see you now.....

[marshalskrieg · 7/10 · 1 October 2015]

Boris Karloff plays a mad doctor(surprise!) bent on revenge. In this fast paced effort, we see Karloff emotionally bounce from dignified to devilish and everything in between. Great acting and a neat and very entertaining story. The low budget certainly did not harm this movie at all. This one has a lot of heart, no pun intended. Ironically, it is the one person closest to the doctors own heart that offers the potential victims of his revenge a small chance of a reprieve. Karloff and black and white horror go together like peanut butter and jelly. The expressive manner of Karloff, the crags and lines on his face, the intonation of his voice, the way his talents are used here, plus the prophetic medical story that is presented, all of this combine to make this barely- one- hour and well made film a not to be missed gem by any fan of vintage old school horror....

Karloff returns as a "mad doctor"

[coltras35 · 7/10 · 15 October 2022]

Dr. Henryk Savaard (Boris Karloff) is a scientist working on experiments to restore life to the dead. When he is unjustly hanged for murder, he is brought back to life by his trusted assistant. Re-animated he turns decidedly nasty and sets about murdering the jury that convicted him.

Similarly themed as Before I hang and part of the series of "mad Doctor' series he made, Boris Karloff is excellent as always, and it's quite well-paced, gripping and cleverly an Agatha Christie-style element is infused in towards the end, drawing the plot away from the usual mad Doctor formula. Here, the doctor traps the ones who sent him to the gallows and intends to bump them off one by one via electric shocks.

A doctors revenge!

[chas-12 · 7/10 · 6 December 1999]

This movie I first saw on TV back in the early 1970's, was and still one of the scariest of Karloffs works. He did a fine job as a scientist trying to bring the dead back to life. Question is: Who killed the doctors assistant, him, or the towns people who crashed the labs, and destroyed all of the machines that could have brought the dead assistant back to life???

Karloff as the "Mad Doctor"...

[simeon_flake · 7/10 · 16 January 2019]

Thank gawd for "Horror Collections" of the last few decades, I suppose; since some of these rarer films from the great "Horror Icons" of the past, are hard to come by & I've spent a lot of hours reading about them.

At any rate, the fun of this one--although, hardly a great movie--is the fact that it was shot at Columbia, so being a stooge fan, it doesn't hurt seeing Lorna Gray and a few other co-stars from those movies pop-up.

The plot itself is simple enough & engaging--I guess any old movie with a mad doctor and a haunted (or gloomy) house will spell itself out. Solid cast, solid direction and one of the old masters of horror make for a good hour of fun...

An okay flick elevated by Karloff

[rdoyle29 · 7/10 · 5 October 2017]

Karloff is a scientist experimenting on bringing the dead back to life (sort of ... he's using a whacky mix of cryogenics and a huge glass artificial heart to either raise the dead or put people in suspended animation). When the police interrupt one of his experiments at the behest of a traitorous nurse, his volunteer dies and he's tried for murder and executed. His assistant brings him back to life so he can seek vengeance on those who did him in. This is an average genre outing elevated by another great Karloff performance.

You can't keep a mad Boris Karloff hanging!

[Coventry · 8/10 · 21 October 2015]

I really, really liked "The Man They Could Not Hang"! It's definitely one of the best – probably even THE best – of all the "mad scientist" movies released during the 1930s / 1940s and starring the almighty Boris Karloff in the role of megalomaniac doctor or professor (and these are quite numerous)! In fact, I loved this particular movie so much that it was one of those rare occasions where I regretted the fact that horror movies from this era are so short and to-the-point! I usually think it's a giant advantage that these films only last like 60-70 minutes, but in case of "The Man They Could Not Hung", I really wished that Karloff's mad-raving behavior would last another half an hour extra! There were most other contemporary titles of this kind are soft and overly talkative, this one is non-stop packed with action, suspense and deeply fascinating medical theories! Brilliant scientist Henryk Savaard is on the verge of writing medical history with his invention of a mechanical heart that can bring dead patients back to life after they have been operated. Savaard's student/assistant volunteers to test the device, but his girlfriend goes haywire and alerts the police. They break into the laboratory before Savaard has the opportunity to resurrect his guinea pig and – boom – the poor doctor gets accused of murder and sentenced to death by hanging! In court, Savaard transforms from a civilized scientist into an insane killer and vows to destroy everyone responsible for his death: judge, jury, crazy girlfriend and skeptical colleagues! A few weeks later, they all receive an invitation to come to a secluded old mansion; Agatha Christie style! Here, there are awaited by their very much alive host Savaard and subjected to a series of vile death traps… What I personally liked most about "The Man They Could Not Hang" – maybe even more than the delicious 'old dark house' climax – is the realism of Dr. Savaard's research. To put it in his own absorbing words: "To operate on a living body is like trying to repair a motor when it's still running… It would make more sense to switch off all bodily functions during an operation and then turn them back on when the operation was successful". That actually makes sense! Savaard isn't just another crazed professor aiming at immortality or creating new life, but a devoted doctor with a vision! I was definitely supporting him before and during his trial, and even when he was extracting his vengeance (although admittedly he goes a little over-the-top there…). This is, simply put, a massively entertaining black-and-white chiller with a splendid screenplay and an excellent Karloff performance. Director Nick Grindé does a more than adequate job as well. He would make two more mad scientist movies with Karloff, namely "Before I Hang" and "The Man with Nine Lives", but this one is my favorite.

Hanging with Mr Karloff

[juliankennedy23 · 6/10 · 2 December 2006]

The Man They Couldn't Hang: 6 out of 10: The title is a bit of a misnomer after all they do hang him (and break his neck in the process) he just doesn't stay dead. I figure a man they couldn't hang would be morbidly obese or have a thick neck or something.

The movie has Karloff as a mad scientist experimenting with his artificial heart gizmo (That is a dead ringer for a modern dialysis machine) and when the experiment goes wrong he is sentenced to death. (Karloff's characters really need better lawyers he is always getting a capital sentence for what is basically accidental manslaughter) The doctor now mad seeks revenge on the jury that convicted him by inviting them to his house and trying to kill them off one by one. The movie really gets good at this point but it ends much too soon. Another half an hour in the house with various traps would have done wonders.

Foreshadowing both modern medical technology and House on Haunted Hill, The Man They Couldn't Hang is a good movie with a disappointingly truncated ending.

Fiendish Karloff

[gavin6942 · 8/10 · 13 October 2014]

When Dr. Savaard's experiment in cryonics is interrupted by the short-sighted authorities, his volunteer dies, and he is condemned to death. He vows vengeance if he can survive his own hanging.

Boris Karloff will always be synonymous with Frankenstein's monster, but he was capable of being just as fiendish without the makeup. Here he plays a doctor who is wronged by a legal system, only to take his revenge in an even more cruel manner.

The film has become a bit prescient in its portrayal of surgery, although the actual machines used for heart surgery is likely nothing close to what they were using here.

Derivative, yes...still still quite enjoyable.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 16 December 2011]

In the 1930s, Boris Karloff made several films with VERY similar plots. In these films, he was killed and returned to life--with BAD results. The main plot for this film is from Karloff's "The Walking Dead" and very similar to "The Man Who Lived Again". Clearly "The Man They Could Not Hang" was a VERY derivative film! Yet, despite the very repetitive nature of these films, they are very enjoyable.

The film begins with Karloff doing some strange research that will allow him to do heart transplants. He gets one of his assistants to allow him to kill him--with the intention that he would then revive him with his new experimental system. However, the assistant's girlfriend (Ann Doran) is an idiot. Instead of letting Karloff finish the experiment, she runs for the police. The police break in and won't allow Karloff to revive the man--insisting it isn't possible and jailing him. Soon, Karloff is indicted for murder and is tried, convicted and sentenced to death. However, another assistant is able to obtain Karloff's corpse and soon revives the once-good doctor. However, now Karloff is no longer a kindly researcher but decides to spend the rest of the film killing everyone responsible for his death sentence. I liked this portion best, but unfortunately, his quest is cut short and the film ends.

Overall, enjoyable and Karloff, once again, is terrific. The only big problem, other than the repetitive nature of the script, is the acting of Doran--who, frankly, was terrible in the few scenes in which she appeared.

Resurrection theme

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 26 August 2016]

I guess that Harry Cohn at Columbia must have liked what Jack Warner did with Boris Karloff in The Walking Dead. A few years later Boris was over at Columbia doing The Man They Could Not Hang with the same resurrection type film theme.

Karloff is once again a misunderstood scientist experimenting just as he was experimented on in Frankenstein. Only Karloff was a corpse dug up for Colin Clive's experiment. In this film he's the scientist and he kills one of his students to bring him back. Only it doesn't work and he's up for murder in a state where they hang one.

Karloff was also resurrected in The Walking Dead and was exacting revenge on folks who did him wrong. Same here it's the 12 jurors, the judge, the DA, and the faithless girlfriend of his experiment subject Ann Doran. Only his daughter Lorna Gray stands by Karloff and she's having trouble grasping what's going on.

Although Karloff is both terrifying and pitiable as he is in some of his greatest horror roles. I liked The Walking Dead far better than this one. Karloff fans should approve though.