The Man They Could Not Hang

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

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.

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.

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.

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.