Before I Hang

The film begins with a kindly doctor (Boris Karloff) being sentenced for performing a mercy killing. He is given the death penalty and the sentenced is to be carried out in one month (wow--things sure went fast in the good old days). In the meantime, however, the warden of the prison allows the Doctor to continue his experiments regarding prolonging human life, as the work seems important and not everyone is as tough on the Doc as the judge.

During this one month period, a breakthrough occurs with Karloff's research. And, in an effort to test the formula, Karloff insists that the other doctor inject him with the formula. The experiment is a success and Karloff now looks and feels much younger and healthier--and as luck has it, the death sentence is commuted, so Karloff can continue working in the prison laboratory. However, slowly the changes that occur in the one-kindly man are unanticipated...and not particularly pleasant to say the least. Why did he change and what happens next? Well, see the film for yourself, as I'd hate to spoil the suspense--though the why is a tad silly.

Overall, a novel idea for a film that is well worth seeing. Karloff fans will have a ball, but non-fans also might enjoy this interesting little B-movie. I particularly liked it because I enjoyed seeing Karloff play such a likable guy--at least until the injection.

Boris Karloff, typecast in the horror genre, was one of our most underrated film actors. Here is a typical film of his middle career that showcases his versatile skills, equally strong as the benign, elderly scientist and his murderous, strangling younger self. This b-picture packs a lot of atmosphere and suspense into it's hour running time. Any shortcomings cannot be blamed on anyone but the screenwriter, Robert D. Andrews, who was just trying to keep things moving- not such a bad thing, actually. Nick Grinde does an excellent job making the most out of the script and witness Karloff's fireside confession for an example of the film's above average cinematography. It's also nice to see Karloff side by side with Edward Van Sloan again nine years after Frankenstein. If you need proof of Boris Karloff's talent and charisma aside from Frankenstein, check out Before I Hang, as well as The Black Room, The Body Snatcher, and Targets. I wish we had a star like him today...

BEFORE I HANG is an intriguing little chunk of B-Film that explores the old idea that blood has memory, that the tissues and bones of the criminally insane pulse with a life that makes them who they are. In short, blood will have blood, as Macbeth says after the appearance of Banquo's ghost.

Boris Karloff is strong in this piece about a Dr. John Garth, who is seeking a serum that may alleviate the ravages of age. His experiments have led him to "mercy kill" one of the subjects of his studies, and for this, he is sentenced to death. Offered a chance to redeem himself through medical research in prison, he and a colleague (played by the fine character actor Edward Van Sloan) inoculate Garth with an experimental serum drawn from the veins of an executed murderer. The serum works, but Garth becomes a homicidal maniac. He kills his colleague and a prison trustee, and manages to lie his way into a pardon from the state for his humanitarian efforts. After he gets out, he really has a killer's jamboree.

Aside from the mechanical gesture of touching his hand to the back of his neck whenever one of the murderous fits come on, Karloff creates a character who's pretty sympathetic. Evelyn Keyes as his daughter adds some spark to the melodramatic proceedings. Pedro de Cordoba, piano interludes and all, managed to build a soulful and arresting character who stands out all the more against the general flatness of the Columbia "B" company. All in all, the work holds up, and it's a must see for anyone who admires the efforts of Karloff and some of the other great characters of that era who (time and again) were able to lend some real spark to what would otherwise have been pretty lifeless strips of celluloid.

Basically "Before I Hang" is very simplistic and inconspicuous thriller story, but it is almost evidently brought to a much higher level solely thanks to the always-reliable performance and natural class of the iconic Boris Karloff. I wrote it before and I'll write it forevermore in my reviews: this man was simply amazing! With is moody voice, he could narrate the content of a phone book for all I care, because I would still hang on his lips. His charm and charisma make every movie atmospheric and his grimaces when he transforms from a seemingly gentle elderly person into a cold-blooded murderer (as masterfully demonstrated a couple of times in "Before I Hang") are utmost petrifying! Mr. Karloff truly was – and still is – horror personified! So, that concludes my ode to this brilliant actor, and on to the film itself. "Before I Hang" is actually another loose interpretation of the classic novel "Les Mains d'Orlac" by Maurice Renard. The novel first got turned into a film in 1924 already, in the German expressionist masterpiece "Orlacs Hände" starring Conrad Veidt, and several more times since, including two films starring Peter Lorre ("Mad Love", "The Beast with Five Fingers") and another one starring Christopher Lee in 1960 ("The Hands of Orlac"). Although the source material isn't specifically credited here, it's clear that Renard's novel also provides the basic plot idea. The movie opens with a beautiful and long Boris Karloff plea in court. He's physician Dr. John Garth, sentenced to death by hanging because he attempted to cure a man but failed. Awaiting his execution, Dr. Garth continues his experiments with the consent of the prison director and the help of the resident doctor, and he uses himself as guinea pig when he injects the serum into his own veins. Dr. Garth's execution gets overruled after all, but he begins to notice that the serum rejuvenates him. Unfortunately, however, he used the blood of a convicted murderer to finalize his serum and this bad blood is now slowly turning him into a merciless strangler as well. Classic Karloff material, in other words, with numerous fantastic monologues and a handful of eerie moments. Short (barely 60 minutes), intense and to the point; where would (mad) science be without Boris Karloff?

Boris Karloff would begin to repeat what might be considered the same part again and again in a series of "Mad Doctor" films he made for Columbia Pictures in the early '40s. As the elderly Dr. Garth, Boris is developing a serum which he hopes may preserve life. He's been convicted of the mercy killing of a terminally sick friend (would that make Karloff the first Dr. Jack Kevorkian?) but yet is allowed to continue his experiments while on death row with the aid of prison physician Dr. Miller (DRACULA's Edward Van Sloan). Garth decides to use himself as a guinea pig and injects himself with a serum made with the blood of a known murderer. The kindly doctor is subsequently pardoned from his crime, and the end result of his experiment produces the amazing effect of turning him into a much younger man. He has now inadvertently reversed the aging process, but the tainted formula has one slight side effect: it periodically turns him into a homicidal killer who is seized with the urge to strangle his victims. BEFORE I HANG is a decent offering in this series, though is not to be confused with the similarly-titled and superior THE MAN THEY COULD NOT HANG from 1939. **1/2 out of ****