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 played the benign "mad" scientist whose intentions were good but turn awry better than anyone else. Most of his mad scientists were men put into bad situations by some kind of catalyst beyond their control and Before I Hang is no exception. Karloff plays a doctor brought before a jury for a mercy killing - a man who had been living in terminal pain sought out Karloff's help with hopes that a youth age-suppressing serum he had been working on would help regulate the pain and off-set the aging process. It didn't work and Karloff aided in his assisted death. Karloff is sent to prison but finds that the warden believes in his work and allows him, with the aid of Edward Von Sloan the prison doctor, to work on his serum just weeks before he is to be hanged for his crime. Before I Hang has really quite a preposterous storyline but Boris Karloff breathes life into it rather nicely with a gentle performance edged by a maniacal turn as he injects himself with the serum that has some bad side effects. The other actors are all very good with old Karloff nemesis from Frankenstien Von Sloan doing very well with his rather small, thankless role and Eugene Palette giving a good turn as the warden. Karloff's three old friends are all well-played and Evelyn Keyes as his daughter adequate as is Bruce Bennet as her love interest and Karloff's former assistant. The movie is not particularly fast-paced but the tension does build increasingly with effect. Before I Hang is a rather nice addition to Karloff's Columbia Mad Doctor roles. Perhaps not the best of them but certainly stands strong with the rest of them.

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?

Dr. John Garth (Boris Karloff) is convicted of a mercy killing and sentenced to hang. With the time he has left, he is allowed to continue his experiments in prison. He creates a serum that reverses aging and tries it out on himself. But side effects of the serum turn him into a homicidal maniac. Karloff is terrific in a role very similar to many others he had played before and always perfectly. He was so good at creating sympathetic performances out of characters that other actors would have played in broad strokes. Nice supporting cast that includes the always good Edward Van Sloan, Evelyn Keyes, Bruce Bennett, Don Beddoe, and the underrated Pedro de Cordoba. You might not recognize some of those names but it's a solid cast for a 'B' picture. Not the best of Karloff's mad scientist films but highly enjoyable anyway. Definitely give it a shot.

The third Boris Karloff "mad doctor" film is an interesting if surprisingly rather dull affair; the star is always worth watching, however, and his role here certainly offers him plenty to sink his teeth into: he starts the film as an old man about to be hanged for a mercy killing, is then rejuvenated through a serum he develops while in prison (the kindly warden having consented to Karloff continuing his experiments there until the time of his execution comes) and finally turns into a strangler (the unfortunate side-effect of the drug which contained the blood cells of a murderer)!

Though the supporting cast features several familiar faces, they're all somewhat underused: Evelyn Keyes and Bruce Bennett are certainly among the higher-prolife actors to fill the 'romantic interest' roles in this type of film, but they're just about the most thankless I've ever seen (especially Bennett who has barely 5 minutes of screen time)! Edward van Sloan's presence was especially welcome (having memorably faced-off with Karloff twice before) but, again, his prison doctor here is nowhere near as juicy as his iconic roles in Dracula (1931), FRANKENSTEIN (1931), THE MUMMY (1932) and DRACULA'S DAUGHTER (1936)! Pedro de Cordoba, on the other hand, is quite poignant as Karloff's pianist friend whose career is fading due to his advancing age; of course, Boris is willing to help him out in this regard, but his new-found and uncontrollable murderous instincts prevail! A measure of amusement is also gleaned from noticing the recurring presence of such actors as Roger Pryor, Don Beddoe and Charles Trowbridge in roles which were pretty much reprises of ones they had played in the earlier Columbia Karloffs!

On the debit side, the low budget especially shows here in the film's rather dismal sets - the other three of Karloff's serious horror efforts for Columbia made good use of the star's gadget-filled house (THE MAN THEY COULD NOT HANG [1939]), frozen underground lab (THE MAN WITH NINE LIVES [1940]) and Karloff's imposing cliff-top mansion (THE DEVIL COMMANDS [1941]); besides, the rather clinical experiments become repetitive and the film talky, which is further exacerbated by the regrettable fact that throughout there are few action/horror highlights per se.

As far as the film's DVD presentation goes, I found it to be disappointingly lackluster: while the print itself is adequate, there are no scene selections for any of the films in this set (which also proves to be the case with Universal's Karloff collection and the "Inner Sanctum" Set!) nor, for that matter, proper menu screens - have the studios become stingy or what?!