The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)

The Man They Could Not Hang
Directed by Nick Grinde
Written by Karl Brown, George Wallace Sayre, and Leslie T. White
1939/USA
Columbia Pictures
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Dr. Henryk Savaard: Always remember I offered you life, and you gave me death![/box]

This is a good little “B” horror picture with a fine performance by Boris Karloff.

Dr. Henryk Savaard (Karloff) has invented a process of reviving the dead through the use of a mechanical heart.  The idea is to be able to operate on a still body like mechanics work on cars with their engines turned off.  Savaard’s assistant is enthusiastic about being the first human test subject for the procedure.  Unfortunately, the assistant’s hysterical fiance calls the cops, who refuse to let Savaard revive the corpse but order an autopsy. Savaard is sentenced to death for murder but the mechanical heart and a colleague are still around and the good doctor prepares an elaborate revenge plot.

I thought this was better than it had any right to be.  Of course with Karloff you can’t go too wrong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWebdSs1XUs

Clip – the initial experiment