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Condemned to death for a mercy killing, Dr. John Garth (Karloff) continues to experiment in prison to develop a serum that will put at end to the aging process -- vowing to complete it Before I Hang. On the eve of his execution, he offers himself as guinea pig for his youth serum, which has recently been mixed with the blood of an executed psychopath. Miraculously, Garth does grow younger before the astonished eyes of kindly prison physician Ralph Howard (Edward Van Sloan). Alas, the serum has murderous side effects, which Howard discovers only as Garth strangles him to death. Pardoned from Death Row thanks to a script contrivance, Garth spends the rest of the film trying to carry on his humanitarian work despite embarrassing lapses into homicidal mania. Many observers regard Before I Hang as the best of Karloff's "Mad Doctor" series for Columbia. Hal Erickson
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A curse pronounced upon land the baron DeBerghmann has devastating long-range consequences for his twin sons, Gregor and Anton, in The Black Room. Twenty years later, Anton (Boris Karloff) has developed into a debauched and much-hated despot, disposing of his enemies by dumping their bodies into the titular chamber on his estate. But when Anton's kindly, benevolent brother Gregor (also Karloff) returns home after a long absence, he is so beloved by the townspeople that Anton "graciously" gives up his title and estate to Gregor. Actually, Anton plans to kill his brother and take his place so that he can indulge in even more deviltry -- including the framing of young Lt. Lussan (Robert Allen), the sweetheart of the beautiful Thea (Marian Marsh), for the murder (committed by Anton) of Thea's father Col. Hassel (Thurston Hall). Ultimately, however, Anton's true identity is revealed by Gregor's faithful mastiff. Although reminiscent of an old folk legend, The Black Room was written directly for the screen by Arthur Strawn. Hal Erickson
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In The Boogie Man Will Get You -- a silly but enjoyable rip-off of Arsenic and Old Lace -- Boris Karloff plays an addlepated scientist who is experimenting with bringing the dead back to life. To do this, he has "killed" several travelling salesmen and placed them in suspended animation in his basement. Karloff is fiercely protected by his housekeeper (Maude Eburne), who is none too normal herself. Beauteous real estate agent Jeff Donnell approaches Karloff to buy his New England home; Donnell wishes to turn the ramshackle domicile into a rustic inn. Other visitors to the Karloff manse are Donnell's ex-husband Larry Parks, and the local sheriff-justice of the peace (Peter Lorre!) who holds the high-interest mortgage on the house. Travelling peddler Maxie Rosenbloom also shows up, and is promptly made a subject of Karloff's experimentation. It turns out that Karloff has really killed no one -- all the salesmen are merely stunned, especially the dimwitted Rosenbloom -- but the plot is complicated by a real murder, committed by person or persons unknown. As the convoluted storyline runs down, the Karloff home is invaded by an Italian P.O.W. (Frank Puglia) who is wired with explosives, and finally by representatives of the local booby hatch. Hal Erickson
All Movie Guide
A scientist's greatest invention proves to be his darkest curse in The Man They Could Not Hang, a thriller that was part of Columbia and star Boris Karloff's "mad doctor" series. Karloff stars as Dr. Henryk Savaard, a brilliant heart expert who has created a pump that will allow him to place a patient in a state of death so that vital organs can be replaced with few problems. His first experiment on a human quickly goes awry when his nurse Betty (Ann Doran) sends for the police. The experiment is interrupted leaving the young man dead and Savaard in jail. He is sentenced to hang, but unleashes a bitter diatribe against his executioners promising to avenge his death. After his hanging, Savaard's assistant, Stoddard (Joseph DeStefani), hooks up the corpse to the heart pump and resurrects his boss. Several months pass and a local reporter (Robert Wilcox) discovers that six of the jurors in the case have mysteriously committed suicide -- all by hanging. The newsman's investigation leads him to follow the judge, the prosecutor, nurse Betty, and the surviving jurors to a specially arranged meeting at Savaard's former home. There, they are stunned to discover that Savaard is not only alive, but planning to execute them one by one every 15 minutes. As the bodies quickly begin to pile up, it is through the one person close to Savaard's heart that they can hope to make it out alive. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide
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