User reviews

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?!

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.

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...

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.

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 ****

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?

It's sad that Before I Hang which started off with so much possibility, ended up with Boris Karloff playing yet another mad scientist. The film was alluding to stem cell research three generations before it was a possibility.

The film begins with Karloff receiving a death sentence for a 'mercy' killing of a patient. In light of what subsequently happens you've got to wonder if Karloff was telling the whole truth as he spoke before the death sentence was passed.

Passed it was though, but Boris had the good fortune to get to a prison where the doctor, Edward Van Sloan, was a fan of his work and he persuades warden Ben Taggart to allow to him to work with him in the last few weeks of his life.

Of course those are some eventful weeks, made even longer when the governor commutes his sentence. Bodies start piling up all around Boris when he starts injecting himself with that concoction he's brewed up.

Karloff will of course please his legion of fans, he gives them the Boris they've come to expect. But I think this film could have been so much more and said so much more if not relegated to Columbia's B picture factory.

This starts out so well. We have a man who really shouldn't have been executed, facing the music for doing an act of kindness toward a fellow human being. The people around him give him his wish to continue to do research and he is eventually pardoned because of his great discoveries. Unfortunately, to prove his point, he gets injected with the blood of a three-time killer who was hanged. Of course, true to plot, Karloff's kindly old doctor begins to black out and do evil deeds to the people he loved. He has discovered a sort of fountain of youth, but his old buddies realize that he is messing where he shouldn't have been messing, and want nothing to do with it. Whenever he gets all worked up, he becomes a strangler. There's nothing very remarkable about it and the science is quite ludicrous. Karloff and the rest of the cast give it the old college try, but the thing is so lame that it just falls flat. Totally predictable.

I viewed this film many years ago, and have not seen it for a long time. I was surprised to see Evelyn Keyes as co-star with Boris Karloff, playing his daughter. It is hard to believe that Evelyn Keyes had just finished working in "Gone With The Wind" in 1939 and then in 1940 played a minor role with Karloff in a low budget "B" movie. Karloff becomes a Mercy Killer and then is injected with a murder's blood and starts killing all his old friends. It appears that Karloff does not know just what he wants to do in this picture, help people become younger and live longer, or prevent them from suffering, or just plain kill them. You have to be a Boris Karloff fan to enjoy this film classic.

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.

Mad scientist Boris Karloff (as Dr. John Garth) is sentenced to hang, as an admitted "mercy killer". But, since his research in medicine is so important, Mr. Karloff is permitted to continue experimenting, in a laboratory behind bars. Karloff thinks human cells could be prompted to reproduce forever, curing both disease and old age. Believing he is going to be executed, Karloff uses his experimental serum on himself, and is transfused with the blood of a convicted murderer. Then, suddenly, Karloff is paroled. He becomes twenty years younger, but must fight the urge to kill, Kill, KILL! A cheap, ludicrous, but bearable star vehicle.

**** Before I Hang (1940) Nick Grinde ~ Boris Karloff, Evelyn Keyes, Pedro de Cordoba

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.

"Before I Hang" is one of a couple of Boris Karloff vehicles with similar plots. Here he plays Dr. John Garth, an eminent doctor who's condemned to die for having performed a mercy killing. However, his sentence gets commuted at the last possible second, and he's able to go on with his work. This happens to be trying to defy, even reverse, the ageing process. The bad news is that since this IS a horror film, the serum that Garth devises will have devastating, murderous consequences.

Directed in decent workmanlike fashion by Nick Grinde, "Before I Hang" does resonate more than it might have, even with a fairly routine script by Robert Hardy Andrews. One of the main hooks is the whole idea of assisted suicide, still just as much of a hot button topic as it ever was. There's also the effectiveness of the tragedy element in this story: our antagonist IS sympathetic, and never had meant to do anybody any harm.

The stark, high contrast lighting by Benjamin H. Kline is a strong asset, and Karloff is nicely supported by actors such as the great Edward Van Sloan (as Dr. Howard), Ben Taggart (as the warden), Pedro de Cordoba (as Garths' pianist friend Victor Sondini), and Don Beddoe (as Captain McGraw, the lawman who will investigate a series of stranglings). But make no mistake: Karloff is the main reason to watch. He's touching, and compelling, and appropriately creepy when he needs to be.

Not a particularly memorable film, but a solidly entertaining one.

Seven out of 10.

This film I never heard of until I was working through a horror movie encyclopedia. I came in blind aside from reading a small blurb they had in it, but I was intrigued when I learned that this starred Boris Karloff. I had seen a few of Universal films prior to this, but aside from that, I was pretty new to his work as well. The synopsis here is a physician on death row for a mercy killing is allowed to experiment with a serum using a criminals' blood, but secretly test it on himself.

We start this off through a newspaper headline learning that Dr. John Garth (Karloff) is convicted of murdering a friend who was dying. He tried to put him out of his misery and this dubs him the 'Mercy Killer'. The doctor has been convicted of murder in the eyes of the law and sentenced in one month's time to be hung. In the court with him is his daughter Martha (Evelyn Keyes), and her fiancé Dr. Paul Ames (Bruce Bennett). They vow they'll continue to work to get him out.

He arrives at the prison and is brought to meet Warden Thompson (Ben Taggart), as well as Dr. Ralph Howard (Edward Van Sloan). They believe in the work that he was doing and want to allow him to continue it in prison until his execution. Dr. Garth believes that human cells are immortal and that they produce waste that is what causes us to age and ultimately kills us. He thinks he can prevent this from happening.

While they work, they are interrupted by a convict who does janitorial work, Otto Kron (Frank Richards). A guard comments that he's sneaky and they aren't a big fan of him. He also informs them that their time is up for the day, but Dr. Garland gets the guard to leave and asks Dr. Howard about getting blood from a murderer who is to be hung the next day. He agrees since he will conduct the autopsy afterwards.

They believe they've succeed in perfecting the formula from a test. It is decided since Dr. Garth is to be executed the following day, he will be the guinea pig. For his last request, he asks the warden if he can work in the lab with Dr. Howard to make sure he knows how to do everything after his execution. He doesn't see anything wrong with this and agrees.

They administer it to him and monitor what happens. The warden then shows up, but something unexpected happens. He gets a stay and his sentence is commuted to life imprisonment. Dr. Garth then passes out and Dr. Howard relays the changes that have happened. Dr. Garth went into a short coma, but he no longer needs his glasses to see, his hair isn't completely white anymore and metabolically he is 20 years younger. There's also another side effect that is much deadlier.

Now it's been a few years since the last time I saw this movie and I'll be honest, I didn't really remember a lot about it. The title of the movie though is quite interesting, as there's quite a bit of tension building to Dr. Garth's execution. We of course though get a bit of convenience that they're able to make the major discovery before that happens. I'm willing to give a bit of leeway here though as he thought he had previously. Combining his knowledge with Dr. Howard I can buy what they're selling.

What this movie does really well is establishing our baseline for Dr. Garth. He is dubbed the mercy killing and he doesn't think he did anything wrong. This is an interesting story here for a movie that is 80 years old as committing euthanasia was a hot button case with Dr. Kevorkian. It makes it believable as well that he could operate in this prison like he is, as the risk isn't necessarily there in my eyes. He does have some limitations so it isn't too far out of the realm.

This movie really does end up boiling down to a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde type story. By mixing the blood of a criminal into the serum they create, it taints it. I'm willing to give leeway here though, since science was a bit more primitive for the era. Heck, this is a common thing that was done in Universal and Hammer Horror films for decades. This movie does handle it pretty subtly and to be honest, a lot of credit from me goes to the performance of Karloff.

Since I've already touched on it a bit, let me delve a bit more. Karloff is made up to look older than he was at the time so when he starts to become younger through a cell level, they can reign it back. On top of that, when the killer's blood in him starts to take over, I like that he has tics that Dr. Garth didn't have. I almost feel this movie would be better served to have shown the killer to establish, but I get what they're doing. His performance here is the best by far. I thought the rest really did round this out for what was needed. If I give anyone else credit it is Sloan who is working with him as well as Dr. Garth's friends of Victor Sondini (Pedro de Cordoba), George Wharton (Wright Kramer) and Stephen Barclay (Bertram Marburgh).

Aside from that, I really should just cover the effects which there really aren't any. We get to see the experiments on a very surface level with Dr. Garth and Dr. Howard. I don't think that hurts the movie as the science they are doing isn't based in reality. I really the concept of it though. The performance of Karloff as I said shows us the 'Hyde' version and just how he is done up to look older is really it. Everything else is off screen. The cinematography is fine, but it doesn't necessarily stand out.

Now with that, I do think this is playing with the Jekyll/Hyde story in an interesting way. What Dr. Garth is trying to do with helping his friend as well as trying to reverse the aging process is a good concept. His performance really cares this movie with establishing his norm and an older look to reverse that after using the serum on himself. I do think that the movie is too short and cut out some aspects that would really help to strengthen what they're doing. Not a bad movie, just lacking to really make this more of a classic in my eyes hence why it is somewhat obscure. It is really just over average in my opinion.

My Rating: 5.5 out of 10

Nick Grinde directs Boris Karloff for the third time in a familiar-sounding tale of Dr. John Garth, who was sentenced to death for a mercy killing, who nonetheless is allowed by the prison warden to experiment with his serum using the blood of an executed murderer. Garth uses it on himself however, and it proves a success, but has the unfortunate side-effect of periodically turning him into a killer. After one such murder(which is blamed on an escaped inmate) he is pardoned, but that doesn't stop his lapses into murder, as he decides to help some doctors with his serum, but that plan backfires. Standard thriller has a good performance from Boris, but that's all. Seen this done before, and better.

While not on par with The Man They Could Not Hang, Before I Hang is enjoyable, if somewhat slow-moving. It is usually lumped into the horror genre, but like many of its companion movies of the era, including Man They Could Not Hang, The Man with Nine Lives, The Monster and the Girl, and others, it's actually more science fiction than horror. In fact, it's fascinating to watch it as a precursor to modern movies that involve genetic engineering, which is essentially the same technology which drives the plot here.

Before I hang is a pretty nice sci-fi crime thriller. I agree with others it's sorta a Jekyll and Hyde type of movie - but not a rip off. (Mad) Scientists have been in movies for years and this is one in that category. Worth watching if you like these types of films.

Dr. John Garth (Karloff) is a scientist working on an experiment to prolong the human life, did a mercy killing and was sentenced to death by hanging for it. While on death row, the prison doctor and the warden became fascinated with the idea of living longer so the warden allowed, with the help of the prison doctor, Dr. Garth to continue his experiments until the walked death row. While doing the experiment Dr. Garth accidentally ended up mixing the blood of a real killer with the serum and was injected with it - this is where things change for Dr. Garth and the film.

Make it a double feature with Karloff's The Man They Could Not Hang (1939).

Nice classic 9/10

I really think Karloff is the master of horror, but this is one of his few oldies that seemed to drag. There must have been 5 minutes (of about 60) wasted on piano playing. It was just going through the motions as far as Boris was concerned. Compare this to the "Black Room" where the master really puts his talents to work.