The Man They Could Not Hang


The Man They Could Not Hang is a 1939 American horror film directed by Nick Grinde and starring Boris Karloff as Dr. Henryk Savaard. It is the first in a series of four similarly-themed Columbia horror movies, all starring Karloff, informally known as the "Mad Doctor Cycle." It was followed by 'The Man with Nine Lives', Before I Hang and The Devil Commands. A fifth, The Boogie Man Will Get You, was a parody of the others.

Plot

Dr. Savaard is obsessed with bringing the dead back to life. A young medical student offers his services to him, but before he can bring him back to life, Savaard is arrested, convicted, and sentenced to hang. He vows revenge on the judge and the jury before his hanging. His assistant claims his body and revives him by using his technique. The vengeful Savaard goes on a killing spree.

Cast

The fictional heart and lung machine prop presented an idea that was strictly science fiction at the time, but later the central idea became reality as "Open-Heart Surgery." Later renamed "On-Pump" surgery due to the development of microsurgery that does not require stopping the heart, "On Pump" requires heart stoppage, then hook up to the pump, then operate on the repairs, then re-connect and revive the patient, exactly the basic theory presented by the film.

Release

The film has been released on VHS by Sony Pictures. It is also included in the "Icons of Horror – Boris Karloff" DVD, released in 2006.