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 The Man Who Lived Again More at IMDbPro »The Man Who Changed His Mind (original title)

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14 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
This isn't a very good film--no, wait a minute--I've changed my mind; it is really quite good, and by that, I mean quite, 27 June 2005
9/10
Author: Brandt Sponseller from New York City

This is not one of Karloff's better-known films among the mainstream public, but it is very close in quality to the best of his prolific output. It may be shorter and far less grandiose than Frankenstein (1931), The Mummy (1932), and especially Bride of Frankenstein (1935), but it touches on many of the same themes as the Frankenstein films while allowing his Karloff his turn in the role of a mad doctor.

Karloff is Dr. Laurience, a well known neuroscientist who had a reputation for being brilliant but whom we learn has developed a reputation as an off-his-rocker quack in the last few years. As The Man Who Changed His Mind opens, we meet the charming young Dr. Clare Wyatt (Anna Lee). A colleague says that this is the last time he will be working with Wyatt. We learn that she is heading off to be Laurience's research assistant. Everyone warns her not to go, especially Wyatt's boyfriend/fiancé-hopeful Dick Haslewood (John Loder), a budding reporter who works for the newspapers owned by his father, Lord Haslewood (Frank Cellier).

Wyatt is determined and a bit stubborn. She heads off to Laurience's manor while basically forbidding Haslewood to go along. He follows anyway. Wyatt soon learns why Laurience has a questionable reputation--he's been experimenting with siphoning off the mind, or the "soul", as he calls it, from monkeys by using sophisticated scientific equipment. Now that Wyatt has arrived and Laurience finally has a capable, trustworthy assistant, he plans on experimenting with two monkeys in an attempt to swap their minds. If that goes well, he says he is going to try the same with humans. Wyatt is disturbed by this, claiming it is highly unethical. But when Lord Haslewood offers financial backing for an exclusive (including copyright ownership) on Laurience's published results, Laurience has the facilities he needs to accelerate his goals. What will be the result of the experiments?

Director Robert Stevenson, whose career interestingly went from hard-boiled genre films to serious dramas before he finally settled into almost exclusively directing live-action Disney classics throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, engenders a thematic and atmospheric kinship to the early 1930s Universal horror classics in the earliest moments of The Man Who Changed His Mind. Thematically, we're first deposited in a clinical, respectable "high science" environment, before our hero(ine) makes a journey to a distant land, first via train, then by coach (which is characteristically driven by someone afraid to complete the journey) to a dingy, Gothic mansion to meet the antagonist. The antagonist has that role more by a compelled disposition than by choice. The journey signifies the transition between a cheery contemporary public façade for scientific endeavors and the "nasty truth" underlying the obsession with the current outgrowth of technology--that it is rooted in the mysterious, dangerous and uncouth "magic" of the alchemists. The mad scientist is in the role of the obsessed alchemist, of course, foolishly toying with God's creations in what amounts to a Satanic bid to become God himself. This is the well-known ideological basis of Dr. Frankenstein, and Stevenson carries it over to the present film.

Interestingly, the trio of screenwriters included John L. Balderston, who not only co-wrote Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein, but also the play that formed the basis of Dracula (1931), Universal's first sound horror film of the Gothic era. Dracula features a similar journey at the beginning, even if the surface mechanisms involved in the conflict there are not scientific, but bureaucratic, centering on a real estate deal.

The Man Who Changed His Mind, like the Frankenstein films, uses "gobbledy-gooky" contraptions to fuel its bizarre metaphysics. Also like Frankenstein, the basic principle involved is electricity. In fact, The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) even has a similar plot device to this film, even if it's not so much the focus there. Laurience's motivation here may be more selfish than Dr. Frankenstein's--he's ultimately trying to find a way to prolong his own life, but this make him no less dangerous as an antagonist.

Balderston and his co-writers Sidney Gilliat and L. du Garde Peach also go a bit further in trying to get at difficult scientific and philosophical issues here concerning "what is mind?" Of course, they can't quite give an answer, but that's not surprising, as a few hundred years of work from philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists and such hasn't exactly provided an answer yet, either. Because of this, and for other ex-positional reasons, The Man Who Changed His Mind sometimes has very fast, "thick" dialogue (this is probably exacerbated by the 60-some minute running time, as well), but the dialogue never becomes burdensome. Audiences in this era were expected to be quicker and more intelligent. It's quite refreshing. The script also has more biting humor than one might expect, but you have to listen closely to make sure you do not miss some of the odder and more scathing jokes.

As it is heavy on dialogue and light on environment changes and things like special effects (aside from the Frankenstein devices), films like this must ultimately succeed or fail on the performances. Karloff is entrancing, complex and convincingly obsessive, even if he's not exactly playing the kind of guy you'd like to take out for a few beers. Lee is a delight as a headstrong, intelligent, powerful woman--especially given that this wasn't the norm for genre films of the era. Donald Calthrop is excellent as a feisty quadriplegic, and Cellier does a fantastic job in a demanding role that requires drastic changes of character.

If there's a flaw, it's merely that the short running time makes the film feel a bit lighter than it should. But Karloff fans and any fans of genre films of this era can't afford to miss this one.

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7 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
The best mad doctor flick Karloff ever made..., 23 April 2005
10/10
Author: waverboy from Seattle, WA, USA

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

For decades, this film was nigh lost...apparently all that survived was a single extremely tattered/spliced/beat-up 16mm print, under the U.S. retitling of THE MAN WHO LIVED AGAIN, which finally made its way into the hands of the good people at Sinister Cinema, who released it on VHS around 15 years ago. Even in such a compromised state, the film was so good that it almost didn't matter. And then, happily, late last year, it came out of nowhere: an obscure label by the name of Shanachie Video released a DVD mastered from a beautiful, nigh-flawless 35mm print (or it could even be the original negative, not sure) under the original British title. Where this print or negative was found, I don't know, but I do know that I'm ecstatic over it!

WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW!!!

Boris Karloff is EXCELLENT as Dr. Laurience, a scientist trying to get the scientific community to accept his process of transferring "thought content" from one brain to another, ostensibly to preserve the knowledge and personality gained over a lifetime instead of leaving it to rot with the body after life has expired. After his presentation, his peers of course think he's nuts, and his financial backer, newspaper publisher Lord Haslewood, turns on him as well, taking possession of his notes and all the lab equipment. Coupled with the rejection of his romantic advances by his lovely assistant Clare, this, in the time-honored tradition of horror and sci-fi stories, proceeds to send the doctor over the edge...

Boris Karloff manages to make his character by turns likable, detestable, frightening, and sympathetic, according to the demands of the story; at all times he is believable and utterly compelling. Anna Lee, as Dr. Clare Wyatt, the good doctor's assistant, makes for an intelligent, sophisticated, well-dressed, and above all luscious damsel-in-distress. John Loder, as the publisher's son, Dick Haslewood, is his usual lightweight likable leading-man self, and infinitely preferable to David Manners, who often played these types for Universal Studios. If you like John here, you'll also like him in Hitchcock's classic SABOTAGE, also filmed in 1936. Frank Cellier is perfect as Lord Haslewood, Laurience's initial benefactor, later nemesis and eventual victim. He really gets a chance to shine in the clever dialogue exchanges of the boardroom scenes. The direction by Robert Stevenson (who would go on to helm many Disney classics including MARY POPPINS) is right on the money, as is the art direction and set design. Perhaps most importantly, the script is a sophisticated top-notch balance of thrills and light comedy, co-written by John Balderston and Sidney Gilliat. Balderston, scribe of such stage-derived '30s chillers as FRANKENSTEIN, Dracula, and THE MUMMY, provided the serious stuff, and Gilliat, scribe for Hitchcock (THE LADY VANISHES, JAMAICA INN) and Carol Reed (NIGHT TRAIN TO MUNICH, THE YOUNG MR. PITT), supplied the wit, with excellent results.

The new DVD is a revelation. If all you've seen before is that shredded 16mm print on VHS, and liked it then, prepare yourself to be blown away by this transfer...and if you've never seen it at all, and are a fan of classic horror and sci-fi, you can't go wrong with this undeservedly obscure gem...one of Boris Karloff's finest hours.

One minor caveat: the DVD appears to be either mastered from a PAL source or a bit time-compressed; the voices are at a slightly higher pitch than they should be, but this shouldn't be too noticeable to the majority of viewers. I just tend to be obsessive about this stuff...

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8 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
For what it is, it is super and very effective, 29 November 2006
8/10
Author: planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida

This was a low-budget horror film with very modest pretensions. No one involved believed they were making "high art" and with a small budget and running at only 62 minutes, this is a definite B-picture. And in light of these factors, it's an amazingly effective and enjoyable film.

Boris Karloff plays a mad scientist--this is certainly no great stretch. His research involves trying to switch the mind of one person with another--sort of like the plot that was often used in cartoons or cheesy comedies in the 60s. How exactly this was going to be a GOOD thing certainly wasn't a primary concern for th doctor, though later in the film, greed and an over-active libido push this strange doctor to make this switch with unwilling victims.

So despite a pretty corny plot, why did I like this film? Well, the pacing was excellent but more importantly the film had wonderful dialog and was at times very 'tongue in cheek'. In particular, when Karloff's evil and physically twisted assistant changes bodies with the rich philanthropic newspaper owner, I found myself laughing repeatedly because the writers for the film deliberately injected some levity into the horror plot. You just have to see it to understand and appreciate this.

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9 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
KARLOFF TRANSPOSES BRAIN WAVES!, 29 April 2003
10/10
Author: whpratt1 from United States

This film was called : "The Man Who Lived Again" and released on Sept. 11, 1936 which was produced in England. It depicts a home on the outskirts of London. Dr. Laurience (Boris Karloff) creates an invention that can transpose the mind of one person to the body of another. His only assistant is Clayton (Donald Calthrop), a paralytic with a fatal brain disease. A very rich man Lord Haslewood (Frank Cellier) finances Dr. Laurience's experiments. Fellow scientists discover that Dr. Laurience's experiments are unbelieveable. Karloff keeps transferring brains from one person to another without success. Finally he shares his secret with his beautiful assistant, Clare(Anne Lee) who appeared with Karloff in "Bedlam" who lives in London at the age of 90 years. Anne Lee last performed in "What Can I Do?" in 1994. Dr. Laurience loses control of himself and takes his invention to the grave. This is a true classic film of Boris Karloff.

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6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
A Forgotten Karloff Masterpiece, 17 December 2007
10/10
Author: ferbs54 from United States

What a delightful surprise this little movie turned out to be! I had read in Michael Weldon's "Psychotronic Encyclopedia" that "The Man Who Changed His Mind" was a seldom-seen Karloff film that was considered to be quite excellent, but until last night had never seen it before. The film turns out to be a beautifully done piece on the by-now-overdone theme of mind/body transfer. It is impeccably acted by the entire cast, features gorgeous black-and-white photography and great use of shadow, stylish direction, more-than-adequate effects and a witty script. The picture really does MOVE; there are no wasted scenes or sluggish passages to speak of whatsoever. Anna Lee, who would costar with Karloff again 10 years later in the 1946 picture "Bedlam," is excellent (and beautiful) here as Karloff's assistant, and the actor Frank Cellier almost steals the film as the lord and publisher who receives the mind of Karloff's wheelchair-bound helper. But the film belongs to Karloff, and he runs with it. This may very well be his best film of the 1930s, with the exception of the Franky films and "The Black Cat," of course, and that's really saying something. Fans of classic horror should all rejoice that this terrific and relatively unknown example of British '30s horror is now widely available in a pristine-looking DVD. To be succinct...loved it.

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5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Still-Relevant Social Commentary, 5 October 2005
Author: Doghouse-6 from Glendale, CA

This is one of the earliest examples of the "mad scientist" characterization that would become so much a part of Boris' stock in trade over the following decade. What's most interesting about THE MAN WHO CHANGED HIS MIND is that it is not as much science fiction as it is an observation of what we might today call the "PR machine," and it takes some lacerating swipes at journalism, publicity and self-promotion.

Karloff is Dr. Laurience, a reclusive scientist who believes he can transfer the consciousness (or soul?) from one brain to another. Ably assisted by Dr. Clare Wyatt, Laurience draws the interest of newspaper publisher Lord Haslewood (whose son, Dick, is Clare's fiancé). Eager to promote his foundation, Haslewood offers to sponsor Laurience's work - without knowing exactly what it is. Before the dust settles, Haslewood feels swindled, Clare feels suspicious and Laurience feels used, vowing to employ his work to his own ends rather than for the benefit of mankind.

Boris' performance is exuberant, and supporting players Anna Lee, John Loder and Donald Calthrop are effective, but Frank Cellier, as Lord Haslewood, walks away with the picture whenever he is on screen. Without giving too much away, let's just say that Cellier is called upon to portray more than one personality, and provides the film with its most enjoyable scenes.

THE MAN WHO CHANGED HIS MIND definitely has its moments, along with a little something to say. With its takes on the press and the pitfalls of corporate control, it not only conveys messages to which we can relate today, but illustrates how little some things have changed in 70 years.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Boris Karloff is the doctor this time..., 10 January 2008
7/10
Author: TheFiendsThatPlagueThee from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

A potential fountain of youth. An ambitious mad scientist. A newspaper reporter. A beautiful woman. These are some of the elements in The Man Who Lived Again (aka The Man Who Changed His Mind-which, by the way, I think is a much more clever title).

Boris Karloff gets his turn as the mad scientist, perhaps as well as the monster, in this film that has some similarities to the Frankenstein movie. Karloff as usual shines as a foreboding, evil, ambitious and proud scientist on the brink of a new discovery. Anna Lee is delightful in her role as a young innocent assistant. I don't remember seeing her before, but I will definitely look up some other movies in which she has played.

The story unfolds around a science experiment that perhaps can provide eternal youth to the scientist-but only at the cost of another's life, each time. A love triangle, vanity and ridicule, and a few murders help to spice up this movie, which I think is well worth watching.

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3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
One "Karloff" movie you shall not forget!, 10 July 2000
9/10
Author: (p166) from The Hasel Woods, Australia

Long before some of our favourite classic horror films were ever invented there was The Brainsnatcher (The Man Who Changed His Mind). "The Brainsnatcher" is almost as good as some of the horror movies we have today. Boris Karloff gives off a brilliant performance as a mad scientist and is aided by great performances by Anna Lee, Brian Pawley and Donald Calthrop. Altogether a very good production that should not be forgotten.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Boris Karloff shines in this mini masterpiece, 21 May 2010
10/10
Author: johnc2141 from United States

I am a huge Boris Karloff fan so i try to watch every movie he was in and i recently seen this mini masterpiece on the internet archives.and also stars one of my favorite British actresses;Anna Lee who i thought was an awesome and beautiful presence.well Karloff is at his best as a mad scientist conducting illegal experiments first on chimps then of course to people,it has something to do with mind and soul transference,kind of sci fi.its pretty bizarre.Boris Karloff did this little gem for the same British studio that made the ghoul also a Karloff film,this was made in 1936 so he did this while he was still on universals contract,between the black cat and son of Frankenstein.if your a fan of Boris Karloff and sci fi then i totally recommend this movie.Boris Karloff was the king of horror,and was an awesome actor.he should've won an academy award for some of the films he did.I'm giving this gem 10 out of 10.

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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
THE MAN WHO CHANGED HIS MIND (Robert Stevenson, 1936) ***, 9 September 2006
7/10
Author: MARIO GAUCI (marrod@melita.com) from Naxxar, Malta

Star Boris Karloff's second British horror film, following THE GHOUL (1933), proves a more satisfying vehicle and quite an underrated (if minor) classic; apart from director Stevenson (later to helm some of the Walt Disney studio's most popular live-action films), its imposing credentials include producer Michael Balcon (one of the most influential in British cinema) and co-screenwriters John L. Balderston (a genre fixture who had worked on some of Hollywood's finest entries) and Sidney Gilliat (later a Hitchcock collaborator and an important film-maker in his own right, often teamed with Frank Launder)!

Production-wise, it's a modest effort – mostly confined to studio interiors – but one which, in its brief running-time, exhibits both style and substance in a gripping (if familiar) plot line that manages to encompass drama, comedy, romance, chills and suspense! Incidentally, the transference of souls from one body to another was also the theme of THE BROTHERHOOD OF Satan (1971) – which I just happened to watch the previous day – where it's given an occult slant, as opposed to the sci-fi approach of the Karloff film!!

In fact, the star's 'mad scientist' character here (named Laurience but pronounced Lorenz!) was the second in a string of similar roles he played from 1936-1942; I've only watched the first two and the last one but I have two more coming up tomorrow and the day after, while the rest will be released as part of Columbia's Karloff set next month! Anyway, he's excellent as always – driven, menacing or poignant as the situation demands – but he's ably supported by a wonderful British cast: Anna Lee (the director's own wife and with whom Karloff would reteam, memorably, in Hollywood in the Val Lewton-produced BEDLAM [1946]), John Loder, Frank Cellier, Cecil Parker and especially Donald Calthrop; the latter almost manages to steal the show with his crippled and cynical doctor's assistant, whose brain is then put into Cellier's body: the scenes where he tries to act up his new persona provide some delightful – and unexpected – moments of black comedy!

As usual, Karloff's love for the leading lady is unrequited (though she sure admires his genius!) and he concocts an elaborate plan to win her affections which, needless to say, is thwarted in the final reel. In fact, the film's climax (in which Karloff and Loder, having switched brains, attempt an impersonation of one another and then the process has to be reversed in order to save the hero's life, Karloff having thrown himself – in Loder's body – from a window to escape police capture!) is somewhat far-fetched but nonetheless exciting. The DVD transfer is acceptable for such a rare item, with the only negative note being some persistent hiss on the soundtrack.

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