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The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
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Overview
User Rating:
Your Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
17 August 1939 (USA)
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Tagline:
TRANSFORMED BY THE HANGMAN'S NOOSE...from a doctor serving humanity into a demon filled with hate...and terrorizing blood-lust! See more »
Plot:
When Dr. Savaard's experiment in cryonics is interrupted by the short-sighted authorities, his volunteer dies, and he is condemned to death. He vows vengeance if he can survive his own hanging. Full summary » | Add synopsis »
Plot Keywords:
Revenge
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Hanging
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Mad Scientist
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Cryonics
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Experiment
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User Reviews:
Better then Expected
See more (17 total) »
Cast
(in credits order) (complete, awaiting verification) | Boris Karloff | ... | Dr. Henryk Savaard |
 | Lorna Gray | ... | Janet Savaard |
| Robert Wilcox | ... | 'Scoop' Foley |
| Roger Pryor | ... | District Attorney Drake |
 | Don Beddoe | ... | Police Lt. Shane |
 | Ann Doran | ... | Betty Crawford |
| Joe De Stefani | ... | Dr. Stoddard |
| Charles Trowbridge | ... | Judge Bowman |
| Byron Foulger | ... | Lang |
| Dick Curtis | ... | Jury Foreman Clifford Kearney |
| James Craig | ... | Juror Watkins |
| John Tyrrell | ... | Juror Sutton |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| George Anderson | ... | Prison Warden (uncredited) |
| Sam Ash | ... | Druggist (uncredited) |
| Stanley Blystone | ... | Prison Guard (uncredited) |
| Harlan Briggs | ... | Defense Attorney Parker (uncredited) |
| Stanley Brown | ... | Bob Roberts (uncredited) |
| Flo Campbell | ... | Housewife (uncredited) |
| John Dilson | ... | King - City Editor (uncredited) |
| Carl Faulkner | ... | Bailiff (uncredited) |
| Chuck Hamilton | ... | Juror (uncredited) |
| Frank Jaquet | ... | Cigar-Smoking Fat Juror (uncredited) |
| Kenner G. Kemp | ... | Reporter (uncredited) |
| William Lally | ... | Bailiff (uncredited) |
| Perc Launders | ... | Bailiff (uncredited) |
| Larry Lund | ... | Court Clerk (uncredited) |
| Ian Maclaren | ... | Priest (uncredited) |
| Charles McAvoy | ... | Prison Official (uncredited) |
| Charles Miller | ... | Dr. Avery - Juror (uncredited) |
| Bert Moorhouse | ... | Reporter (uncredited) |
| Franklin Parker | ... | Second Reporter (uncredited) |
| Tom Quinn | ... | Reporter (uncredited) |
| Bob Reeves | ... | Juror (uncredited) |
| Walter Sande | ... | Reporter at Typewriter (uncredited) |
 | Robert Sterling | ... | First Reporter (uncredited) |
| Edward Thomas | ... | Butler (uncredited) |
| Cyril Thornton | ... | Senior Butler (uncredited) |
Directed by | |||
| Nick Grinde | |||
Writing credits(in alphabetical order) | ||
| Karl Brown | screenplay | |
| George Wallace Sayre | story | |
| Leslie T. White | story | |
Produced by | |||
| Wallace MacDonald | .... | producer (uncredited) | |
Cinematography by | |||
| Benjamin H. Kline | (as Benjamin Kline) | ||
Film Editing by | |||
| William A. Lyon | (as William Lyon) | ||
Makeup Department | |||
| Clay Campbell | .... | makeup artist (uncredited) | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Thomas Flood | .... | assistant director (uncredited) | |
Sound Department | |||
| George Cooper | .... | sound engineer (uncredited) | |
Music Department | |||
| Morris Stoloff | .... | musical director (as M.W. Stoloff) | |
| R.H. Bassett | .... | composer: stock music (uncredited) | |
| Joseph Nussbaum | .... | composer: stock music (uncredited) | |
| Ben Oakland | .... | composer: stock music (uncredited) | |
| George Parrish | .... | composer: stock music (uncredited) | |
| Karol Rathaus | .... | composer: stock music (uncredited) | |
| William Grant Still | .... | composer: stock music (uncredited) | |
| Gregory Stone | .... | composer: stock music (uncredited) | |
Production CompaniesDistributors
- Columbia Pictures (1939) (USA) (theatrical)
- Favorite Films (1947) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
- Screen Gems (1958) (USA) (TV)
- Columbia TriStar Home Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)
- GoodTimes Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
- RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (1984) (USA) (VHS)
- Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
Additional Details
Also Known As:
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Parents Guide:
Runtime:
64 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)
Certification:
Company:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
Part of the SON OF SHOCK package of 21 titles released to television in 1958, which followed the original SHOCK THEATER release of 52 features one year earlier. This was also one of the 12 Columbia titles, the other 61 all being Universals.See more »
Quotes:
Dr. Henryk Savaard:We've taken a human life! If we can't restore that life, the law will call it murder.See more »
Movie Connections:
Featured in "Cinemassacre's Monster Madness: Man They Couldn't Hang (#3.9)" (2009)See more »
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.See more (17 total) »
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This 1939, public domain cheapie B-Film turned out to be much better then expected. The plot in a nut shell is this: Boris Karloff kills a medical student in order to test a procedure that will bring him back to life, only his nurse, played by Ann Doran goes to the police. Karloff is arrested, tried and hanged, but not before threatening the judge, members of the jury, his nurse and others who helped to get him sentenced to death. Once dead, a scientist who worked with Karloff brings him back to life, and he sets out killing those who sentenced him to death.
If anyone has seen The House on Haunted Hill and its later remake, this film was probably used for certain inspiration for this film. You have a group of people, all associated with the case, who are all brought to a deserted house, locked inside, and are slowly killed off one by one. The film is short, just a little over an hour in length, but is top notch entertainment, and is very enjoyable, and well acted.