The Man in Half Moon Street (1945)

Director:

Ralph Murphy

Writers:

Barré Lyndon (play) and
Garrett Fort (adaptation)

Release Date:

19 January 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot:

A scientist who has found a way to prolong life (he is 120 years old) finds himself in a dilemma: he has fallen in love, and he has also discovered that if he doesn't get new glands, he will die. |

Plot Keywords:

Immortality | Mad Scientist | Based On Play

Cast

Nils Asther	...	Dr. Julian Karell
Helen Walker	...	Eve Brandon
Reinhold Schünzel	...	Dr. Kurt van Bruecken
Paul Cavanagh	...	Dr. Henry Latimer
Edmund Breon	...	Sir Humphrey Brandon
Matthew Boulton	...	Det. Insp. Ned Garth
Brandon Hurst	...	Simpson, Karell's butler
Morton Lowry	...	Alan Guthrie, alias 'Waters'
Forrester Harvey	...	Harris, a cabby

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Sweden:15

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Filmed in 1943, tradeshown in October, 1944, released in early 1945.

Quotes:

Dr. Kurt van Bruecken: We are not scientists anymore. We are murderers.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959)

An overlooked little jewel

THE MAN IN HALF MOON STREET (later remade by Hammer Films as THE MAN WHO COULD CHEAT DEATH) is an overlooked and under-appreciated little horror-fantasy. Sometimes compared with Oscar Wilde's PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY, unlike many genre efforts of the era, the film rarely seemed to get the same airplay on late night TV or on any of the "Shock Theatre" programs that were so popular in the pre-cable/pre-VCR days of the 1960s & 1970s. With so many of the classic horror films of the '30s and '40s now on DVD, and since Paramount produced THE MAN IN HALF MOON STREET (as well as handled distribution for the Hammer Films remake), it would be nice to see this released to DVD (possibly as a double feature with the Hammer Film production).