Dr. Tim Mason (Roger Pryor) is a man doing cutting-edge work in cryogenics, having been inspired by a book by another eminent doctor, Leon Kravaal (Boris Karloff), who disappeared a decade ago. Together with nurse / fiancee Judith Blair (Jo Ann Sayers), Mason seeks out Kravaals' last known whereabouts, and finds the "good" Dr. Kravaal entombed in ice. Mason is able to bring Kravaal back to life (along with a handful of men who'd tried to confront Kravaal back in the day), and our mad scientist carries on where he left off.
For a change, the medical science here doesn't come off as that implausible, so it's possible that the writers did do some research on the subject. The plot is actually pretty entertaining, with some effective twists in the second half. The supporting performances (also appearing are Stanley Brown, John Dilson, Hal Taliaferro, Byron Foulger, Charles Trowbridge, Ernie Adams, and Bruce Bennett) are not great, but they are mostly better than could be expected for such B fare. Making the difference, of course, is Karloff, commanding as always as a character who earns some sympathy at first (we can see how sincere he is), but who is ultimately *extremely* ruthless in attaining his goal. The genre star would make a whole series of "mad scientist movies" like this for Columbia, and this actually stands out as being a bit different with the whole "putting bodies on ice" angle.
"The Man with Nine Lives" was directed by Nick Grinde, who guided two more movies from Karloffs' mad scientist cycle, "The Man They Could Not Hang", and "Before I Hang".
Seven out of 10.
For a change, the medical science here doesn't come off as that implausible, so it's possible that the writers did do some research on the subject. The plot is actually pretty entertaining, with some effective twists in the second half. The supporting performances (also appearing are Stanley Brown, John Dilson, Hal Taliaferro, Byron Foulger, Charles Trowbridge, Ernie Adams, and Bruce Bennett) are not great, but they are mostly better than could be expected for such B fare. Making the difference, of course, is Karloff, commanding as always as a character who earns some sympathy at first (we can see how sincere he is), but who is ultimately *extremely* ruthless in attaining his goal. The genre star would make a whole series of "mad scientist movies" like this for Columbia, and this actually stands out as being a bit different with the whole "putting bodies on ice" angle.
"The Man with Nine Lives" was directed by Nick Grinde, who guided two more movies from Karloffs' mad scientist cycle, "The Man They Could Not Hang", and "Before I Hang".
Seven out of 10.