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IMDbPro

Life Returns

  • 19351935
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 3m
IMDb RATING
3.9/10
230
YOUR RATING
Valerie Hobson and Onslow Stevens in Life Returns (1935)
DramaHorrorMusic
A doctor who has spent his career working on ways to revive the dead sees his chance to prove his theory by performing his procedures on a recently deceased dog.A doctor who has spent his career working on ways to revive the dead sees his chance to prove his theory by performing his procedures on a recently deceased dog.A doctor who has spent his career working on ways to revive the dead sees his chance to prove his theory by performing his procedures on a recently deceased dog.
IMDb RATING
3.9/10
230
YOUR RATING
    • Eugene Frenke
    • James P. Hogan
  • Writers
    • Eugene Frenke(story)
    • James P. Hogan(story)
    • Arthur T. Horman(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Onslow Stevens
    • Lois Wilson
    • Valerie Hobson
    • Eugene Frenke
    • James P. Hogan
  • Writers
    • Eugene Frenke(story)
    • James P. Hogan(story)
    • Arthur T. Horman(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Onslow Stevens
    • Lois Wilson
    • Valerie Hobson
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 20User reviews
    • 16Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos

    Valerie Hobson and Onslow Stevens in Life Returns (1935)
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    Top cast

    Edit
    Onslow Stevens
    Onslow Stevens
    • Dr. John Kendrick
    Lois Wilson
    Lois Wilson
    • Dr. Louise Stone
    Valerie Hobson
    Valerie Hobson
    • Mrs. John Kendrick
    Frank Reicher
    Frank Reicher
    • Dr. James
    Richard Carle
    Richard Carle
    • A.K. Arnold
    Robert E. Cornish
    • Robert Cornish
    George P. Breakston
    George P. Breakston
    • Danny Kendrick
    • (as George Breakston)
    Stanley Fields
    Stanley Fields
    • Dog Catcher
    Dean Benton
    • Intern
    Lois January
    Lois January
    • Nurse
    Richard Quine
    Richard Quine
    • Mickey
    Maidel Turner
    Maidel Turner
    • Mrs. Vandergriff
    George MacQuarrie
    George MacQuarrie
    • Judge
    Otis Harlan
    Otis Harlan
    • Dr. Henderson
    Mario Margutti
    • Cornish's Assistant
    William Black
    • Cornish's Assistant
    Ralph Colmar
    • Cornish's Assistant
    Roderic Krider
    • Cornish's Assistant
      • Eugene Frenke
      • James P. Hogan
    • Writers
      • Eugene Frenke(story)
      • James P. Hogan(story)
      • Arthur T. Horman(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Uses footage from actual University of Southern California experiment in which scientists claimed they brought a dead dog back to life. Robert E. Cornish, playing himself in the film, was one of the scientists involved.
    • Quotes

      A.K. Arnold: We feel it's time to become practical.

      Dr. John Kendrick: Practical? Nothing more practical has been thought of since the beginning of time - to bring the dead back to life. And you tell me I'm not practical.

      A.K. Arnold: Well, maybe so. Maybe so. But we want this foundation to help the living to live better. To give them better facial creams, better nail polish, better dandruff cures - all for a nominal sum.

    • Connections
      Featured in Hagan Reviews: Life Returns (2018)

    User reviews20

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    4/10
    Why Isn't This About Robert Cornish...?
    The tale of LIFE RETURNS is more interesting in what they're not showing you, rather than what they are. I was intrigued by the title card preceding the movie proclaiming, "This part of the picture was originally taken to retain a permanent scientific record of our experiment" and "Everything shown is absolutely real." It was presented as a sort of letter to the audience and it closed with the name Robert E. Cornish. Then it continues with yet more text, this time a scrawl that dedicated this "unusual screen play" to the "determination and genius of those men who have unselfishly devoted their lives to the service of humanity." So it's got a nice pro-science message, as opposed to the usual doom and gloom sci-fi morality tales. We then join three friends in college: Louise Stone (Lois Wilson), Robert Cornish, and John Kendrick (Onslow Stevens). For the record, Cornish actually plays himself for this movie. This matters little because, once our three friends graduate college with their doctorates following a brief montage, Kendrick breaks off from the trio to pursue the chance of performing his research at the Arnold Research laboratories. Rather than follow Cornish, who wrote us that nice letter for the opening and referenced his own experiments, we go along with Kendrick to his new life at Arnold Research. So Kendrick's our main character? All right, then. We're treated to some more quick glimpses of life moving along with news that Kendrick has married a socialite and had a son.

    Life seems to be going smoothly for Kendrick for a while, practicing medicine while also continuing his research. What's his research involve? Oh, that's right: returning people from the dead. Not like zombies unfortunately; that'd be too fun. It's the ability to revive people from recent death due to accidents or illness. It's all going swell until the big boss pays a visit to the office and not only refuses a requisition order for new equipment but also shuts down Kendrick's research entirely. He wants him to focus on more important things in life, such as nail polish and assorted ointments. Then Kendrick's wife dies (incredibly suddenly) from an undefined illness. It's all going to crap now, and Kendrick is left to tend to his young son Danny (played by future director of THE MANSTER, George Breakston). Sadly, Kendrick can't keep it together. He's quit his work at Arnold Research (he wasn't interested in shifting his research to creating the ultimate hair-restoring brush), ditches his medical practice, and now the county has decided to take his son away. Honestly, it's probably for the best. Danny is to be placed in the county's juvenile hall since Kendrick isn't a fit father. Which is true; he's a total wreck at this point. Danny won't have any of it, and escapes with his dog Scooter to live among street hooligans in their makeshift clubhouse. The entire second half of the movie deals with Danny's new street life with his rascally friends and his attempts to pull his dad out of his rut.

    Now back to what I said at the beginning. LIFE RETURNS is more interesting in what it's not showing you versus what it is. We waste an entire hour-long movie following the sorry luck of Kendrick and his son's street adventures with plucky 1930's street kids, but why aren't we following Cornish? This movie is (vaguely) about his true-to-life experiments in reviving the dead. Google him. He's a real dude. So why isn't this movie about him? When the trio of new doctors split, we should go with Cornish and see where his life goes. Instead we reconnect with him in the last ten minutes of the movie for the big experiment we were promised in the opening text. I had the thought that the surgical footage looked a little too real and I noticed the reaction shots from Dr. Stone and Danny seemed tagged on. Sure enough, it was and they were. The final ten minutes of this movie is one of Dr. Cornish's actual surgical procedures to return a being to life after death. So that's cool, I guess. I can't help but feel kind of bad for Cornish though because a lot of the victory goes to Kendrick because he needs his big win to end the movie on a high note. Cornish is performing the procedure, but the movie sort of gives Kendrick credit. It's a bummer for Cornish, and it's a bummer for us having had to sit through an hour of family drama and one man's total breakdown when we could've been following Cornish's tale the entire time. From the little bit I read about him on Wikipedia, I can guarantee it would've been way, way more interesting.
    helpful•2
    0
    • brando647
    • Jun 26, 2016

    Details

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    • Release date
      • January 2, 1935 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Scienart Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 3 minutes
      • Black and White

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