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.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead takes a cue from her latest film Gemini Man to prepare her younger self for a life in Hollywood.
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Title: The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
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Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| 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 | |
Edit
Plot Summary
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Storyline
Mad Scientist, Dr. Henryk Savaard, is obsessed with bringing the dead back to life. The police are alerted of Savaard's activities by his assistant's girlfriend. Savaard is arrested, convicted and sentenced to hang. He vows revenge on the judge, jury and district attorney. After the hanging, his assistant claims Savaard's body and uses Savaard's technique on it. Savaard is brought back to life. Now he can seek sweet revenge on his prosecutors. Written by Kelly
Plot Keywords:
psychotronic film | monster movie | murder house | trapped in a house | death row |Taglines:
TRANSFORMED BY THE HANGMAN'S NOOSE...from a doctor serving humanity into a demon filled with hate...and terrorizing blood-lust! See more »Parents Guide:
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See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
17 August 1939 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Celui qui a tué la mort See more »Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)Color:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1
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See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Part of the Son of Shock package of 20 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 11 Columbia titles, the other 61 all being Universals. See more »Goofs
When the judge dies, the remaining guests discover the electrified grill because the detective's gun, in a holster on his belt, hits the grill. Later, when the detective pulls his gun, he pulls it from his jacket. 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 »
Connections
Featured in Cinemassacre's Monster Madness: The Man They Could Not Hang (2009) See more »Frequently Asked Questions
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It isn't such a bad movie. It's just how many times does Boris Karloff get the same script. He is hanged or electrocuted or done in in some way and someone manages to bring him back. Of course, he's not the man he used to be. In this one, his work is compromised, costing a young assistant his life, due to a panic stricken girl. When his partner brings him back, he decides to kill the jury, the judge, the prosecuting attorney. It's a sort of "And Then There Were None" thing but doesn't work as well as the Rene Clair film. The device invented looks silly but is a precursor to an artificial heart. The science is bad but the idea is ahead of its time. There is a great courtroom speech that is hard to deny, but they hang him anyway. Still, I love this guy and am impressed by his acting. It's too bad he got himself typecast so badly. He did have some very nice dramatic roles, but most of it was this kind of thing. See it anyway.