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IMDbPro

The Man They Could Not Hang

  • 19391939
  • UnratedUnrated
  • 1h 4m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
1.8K
YOUR RATING
Boris Karloff and Lorna Gray in The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
Trailer 1
Play trailer1:24
1 Video
13 Photos
CrimeHorrorSci-Fi
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 hangi... Read allWhen 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.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.
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
1.8K
YOUR RATING
    • Nick Grinde
    • Karl Brown(screenplay)
    • Leslie T. White(story)
    • George Wallace Sayre(story)
  • Stars
    • Boris Karloff
    • Lorna Gray
    • Robert Wilcox
    • Nick Grinde
    • Karl Brown(screenplay)
    • Leslie T. White(story)
    • George Wallace Sayre(story)
  • Stars
    • Boris Karloff
    • Lorna Gray
    • Robert Wilcox
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 43User reviews
    • 39Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Karloff at Columbia
    Trailer 1:24
    Watch Karloff at Columbia

    Photos13

    Boris Karloff and Lorna Gray in The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
    Boris Karloff, Lorna Gray, and Robert Wilcox in The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
    Lorna Gray in The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
    Boris Karloff and Byron Foulger in The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
    Boris Karloff, Stanley Brown, Ann Doran, and Byron Foulger in The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
    Boris Karloff and Byron Foulger in The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
    Boris Karloff, Joe De Stefani, and Robert Wilcox in The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
    Boris Karloff, Dick Curtis, Joe De Stefani, Ann Doran, Roger Pryor, Cyril Thornton, and Charles Trowbridge in The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
    Boris Karloff, Don Beddoe, James Craig, Dick Curtis, Joe De Stefani, Lorna Gray, Frank Jaquet, Roger Pryor, Charles Trowbridge, John Tyrrell, and Robert Wilcox in The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
    Boris Karloff and Lorna Gray in The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
    The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
    Boris Karloff, Joe De Stefani, Lorna Gray, and Robert Wilcox in The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Boris Karloff
    Boris Karloff
    • Dr. Henryk Savaard
    Lorna Gray
    Lorna Gray
    • Janet Savaard
    Robert Wilcox
    Robert Wilcox
    • 'Scoop' Foley
    Roger Pryor
    Roger Pryor
    • District Attorney Drake
    Don Beddoe
    Don Beddoe
    • Lieutenant Shane
    Ann Doran
    Ann Doran
    • Betty Crawford
    Joe De Stefani
    • Dr. Stoddard
    • (as Joseph De Stefani)
    Charles Trowbridge
    Charles Trowbridge
    • Judge Bowman
    Byron Foulger
    Byron Foulger
    • Lang
    Dick Curtis
    Dick Curtis
    • Kearney
    James Craig
    James Craig
    • Watkins
    John Tyrrell
    John Tyrrell
    • Sutton
    George Anderson
    • Prison Warden
    • (uncredited)
    Sam Ash
    Sam Ash
    • Druggist
    • (uncredited)
    Stanley Blystone
    Stanley Blystone
    • Prison Guard
    • (uncredited)
    Harlan Briggs
    Harlan Briggs
    • Defense Attorney Parker
    • (uncredited)
    Stanley Brown
    Stanley Brown
    • Bob Roberts
    • (uncredited)
    Flo Campbell
    • Housewife
    • (uncredited)
      • Nick Grinde
      • Karl Brown(screenplay)
      • Leslie T. White(story)
      • George Wallace Sayre(story)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      A photo of Boris Karloff as character Dr. Henryk Savaard was used 2 years later as background image for a lobby card for The Devil Commands (1941).
    • 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.
    • Quotes

      Dr. Henryk Savaard: Think of it! The Edison or Pasteur of tomorrow need not die merely because his heart is worn out. We'll give him a new heart taken perhaps from the body of a young man who's been killed in a automobile accident. And our great genius is awakened to another sixty years of useful life! You ask me if that's a benefit to mankind? I answer it's the gift of eternal life! But whether man's wise enough or old enouh to receive such a gift, I don't know. I don't know!

    • Connections
      Featured in Aweful Movies with Deadly Earnest: The Man They Could Not Hang (1972)

    User reviews43

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10
    Always remember I offered you life and you gave me death!
    Dr. Henryk Savaard (Boris Karloff) and his assistant are performing an experiment on reviving recently deceased people through use of an artificial heart. Unfortunately, the assistant's girlfriend is scared and runs to the police. They arrive before Savaard can complete the experiment and the assistant dies. Savaard is convicted and executed for murder. However, another assistant uses the artificial heart to bring him back to life. But the good doctor is batspit crazy and out for blood. So he starts killing off those he holds responsible for his death one by one. The first of several movies Karloff made for Columbia where he played a mad scientist type out for revenge. It's formulaic but it works. Karloff carries the movie as always.
    helpful•5
    1
    • utgard14
    • Jan 19, 2014

    Details

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    • Release date
      • August 17, 1939 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Production company
      • Columbia Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 4 minutes
      • Black and White

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