Review of The Man They Could Not Hang

Dr. Henryk Savaard works with his assistant Lang and medical student Bob Roberts in Dr. Savaard's experiments in the use of a mechanical heart to prolong life. Roberts risks his life in the experiment where Savaard will kill him and bring him back from the dead. This unnerves Dr. Savaard's nurse (and Roberts' girlfriend) Betty Crawford, who sends for the police, and when they arrive arrest Dr. Savaard for killing Roberts. At his trial, Dr. Savaard tries to explain his methods and experiments were in the name of science, but they fall on deaf ears as he is convicted and sentenced to hang. He donates his body to science, and most specifically to Lang, who plans to bring him back to life using Dr. Savaard's process. Scoop Foley, a news reporter who covered the trial (and fell for Dr. Savaard's daughter Janet) notices that six members of the Savaard jury committed suicide by hanging, and that the remaining jurors, and the judge, prosecutor, police inspector, and Ms. Crawford have been invited to the Savaard house where the doctor plans to have all of them die one by one, but he doesn't expect his daughter to arrive. This is one heck of a movie with everything that the B sci-fi/horror flick should have. Watching Karloff, I can only think how much more respected he could be if he didn't have to subject himself to these B movies which he excels in. Grinde makes excellent use of camera-work, as well as shadow and light. The script does seem like it won't differ from anything else in the genre, but it continually goes further into new twists and turns with the Agatha Christie like revenge Savaard plans. My only regret is that the film wasn't longer. Excellent ending. Rating, based on B movies, 10.