1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A forgotten, but classic Boris Karloff movie, November 21, 2008
This review is from: Before I Hang [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Released in 1940, Before I Hang is one of my very favorite Karloff movies; Before I hang isn't really talked about among fans of the legendary Boris Karloff, but in my opinion it's one of his very best movies and well there's no shortage of great movies in the career of Karloff; Before I Hang has a lot going for it and made even better by the great performance from Karloff.
Karloff plays Dr. John Garth who is sentenced to hang for a mercy killing, but while awaiting execution he is allowed to continue his experiments, which will grant youth. Using the blood of a murderer he does the test on himself and from there it becomes a Jekyll & Hyde type of flick. Garth kills another doctor and kills another man. But only he's seen as a hero as the 2nd man he killed is blamed for the killing and Garth gets a pardon and is freed.
The screenplay by Robert Hardy Andrews & Karl Brown was top notch; the characters are excellent and the plot is rock solid. The thing about horror from the 30s and 40s is a lot of these movies were very well written. Over the years the writing has gotten a lot weaker in the horror genre; the good thing about horror flicks is you can still make a great horror flick even with a weak script, but back in the 30s and 40s these movies were very well written a lot of the time and Before I Hang has an excellent script; even all these decades later the screenplay still holds up and is still very strong.
Director Nick Grinde does a bang up job; the pacing is excellent and while this is more of a Sci-Fi flick than a horror flick there are still plenty of creepy moments. Like a lot of films from this era the look of the movie is great and we really get an eerie feeling through out. Running at only 62-Minutes there's never really a boring moment. Nick Grinde keeps the pace moving along nicely and creates an excellent chiller that deserves a much wider audience.
Before I Hang features one of my very favorite performances by Boris Karloff, but than again it seems every time I review a movie he starred in I always end up saying that, but in the case of Karloff it's always true. He always brought everything he had and always puts in a great performance and brings a touch of class. What I love about Karloff is he can do pretty much anything. He can play the hero as good as anyone he can also do comedy and when he plays a villain you'll be hard pressed to find an actor who can be more chilling than Karloff. Just watch The Body Snatcher and The Black Cat for proof of that.
But what Karloff is best at and nobody can even come close is playing sympathetic characters. With or without any dialogue Karloff with his eyes or facial expressions can bring such sadness to a role and you really feel for his character. In Before I Hang he's playing a good guy and a villain, like I said it's pretty much a take on Jekyll & Hyde. With his experiments he's trying to do good, but the blood of the killer sometimes takes over and John Garth cannot help himself. He doesn't wanna kill, but he can't stop it. So while Karloff is the villain he's not the typical villain and you'll find yourself feeling bad for him despite what he does.
Before I Hang is a great movie in the Iconic career of Boris Karloff and while this may not be his best known movie it deserves a much wider audience. The movie has also in my opinion held up very well. This was released in 1940 a lot has changed since than, but if released now obviously changes would need to be made, but not as many as you'd think; Before I Hang has aged very well. If you like those medical experiments gone bad movies and or like Karloff this is a must see.
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Some clever ideas mired in a rather slow, downbeat film., June 22, 2001
This review is from: Before I Hang [VHS] (VHS Tape)
This film is more timely than some of its contemporaries because it involves a debate on euthanasia. It also makes the film largely unpleasant.
Karloff defends himself for putting a friend to death, and loses his case. He is sentenced to death. He tries out his new youth serum on himself, figuring he has nothing to lose. Then his sentence is commuted to life, and he is doomed to a much longer time behind bars than he had planned. This is one of the interesting ideas.
Then some other contrived stuff happens and Karloff seeks typical horror/noir revenge, as he did in most of the movies he made for Cloumbia in the 40's. It seems the criminal's blood he used in the serum turns him into a killer sometimes. This is another interesting idea. But although there is some decent atmosphere, the film in general bogs itself down.
The Man They Could Not Hang is better, and is quite similar in plot setup, with a few instances of surprisingly strong dialogue and an air of cheeky menace and genuine tragedy, rather than a feel of squalid inevitability.
P.S. Nobody says 'serum' like our man Boris.
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