JoeKarlosi Boris Karloff would begin to repeat what might be considered the same part again and again in a series of "Mad Doctor" films he made for Columbia Pictures in the early '40s. As the elderly Dr. Garth, Boris is developing a serum which he hopes may preserve life. He's been convicted of the mercy killing of a terminally sick friend (would that make Karloff the first Dr. Jack Kevorkian?) but yet is allowed to continue his experiments while on death row with the aid of prison physician Dr. Miller (DRACULA's Edward Van Sloan). Garth decides to use himself as a guinea pig and injects himself with a serum made with the blood of a known murderer. The kindly doctor is subsequently pardoned from his crime, and the end result of his experiment produces the amazing effect of turning him into a much younger man. He has now inadvertently reversed the aging process, but the tainted formula has one slight side effect: it periodically turns him into a homicidal killer who is seized with the urge to strangle his victims. BEFORE I HANG is a decent offering in this series, though is not to be confused with the similarly-titled and superior THE MAN THEY COULD NOT HANG from 1939. **1/2 out of ****

sol1218 (Some Spoilers) 1940 turned out to be a bumper year for Boris Karloff with him staring in eight movies mostly as a kindly misunderstood man of science. In "Before I Hang" Boris is at it again as the meek and sensitive Dr. John Garth who's life long quest for the secret of eternal youth and excellent health has lead him to face the hangman in the murder, or mercy killing, of one of his patients.Condemned to death and sentenced to be hung for his crime Dr. Garth nevertheless is allowed to conducted his experiences behind bars. Hours before he's to be executed Dr. Garth has himself injected with a serum that would forever keep his cells from decaying and keep him both healthy and youthful. It also turns out that Grath has become infused with the blood of a triple murderer who's been executed the day before. That serum that was to help the future of humanity in fact created a monster who will kill anyone who stand in his way, in his mad and misguided attempt too save the human race, even his sweet daughter Martha played by Evelyn Keys.Garth despite him murdering fellow scientist Dr. Ralph Howard, Edward Van Sloan, and prison orderly Otto Krone, Frank Richards, is overlooked in their murders only because he left no eye witnesses to his crimes. It's later-moments before he was to be hung- when Dr. Garth's death sentence was commented by the state Governor that he really went to work on his experiments. Later granted a full pardon and being reinstated back in the medical profession Dr. Garth, feeling invincible, goes bonkers in him murdering any one who refuses to under go or rejects his "youth" treatment even his best and most trusting friends! One of Dr. Garth's very talented and elderly friends the world renowned concert pianist Victor Sondina, Pedro de Cordoba, who in fact, against his better judgment,consented to his crazy experiment ended up not being cured from the aging process, like Garth promised him, but being strangled by the crazed scientist who just lost control of his senses!It was when the helpless Dr. Garth almost ended up strangling his own daughter Martha, who only survived her father's insanity by almost dropping dead from fright, that he finally realized what a complete nut and psycho killer he really was. It was then that Dr. Garth decided to let the law exact justice on his troubled soul and also ended up, in again losing control of his actions, having the state save the expense of hanging him!

wdbasinger Of the Karloff Columbia Mad Doctor pictures, my very favorite is "The Man With Nine Lives" with "The Devil Commands" a close second followed by "The Man They Could Not Hang" (which was still quite good). Similarly, "Before I Hang" is a good "B" picture with some good scenes such as the experimentation with the model in order to mix the chemicals and serums correctly. Karloff's "Dr. Jekyll - Mr. Hyde" transformations seem to be very hair-raising indeed. As usual, Karloff proves he was one of the best mad scientists of classic shudder cinema. This neat little "B" came with a good supporting cast including Bruce Bennett and Evelyn Keyes.Worthwhile watching with all of your "B" buddies. 7/10.

oyason BEFORE I HANG is an intriguing little chunk of B-Film that explores the old idea that blood has memory, that the tissues and bones of the criminally insane pulse with a life that makes them who they are. In short, blood will have blood, as Macbeth says after the appearance of Banquo's ghost.Boris Karloff is strong in this piece about a Dr. John Garth, who is seeking a serum that may alleviate the ravages of age. His experiments have led him to "mercy kill" one of the subjects of his studies, and for this, he is sentenced to death. Offered a chance to redeem himself through medical research in prison, he and a colleague (played by the fine character actor Edward Van Sloan) inoculate Garth with an experimental serum drawn from the veins of an executed murderer. The serum works, but Garth becomes a homicidal maniac. He kills his colleague and a prison trustee, and manages to lie his way into a pardon from the state for his humanitarian efforts. After he gets out, he really has a killer's jamboree.Aside from the mechanical gesture of touching his hand to the back of his neck whenever one of the murderous fits come on, Karloff creates a character who's pretty sympathetic. Evelyn Keyes as his daughter adds some spark to the melodramatic proceedings. Pedro de Cordoba, piano interludes and all, managed to build a soulful and arresting character who stands out all the more against the general flatness of the Columbia "B" company. All in all, the work holds up, and it's a must see for anyone who admires the efforts of Karloff and some of the other great characters of that era who (time and again) were able to lend some real spark to what would otherwise have been pretty lifeless strips of celluloid.