{"id":30662,"date":"2013-04-11T10:03:24","date_gmt":"2013-04-11T17:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=30662"},"modified":"2021-08-30T10:26:05","modified_gmt":"2021-08-30T17:26:05","slug":"before-i-hang-1940","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=30662","title":{"rendered":"Before I Hang (1940)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;With one small inoculation, I can add years to your life &#8211; now, at once! How can you even hesitate?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Before-I-Hang-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Before-I-Hang-Poster-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-30663\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Before-I-Hang-Poster-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Before-I-Hang-Poster-85x128.jpg 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Before-I-Hang-Poster-682x1024.jpg 682w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Before-I-Hang-Poster.jpg 1999w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAn elderly doctor (Boris Karloff) about to be hung for committing a mercy killing conducts one final experiment by injecting himself with an anti-aging serum derived from the blood of a murderer &#8212; but when he&#8217;s given a last-minute pardon and allowed to live, he finds himself plagued by uncontrollable homicidal urges.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Boris Karloff Films<\/li>\n<li>Evelyn Keyes Films<\/li>\n<li>Horror Films<\/li>\n<li>Mad Doctors and Mad Scientists<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nA year after starring as <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=25594\"><em>The Man They Could Not Hang<\/em> (1939)<\/a>, Boris Karloff was once again cast by Columbia Pictures as a misunderstood doctor whose attempts to transcend the limitations of the human body wreak disastrous results. This time, however, rather than seeking revenge on those who have wronged him, Karloff&#8217;s protagonist remains sympathetic throughout, given that his murderous shift in character is accidental, and he&#8217;s genuinely unable to control his homicidal urges. With that said, there&#8217;s really nothing new here for any film fanatic who&#8217;s already seen the handful of other same-era Karloff &#8220;mad doctor&#8221; flicks listed in Peary&#8217;s <em>GFTFF<\/em>; while the cinematography is atmospheric, and Karloff is as invested as always in his performance, the overly straightforward storyline simply doesn&#8217;t have enough going for it to elevate it above a middling B-level quickie. Feel free to skip this one unless you&#8217;re a diehard Karloff fan. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Boris Karloff as Dr. Garth<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Before-I-Hang-Karloff.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Before-I-Hang-Karloff.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-30666\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Before-I-Hang-Karloff.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Before-I-Hang-Karloff-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Before-I-Hang-Karloff-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Benjamin Kline&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Before-I-Hang-Cinematography1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Before-I-Hang-Cinematography1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-30664\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Before-I-Hang-Cinematography1.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Before-I-Hang-Cinematography1-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Before-I-Hang-Cinematography1-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Before-I-Hang-Cinematography2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Before-I-Hang-Cinematography2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-30665\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Before-I-Hang-Cinematography2.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Before-I-Hang-Cinematography2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Before-I-Hang-Cinematography2-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo; this one is only must-see for Karloff completists. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0032245\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/classic-horror.com\/reviews\/before_i_hang_1940\">Classic Horror Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s2143karl.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/27866\/before-i-hang#articles-reviews?articleId=253078\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/london\/film\/before-i-hang-1940\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;With one small inoculation, I can add years to your life &#8211; now, at once! How can you even hesitate?&#8221; Synopsis: An elderly doctor (Boris Karloff) about to be hung for committing a mercy killing conducts one final experiment by injecting himself with an anti-aging serum derived from the blood of a murderer &#8212; but when he&#8217;s given a last-minute pardon and allowed to live, he finds himself plagued by uncontrollable homicidal urges. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Boris Karloff&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=30662\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30662"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30662\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75596,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30662\/revisions\/75596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}