A wonderful little horror/science fiction oddity, featuring newly-crowned horror king Boris Karloff in a deliciously over-the-top performance as a mad scientist performing illegal experiments. He made this movie back in Britain after having much Hollywood success. As the eccentric Dr. Laurence, Boris has found a way to transfer the mind and soul of one animal to another. It's only a matter of time before his insanity leads him to using human beings as his newest subjects, and his motivations include both revenge and personal greed. At only just over an hour, this piece moves quickly and is filmed at a lively pace. Karloff's co-star is the beautiful Anna Lee (who would go on to star with him again ten years later in BEDLAM). As a lover of both Boris Karloff and his oft-degraded rival Bela Lugosi, let me point out for anyone who negatively tends to criticize Lugosi's maniacal theatrics in films like Universal's THE RAVEN (1935) -- Boris is no slouch himself in this one as he gives Bela a run for his money in the "ham" department. (Speaking for myself, I love both performances just fine!). *** out of ****
Review of The Man Who Lived Again
