I recently purchased the "Icons of Horror - Boris Karloff Collection" featuring his Columbia films of the 30s and 40s. That set contained four films. Two of his Columbia horror titles were missing, "The Devil Commands" and "The Man with Nine Lives," because Sony had previously released them separately. I decided to buy the separate DVD releases. I am really glad I did as this film, "The Man with Nine Lives," was a great surprise.
After seeing Karloff recently in a lot of mad scientist roles that all seemed to be similar, I wasn't too sure about watching him in yet another mad scientist flick. Would he be on death row again? Would he be a widower and have the obligatory 18-25 year-old daughter? Would he be seeking vengeance against those who scorned him? Wow, imagine my surprise to see him in a very different mad scientist role.
"The Man with Nine Lives" has Karloff as a misunderstood genius who has perfected a way of using cryogenics (a term that is never actually used in the film) to cure disease in the human body. You don't even see Karloff for the first 10-15 minutes of the film. His eventual appearance is dramatically built up as a cryogenics research doctor and his nurse/fiancee search for answers to the mysterious disappearance of Karloff's character and five other people 10 years earlier. When his character is finally revealed it answers quite a few questions and sets the next chapter of the film into motion (I don't want to reveal too much here).
What I loved about this film was the way it weaved in profound questions about scientific ethics (anyone who has seen it will understand what I mean) in a way no other Karloff mad scientist film ever has. Is it right to experiment on unwilling human guinea pigs even if the knowledge gained could save millions? In other words, does the end justify the means? That's the big question in this film.
As a viewer I simultaneously felt sympathy for and horror toward Karloff's character in much the same way the other lead character, Tim Morgan (Roger Pryor), does. I can understand Karloff's frustration and anger as people he perceives as simple-minded continuously thwart his quest for the discovery of a medical breakthrough. Of course, his unorthodox approach to achieving his goals and his almost divine self-justification are a bit frightening.
Just a few years after this film was made a doctor named Josef Mengele was experimenting with unwilling human guinea pigs in Nazi Germany. Although Mengele was a much more horrific real-life example of unchecked medical research gone wild, one can imagine Karloff's character going in that direction given the chance.
This is a really good film. Highly recommended to all Karloff fans.
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