The six pictures Boris Karloff made for Columbia between 1935 and 1942, which include the films now called “The Mad Doctor Cycle,” are a hoot. Eureka has announced a two-disc Blu-Ray set of these movies films for April.
The Black Room (1935)
Directed by Roy William Neill
Starring Boris Karloff, Marion Marsh
Karloff plays twin brothers in 19th century Europe. One twin inherits the family castle and all hell breaks loose.
The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
Directed by Nick Grinde
Starring Boris Karloff, Lorna Gray
In the first entry in what became “The Mad Doctor Cycle,” Karloff has discovered a way to bring the dead back to life. His assistant volunteers to have it tested on him, and once he’s dead, his girlfriend gums up the works and prevents the volunteer from being revived.
The Man With Nine Lives (1940)
Directed by Nick Grinde
Starring Boris Karloff, Roger Pryor, Jo Ann Sayers
Karloff developed “frozen therapy” and used it on himself. Ten years later, he’s awake and wants to whip a new batch of his formula.
Before I Hang (1940)
Directed by Nick Grinde
Starring Boris Karloff, Evelyn Keyes, Bruce Bennett
This time, Karloff has developed an anti-aging serum. Today, he’d have an infomercial, but it 1940 he’s to be hung instead.
The Devil Commands (1941)
Directed by Edward Dmytryk
Starring Boris Karloff, Richard Fiske, Amanda Duff
Karloff is a doctor who shifts his research on brain waves into an effort to reach his dead wife.
The Boogie Man Will Get You (1942)
Directed by Lew Landers
Starring Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, Max Rosenbloom
Spoofing the rest of these films, this one has Karloff as a professor trying to create a race of supermen, to help the war effort, in the basement of an old tavern.
These films are a load of fun, and it’ll be great to see them in high-definition.
It’s also been announced that Warner Archive will be bringing Isle Of The Dead (1945) to Blu-Ray — from a 4K scan of the original nitrate negative.
The Hannibal 8 