Brits of a certain age will remember the days when BBC 2 used to show horror double bills during the Summer months . The Universal franchise from the 1930s and 40s always seemed to be treated with a lot more respect than the Hammer films in that they were broadcast in chronological order where as with Hammer the scheduling was much more patchy . This early Hammer horror produced in 1959 made a solitary appearance on one of the double bills and to my knowledge it never made another appearance on network TV . Directed by Terence Fisher who was by far the best of the Hammer in-house directors and made a point of watching it as an antithesis to the gore and torture porn that qualifies as horror in the 21st Century Perhaps I have become desensitised to old school horror ? because THE MAN WHO COULD CHEAT DEATH is a fairly bland film compared to what we get nowadays . On seconds let's analyse this a bit further - it'd probably be fairly bland compared to what the studio were also making from the same period . Fisher seems to be under the impression he's making a period drama and the colour scheme and sets are not unimpressive . It also contains some other Hammer hallmarks in that woman are well endowed in the breast department and everyone who has a foreign accent is not to be trusted but the film is rather too talkative and found myself having to constantly remind myself that I was watching a horror film and not something by Michael Powell and that must be seen as a failure of sorts

A good thriller in the old-style classic sense, beautifully filmed in color by England's Hammer company. "The Man Who Could Cheat Death" is somewhat static near the beginning and almost stage play in its construction, but that is OK as it is well acted by a fine ensemble cast.Anton Diffring offers a nervous-energy-driven, neurotically sinister presence from the very beginning of the film. He provides the requisite menace that is essential to his role. Beautiful Hazel Court, Diffring, Christopher Lee and others contribute elegant, psychologically interesting characterizations that are rendered within an uncluttered thriller format.I can't emphasize enough how thoroughly this film epitomizes the unique Hammer production values, decor, color scheme and general style, while also effectively evoking foggy turn-of-the-century nighttime Paris streets. Despite the Paris locale, it is distinctively Hammer. Laboratories, scalpels, weird medicines, fog, and all the classic elements are here. Fans of the genre and of the era in thriller filmmaking should not miss it.

Mimicking its long title the movie finds ways to come close to the 90' mark. The beautiful sets are here with all that made the Hamer production values a trademark, yet Paris drowned in the fog is a sign of indolent neglect. The story is obvious and can be summed up in a dozen words so there comes nothing unexpected and nothing worth more than 5% of your attention to be expected.The directing is heavy as a direct transfer from the stage play, actors are mostly stiff as wax figures (ok this is a Hamer feature, only it's sometimes better featured in the whole package). My conclusion: this movie is trash, not worth the time I spend that evening. Eternal life is a boring matter and I should have hoped the guys in charge of programming at the Cinemathèque would have known better.

Although it is by no means a remake,it looks like one.The screenplay finds inspiration in Oscar Wilde's "picture of Dorian Grey" which was filmed by Albert Lewin with good results.The ending was impressive in this latter movie.In "the man who could cheat death",we have the "horrible" routine conclusion.Acting is not convincing,being grimacing,boring and talky(about the fear of dying).Nothing to get hung about.