"The Man with Nine Lives" is my second favourite Boris Karloff movie from "Columbia" after "The Devil Commands." The man himself doesn't make his first appearance until about 25 minutes into the film but it hardly matters as he makes up for it.The film strives for a more claustrophobic look and succeeds brilliantly.The number of characters aren't many but that's the idea of it.Karloff always had the knack of emoting both sympathy as well as menace.The rather modest budget is obvious in places but this film is still worth the viewing.

Nick Grinde once again directs Boris Karloff, this time as Dr. Kravaal, a pioneer in cryogenic research who was interrupted in his cancer research when a relative of the wealthy man he was operating on brings in the authorities, who force Kravaal to take them to his island home to prove his work viable. Unfortunately, their interference leads to the patient's death, and all five men end up frozen for 10 years, until Dr. Mason(played by Roger Pryor) and Nurse Blair(played by Joanne Sayers) visit his home and revive him, but Kravaal picks up right where he left off, endangering all their lives... Good thriller with another fine performance from Karloff; good sets and atmosphere aid imaginative plot.

Man With Nine Lives, The (1940) *** (out of 4) Boris Karloff plays a scientist trying to cure cancer by using frozen animation. Here's a somewhat forgotten gem that works well due in large part to an interesting story, good supporting performances and Karloff at the top of his game. While this is more science fiction than anything else the actual medical work going on remains interesting in the film, which certainly isn't true for other films like this. Karloff is very strong in his role turning in perhaps his strongest performance from any of his Columbia films. A real gem that doesn't run to long and keeps you entertained the whole way.

As a science fiction and shudder story buff, I thought this was the best of Karloff's Columbia "B" pictures. The "Black Room" (1935), "Behind the Mask" (1932), "The Devil Commands" (1941) (Probably my second favorite), "The Man They Could Not Hang" (1939) (Probably a close third favorite), and "Before I Hang" (1940). In terms of special effects and plot outline, this one keeps you on the edge of your seat to the very end.The laboratory scenes in the proximity of a large underground glacier are unique. The chemistry lab including the "heavily concentrated poisons" is hair-raising indeed. With the right combination of lighting and shadow, as Karloff prepares the chemical experiments, the scenes within the underground laboratory are extremely eerie.The maddest doctor of them all was clearly Boris Karloff.Worth watching many times.