THE MAN WHO COULD CHEAT DEATH (1959)

THE MAN WHO COULD CHEAT DEATH (1959)

Tagline: His terrifying secret - his hideous obsession made him...

(Sci-Fi, Horror, Don’t Play Life and Death with This Dude, He Cheats) [PG-13]

Note: This movie was never given an MPAA rating. I think if it came out today it would be given a [PG-13] or an [R] as some versions contain nudity. 

What is death that it should be feared so much?

In this one, we are taken back to 1890 Paris. The story follows Dr. Georges Bonnet who is also a sculptor. He rekindles a love with Janine Du Bois who he’d met 10 years earlier in Italy. The problem is that Dr. Bonnet is 104 years old and he has to have a gland replaced every ten years to keep living. To his dismay, the only person he trusts to do the surgery had a stroke and can’t do it. Dr. Bonnet slips into madness and must resort to sinister means to remain… THE MAN WHO COULD CHEAT DEATH.

First off, the performances in this movie are quite good. The storyline though is really, really slow. Normally I am fine with this in a 1950’s flick as long as it delivers, and this one "sort" of does. It does end quite abruptly with not much resolution, but you can kind of trace it out and see what was likely going to happen next. Basically at the end of every horror flick, everyone is going to have to go to counseling whether they survived or not. Unless they are a cop and just see whacky dudes trying to keep themselves alive forever on a semi-regular basis. 

This thing does feature a young Christopher Lee which is pretty cool. He plays Dr. Pierre Gerrard who is a doctor that Dr. George Bonnet turns to for help. Lee’s most iconic role is still probably Saruman from the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. We also get a pretty big dose of Hazel Court who was no stranger to horror or sci-fi in the 50s and 60s. She is probably most famous for her role in DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS. Anton Diffring plays the lead Dr. Georges Bonnet and he’s pretty good also, but I am unfamiliar with everything else he’s ever been in. 

Among Hammer Films horror fans this one has a bit of a cult following and is considered one of the better Hammer Films with an almost Dorian Gray vibe. The make-up effects work to a large extent and the setting does provide an eerie gloomy dread where the movie needs it. Cinematically everything is fine for this type of flick and I really don’t have any complaints about the score. We are not riddled with overbearing piano or someone obsessing over a violin to ear-splitting nausea. 

Overall though the middle hour and 5 minutes of this one are just too slow for my taste and because of that I can’t give it anything over a 3 out of 7. It really is “just okay” and I don’t think I will be revisiting this one often. For me, I really would be tempting fate and risking “death by dialog” if I tried watching this more than 5 or 6 times. For Hammer fans though, this is the cat’s meow and a part of me gets that.

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF HAMMER FILMS AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

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