Karloff's star was still rising throughout the 30's, even going across town to work with the Warner Brothers. Nowadays when one hears Warner Bros., one might think of the Loony Toons, but while Universal had the horror and Paramount had the sex appeal, Warner Brothers had the gangsters. So what kind of film would attract Karloff?
Gangster Stephan Martin (Kenneth Harlan) is on trial. His lawyer, Nolan (Ricardo Cortez), is in the same gang and is confident that Martin is going to walk free. They've been making calls to the judge about his health, so of course the old boy is going to play ball...right?
No, as Martin is sentenced to ten years. This doesn't sit well with Martin's boss Loder (Barton MacLane), or his two lieutenants Merritt (Robert Strange) and Blackstone (Paul Harvey). Naturally they can't kill the judge themselves, but where can they find a patsy?
John Elman (Karloff) enters their nightclub and asks about a job. He just got out of prison after serving ten years; sentenced by the same judge that sent Martin up funny enough, but he's a reformed man.
The boys hire him, but not as a piano player as he wanted. No, 'private detective' Trigger Smith (Joe Sawyer) approaches Elman and offers him a job. Smith's been hired or so he says, to watch the judge on orders of the man's wife for possible divorce proceedings.
Elman agrees, but when the judge is bumped off, and Elman is discovered nearby with the judge's body in his car, well, things look bad. Thankfully Nolan agrees to defend Elman. Elman's thankful and he makes to sure to point out the two witnesses who could back up his story, medical assistants Jimmy (Warren Hull) and Nancy (Marguerite Churchill). Nolan promises to spare no expense to track them down.
He doesn't, but Nancy confess to their boss Dr. Beaumont (Edmund Gwenn). Beaumont insists they tell Nolan. They do, but Nolan takes his sweet time going to the DA. When he finally gets to the man, the DA figures there is enough evidence to get a stay of execution. The governor makes the call...but the guards at the prison are too wrapped up in talking about the Army/Navy game and ignore the ringing phone...
Nolan relaxes but Beaumont, spurred on by the injustice, claims Elman's body to use in his latest experiment. He's had some success reviving dead organs so why not revive a whole bunch at once? He straps Elman in and soon proclaims "He's alive...alive!"
Nolan and the rest of the gang are in a fix, more so when Elman glares at the lawyer and declares him his enemy. Elman can't seem to recall much of his past life, but he recalls a burning hatred for Nolan and his partners. Elman sneaks out of the lab one night and pays a visit to his good buddy Trigger. The gunman is so freaked out he trips with a loaded gun in his hand and ends up shooting himself.
The rest of the gang is now thoroughly freaked out. Can Elman be stopped? Should he be stopped?
A perfect blend of horror and the gangster tropes Warner Bros. had perfected. There's almost an element of divine retribution in Elman's actions, as the gangsters all die not at his hands but in seemingly random accidents. Heavy stuff for the time period.
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