Before I Hang (1940) • Discape

Beware! When Karloff stops the clock… your hour has come!

The third mad doctor movie collaboration between star Boris Karloff and director Nick Grinde for Columbia Pictures … This one boasts a tighter narrative than the previous two films [The Man They Could Not Hang (1939), The Man with Nine Lives (1940)] … Different directors would take over for Karloff’s final two Columbia mad doctor pictures, The Devil Commands (1941) and The Boogie Man Will Get You (1942), with noticeable stylistic differences in the results.

John Llewellyn Probert, FrightFest Guide: Mad Doctor Movies (FAB Press, 2023)

Extras	Mill Creek BD-A/US 2023	Eureka BD-B/UK 2021
Audio Commentary by Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby		has extra
Madness & Mayhem: Columbia Horror in the 1930’s & 1940’s - With C. Courtney Joyner (36:17)	has extra
Stills Gallery (34 Images)		has extra
Inner Sanctum Mysteries: “Birdsong for a Murderer” (Radio Episode, 1952, 21:40)		has extra
Inner Sanctum Mysteries: “Death for Sale” (Radio Episode, 1952, 24:51)		has extra
Inner Sanctum Mysteries: “The Corridor of Doom” (Radio Episode, 1945, 29:15)		has extra
Inner Sanctum Mysteries: “The Wailing Wall” (Radio Episode, 1945, 29:18)		has extra

Blu-ray and DVD comparisons available on

Mill Creek’s Blu-ray is included in the “Thrillers from the Vault” box set with The Black Room (1935), The Man They Could Not Hang (1939), The Man with Nine Lives (1940), The Devil Commands (1941), The Boogie Man Will Get You (1942), The Return of the Vampire (1943) and Five (1951).
Eureka’s Blu-ray is included in the “Karloff at Columbia” box set with The Black Room (1935), The Man They Could Not Hang (1939), The Man with Nine Lives (1940), The Devil Commands (1941) and The Boogie Man Will Get You (1942). It includes a 48-page booklet with writing by Stephen Jacobs (“I End as I Began: ‘The Black Room’” and “Karloff at Columbia: The Mad Doctor Movies”), Jon Towlson (“‘Not Revenge, Retribution’: Karloff at Columbia”) and Craig Ian Mann (“The Duality of Evil: Twin Horrors in ‘The Black Room’”). Reissued without booklet (2022/02/14).
Mill Creek’s DVD contains no extras. It is included in the “Boris Karloff Collection” box set with The Black Room (1935), The Man They Could Not Hang (1939), The Man with Nine Lives (1940), The Devil Commands (1941) and The Boogie Man Will Get You (1942).
Sony’s DVD contains no extras. It is included in the “Icons of Horror Collection: Boris Karloff” box set with The Black Room (1935), The Man They Could Not Hang (1939) and The Boogie Man Will Get You (1942).

~ Have you spotted a mistake or would like to suggest a disc be added? Let us know ~

Madness & Mayhem: Columbia Horror in the 1930’s & 1940’s (36:17)
Inner Sanctum Mysteries: “Birdsong for a Murderer” (Radio Episode, 1952, 21:40)
Inner Sanctum Mysteries: “Death for Sale” (Radio Episode, 1952, 24:51)
Inner Sanctum Mysteries: “The Corridor of Doom” (Radio Episode, 1945, 29:15)
Inner Sanctum Mysteries: “The Wailing Wall” (Radio Episode, 1945, 29:18)

Presentation	Mill Creek BD 2023 Video File 1 Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Resolution: 1080p23.976 Overall bit rate: 35.00 Mbps Aspect ratio: 1.33:1 Length:1:02:09.684 File size: 16.43 GiB Audio File 1 Language: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono Sampling rate: 48 kHz Bit rate: 1563 kbps Bit depth: 24-bit Subtitles English SDH
Presentation	Eureka BD 2021 Video File 1 Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Resolution: 1080p23.976 Overall bit rate: 24.00 Mbps Aspect ratio: 1.33:1 Length:1:03:39.860 File size: 12.40 GiB Audio File 1 Language: English LPCM 2.0 Mono Sampling rate: 48 kHz Bit rate: 2304 kbps Bit depth: 24-bit Subtitles English SDH
Extras	Audio Commentary by Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby Eureka BD
	Madness & Mayhem: Columbia Horror in the 1930’s & 1940’s - With C. Courtney Joyner (36:17, 1080p) Mill Creek BD
	Stills Gallery (34 Images) Eureka BD
	Inner Sanctum Mysteries: “Birdsong for a Murderer” (Radio Episode, 1952, 21:40, 1080p) Eureka BD
	Inner Sanctum Mysteries: “Death for Sale” (Radio Episode, 1952, 24:51, 1080p) Eureka BD
	Inner Sanctum Mysteries: “The Corridor of Doom” (Radio Episode, 1945, 29:15, 1080p) Eureka BD
	Inner Sanctum Mysteries: “The Wailing Wall” (Radio Episode, 1945, 29:18, 1080p) Eureka BD