Original subtitles

More ice in the container.

Start the other fan.

It's similar to anesthesia, isn't it, doctor?

Not quite. His theory is based on reducing the body temperature...

...to a subnormal degree.

You see those containers?

The gauge on the oxygen cylinder indicates the respiratory changes.

Water, gradually chilled to an icy temperature...

...is pumped through the cooler into two tubes...

...one of which leads to the patient's chest...

...while the other is place over the area which is to be treated.

Ice is packed about the patient, while those fans...

...aid in lowering the body temperature.

The body is actually frozen.

The kidneys and digestive organs no longer function.

Temperature?

- Ninety. - Drop it two more degrees.

More ice.

Temperature?

Eighty-eight.

Metabolism at this time is practically nil.

The only sign of life is the easy rhythm of the patient's heartbeat.

By subjecting the body to freezing temperatures...

...the repair tissues in the body are greatly strengthened...

...while the malignant cells are retarded from growing.

Are there any questions?

How long is it possible to keep your patient...

...in this state of coma, Dr. Mason?

That is something we have yet to determine.

Fans.

Heating pad.

Hot coffee.

How do you feel?

Fine. My nap helped me.

Your nap? You've been asleep five days.

Five... Five days?

You feel any pain?

No.

It's all gone.

And you'd better be quiet now.

All right.

Most remarkable, doctor.

Congratulations, Mason. You proved your theory.

Humanity will go down on its knees to you.

- There's so much to be said. - Save it for your medical thesis.

There's been nothing like this since the discovery of anesthesia.

- I appreciate seeing this. - Marvelous.

- The whole thing is marvelous. - Yes, sir.

Come in.

I'm proud of you, Tim. You've astounded the world.

And revolutionized the whole profession of medicine.

You know better than that, Judy.

All I've been able to do is give temporary relief.

The time and temperature elements are so important.

If I could have kept that woman cold enough long enough...

...to have killed the malignant cells and still not harm the healthy tissues...

...that would have been something.

No, I'm a long, long way from having this thing ready for general practice.

Any applause you happen to hear along the way...

...belongs to somebody else. I'm not claiming originality.

What wouldn't I give to know...

...what experiments this man carried out before he died.

Judy, this book has been my whole inspiration for this work.

There are statements in here I'd give my right eye to be able to prove.

Listen to this, "A mouse, heavily infected with cancer...

...was prepared for and subjected to freezing...

...at 100 degrees below zero by means of liquid hydrogen.

Revived at the end of two weeks...

...completely free from all cancerous growth."

How would you like to be able to prove that...

...to the doubting Thomases here?

A hundred degrees below zero? That's impossible.

How do we know?

What does he mean by "prepared for freezing"? What did he do?

Isn't there some way of tracing that information?

No. He lived and worked alone, in secret.

He lived like a hermit at a place called Silver Lake...

...near the Canadian border. I tried to trace him.

But he disappeared 10 years ago.

Didn't he keep any other records of his experiments?

None that I can locate. The people I've written to about him...

...don't seem to want to give much information.

Come in.

- Dr. Harvey. - You may remain, Miss Blair.

You've been so close to Dr. Mason in this work...

...that I want you to hear my comments.

Dr. Mason, as a research man myself...

...I congratulate you on your brilliant experiments.

But as head of this hospital, I deplore the unfortunate result...

...of your premature announcement of a cure...

...which is not ready for distribution.

I didn't announce I'd found a positive cure.

You caused it to be said. That's the same thing.

I just gave a public demonstration of my progress so far...

...and let observers draw conclusions.

That's precisely what you shouldn't have done.

If I hadn't been away, I would have stopped you.

What are we going to tell all these people who are wiring...

...and writing in, begging for treatment?

Are you ready to take the responsibility of curing them?

But I promised no cure.

I tried to demonstrate a new principle of treatment.

I admire your spirit.

But it is not in line with modern medical research.

The day of the lone-wolf experimenter is dead.

Vast organizations are today fitted with every conceivable device...

...to check, test, prove and verify every step of a new treatment.

And that, Mason, is what we're going to do with your frozen therapy.

Turn it over to an unbiased staff of experts...

...to re-perform all your experiments...

...and check their independent findings with yours.

But until that rechecked proof appears...

...we must not extend promises which we might be unable to fulfill.

You're taking this subject away from me entirely?

Only for the time being.

We will carry on without, shall we say, so much publicity.

Well, I...

I don't know what to say. You...

You've taken the wind out of my sails.

I'd rather you'd be out of touch with the newspapers for a while.

Take a leave of absence, a vacation.

You need the rest anyway.

- Is that an order? - Well, I don't like the word.

Let's say it's for the benefit of our profession.

Goodbye. And good luck.

Thank you.

Well, I guess I should have kept my mouth shut till I was sure.

- But, Tim, he doesn't understand. - That's just it. He does.

He's 100 percent right.

You know, Judy, a long time ago somebody said:

"The step from the laboratory to the bedside is the most dangerous one."

Finish the quotation. He also said, "But that step must be taken."

When do we leave for Silver Lake? To Dr. Kravaal's laboratory...

...or bedside or whatever we'll find there?

You know, I had it in mind the moment Dr. Harvey stepped into this room.

Where is Silver Lake?

Well, I don't know, but there's an atlas in this drawer.

Yeah. Yeah, here it is.

Hidden away in the mountains, up by the Canadian border.

All we need is four new tires and gasoline money.

We'd like to rent a boat.

Yes, sir. Boats are 25 cents an hour.

There's a dollar deposit when you leave.

Of course, if you lose an oar, that's extra.

Are you fishing or looking?

Just looking. We wanna go over to the island.

- Crater Island? - We wanna see the old Kravaal house.

Mister, don't you go near Crater Island. Don't land on it.

- Why not? - Well, just don't land on it, that's all.

Well, why? Is there any law against it?

No, there's no law, although it's government property now.

It went back for taxes after Dr. Kravaal disappeared.

- That was 10 years ago, wasn't it? - Yeah.

Say, what business is that of yours anyway?

Professional interest. I'm Dr. Mason of King Hospital.

Do you happen to know whether Dr. Kravaal left any notebooks...

...or records of his work?

No, I don't. Nobody knows. Nobody wants to know.

Why don't you go back to your hospital, doc.

- Because I want to see the island. - Well, see it. But don't land.

- Tell me, what's all this mystery? - Well, I can tell you this much:

Ten years ago, Dr. Kravaal, Ed Stanton...

He was the sheriff. - John Hawthorne, Doc Bassett...

...and young Bob Adams stepped into a boat on this very spot...

...and they rowed out to that island...

...and they ain't been seen since. None of them.

- But people don't just disappear. - Well, these did.

And when they didn't show up the next day...

...we went over to investigate.

We found the boat all moored, safe and sound, nothing touched.

The house as neat as a pin.

We found their hats and coats...

...but there was no sign of a struggle. No bloodstains. Nothing.

Why, we didn't find as much as a hair from any one of those five men.

Now, you take my advice, and you and your young lady keep away.

Why, there ain't nobody set foot on that place now for 10 years.

- Are you still going? - What do you think?

Well.

It isn't too late to change our minds, Tim.

No, I've come this far. I'm going the rest of the way.

- Now, remember what I told you. - All right.

Well, here we are.

Well, I've never seen a better specimen of a haunted house.

Let's take our look and get out of here.

What's the matter? That boatman scare you? Come on.

Look. Let's see what's in there.

- Well, here's his laboratory. - Yes.

Say, look. This tree grew right in through the window.

Dry rot.

Judy! Judy!

Judy!

Judy. Judy, are you all right? Are you hurt?

Well, I don't think so. But I'm scared, Tim.

Oh, of course, you are. Okay, we'll get out of here and...

Hello.

Oh, a tunnel.

Still game?

Well, here we go.

A hundred and eighty-nine, 190, 191 steps.

We must be down at least 100 feet.

It's cold down here.

Hey, look. It's a door.

What do you think's on the other side?

Well, I don't know, but I'm gonna find out.

- Tim! - What's the matter?

Look. Over there.

Tim, let's get out of here.

Not till I find out what's back of this door.

Here, hold this light.

Now, I'm certain no one went to all this trouble to build a rumpus room.

Here it comes.

Give me the light.

Say, there's a lamp over there. Maybe there's some oil in it.

Yeah. Here, hold this.

Dr. Kravaal's secret laboratory.

There's a lot of broken glass on the floor.

Yeah. Looks like he must've left here in a hurry.

Say, look at this.

A shelf full of every kind of concentrated poison.

That's about the nicest collection of sudden death I've ever seen.

Tim, don't you think we ought to go back and report this to the authorities?

No, not until we've seen the rest of it.

There's another door over here.

Couldn't we come back in furs? I'm freezing.

So am I, but we've gotta see what's back of this door.

- Solid ice. - Yeah, that's what I expected.

Look!

- Why, that must be Dr. Kravaal. - Tim.

Judy, do you suppose he...?

We've gotta get in there. Hand me that ax, will you?

Look out.

- It's like a blast from the Arctic. - But, Judith, don't you get it?

The laboratory, the ice, why, the whole setup.

I'm gonna get him out of here. Build a fire.

Try to find some blankets, anything, but hurry.

It's been three hours and 20 minutes since we started working on him.

What do you think?

I can't tell. If the circulation has started...

...it's so slow and so faint I can't detect it.

He seems to be taking on a little color.

Judy, get me a pocket mirror, will you, please?

He's breathing. Get me some more of that coffee.

- Who are you? - I'm Dr. Mason of King Hospital.

This is Miss Blair, my fianc�e and a nurse.

We came here to search for your records, doctor...

...and found you frozen in the next room.

We're both experienced in modern frozen therapy.

We gave you the standard treatment for revival...

...and you've reacted perfectly.

"Standard"? "Modern"?

I thought no one believed in this but me.

No, doctor. We've made great strides in frozen therapy...

...since you disappeared 10 years ago.

Ten years.

- What year is this? - 1940.

19...

I've been in there 10 years.

Frozen for 10 years. It's fantastic.

Fantastic?

Why?

- There's no reason... - No, doctor, don't.

Tell me, how did you come to be in the ice vault?

Did you lock yourself in?

You wouldn't know that, would you?

It's yesterday afternoon to me.

But to you, it's...

It's 10 years ago.

Ten years.

1930.

Ten years ago...

...I was conducting a crucial experiment on a private patient...

...who had been given up to die by other doctors.

I could have cured him.

But his nephew forced his way into this house...

...demanding to see his uncle at once.

On account of the nature of the treatment, I refused.

So they had me arrested...

...taken before the district attorney for questioning.

- You say your patient is alive? - He is.

- Then why are you hiding him? - I refuse to answer.

He refuses because my uncle is dead.

Dr. Kravaal, let me warn you that the law has means of forcing you...

...to produce your patient unless you reveal him to us voluntarily.

I doubt that.

We can trace every move you made since you took Jasper Adams...

...from the hospital to your home. We can tear your house down...

...bit by bit if necessary until we find your patient or his body.

Now, what have you done with him?

What have you done with him?

I have given you my personal and professional assurance...

...that Jasper Adams is alive and on the way to recovery.

He placed his life unreservedly in my hands...

...and I'm responsible only to him.

Look here, Dr. Kravaal, I'm a medical man of good standing.

I examined Jasper Adams six months ago...

...and I say no power on earth could ever cure that man.

And I say that 30 years ago, medical men of your standing...

...were saying the same thing about the yellow-fever patients.

But because a handful of men had the courage to give their lives...

...to a great experiment, yellow fever is now a thing of the past.

Fever's one thing, cancer's another.

If you've cured Jasper Adams, why don't you publish it to the world...

...for the benefit of humanity instead of hiding it?

Because he's a fake. He knew my uncle was rich.

Knew he'd spent thousands of dollars all over the world to find a cure.

So he got to my uncle. Promised him an absolute cure...

...if he could work on him secretly and alone.

My uncle fell for this scheme because he was dying and desperate.

This whole thing has been nothing but a cold-blooded murdering scheme...

...to bleed a dying man of money.

Are you going to let him get away with his silence?

It can only mean guilt. Just because a man has an M.D. after his name...

...can he do as he pleases with human lives?

Now, take it easy. We'll see that everybody gets a fair deal.

- What have you to say, Dr. Kravaal? - Nothing.

I would expect young Mr. Adams to think the way he does.

Well, what are you going to do about it?

You're under arrest, Dr. Kravaal. I intend to have the sheriff hold you...

...until you produce the body of Jasper Adams, alive or dead.

But you can't do that. My patient is depending upon me for his life.

I must be free to attend him.

He'd be free to disappear. Don't let him go.

- You can't hold me here. - Oh, yes, I can.

But if you will take a competent authority such as Dr. Bassett...

...to your patient to make an examination on behalf...

No other doctor has ever been able to grasp...

...the basic principles of what I am doing.

I've explained it to the highest authorities in medicine...

...and they scoffed at it, called me insane.

I must furnish them a living proof.

You show me Jasper Adams alive and improved in health...

...and I'll be the first to admit I'm wrong.

But the treatment is so drastic.

I'm just afraid that you'll try to interfere, and that would be fatal.

Is it any worse than staying locked up here and letting him die?

If you don't agree to this, you'll have to remain in custody.

I can't do that, he would die. I must be there when...

When what?

Never mind. I'll take you.

Oh, I can't help myself.

But if anything goes wrong, the responsibility is yours...

...for forcing this upon me. - Let's go, doc.

Sure some storm.

If it gets much rougher, we may not be able to make it back tonight.

I've got to get back. Let's not waste time.

Where's the patient?

Just leave your coats here, gentlemen, and follow me.

All right, gentlemen, but be careful. The steps are narrow.

Aren't you going?

Why are you closing that door?

When you are ready to leave, the door will be opened.

- Right down here, gentlemen. - It seems to be getting colder.

It must be agreed that I am showing you my patient...

...only on condition that he is not disturbed.

- Sure, we're all agreed. Where is he? - Through here.

He's been sleeping this way for almost a month...

...and when he awakens, he'll be cured.

This man's frozen.

- Of course. - But you said he was alive.

- He is. - This man's stone dead.

- Are you sure, Dr. Bassett? - Of course I'm sure.

I knew it. He killed him. That's why he hid the body.

- Take him in charge, sheriff. - Wait a minute.

I warned you you wouldn't understand...

...and you promised not to interfere. - That promise is withdrawn.

- You lying cheat. - You better put handcuffs on him.

Wait! Dr. Bassett, this is not the first...

...but the sixth time this man has been under frozen therapy.

And each time in advance I have given him protective medicine...

...to keep the freezing process from harming him in any way.

And each time he's appeared as he does now. Dead.

But just as life existed then, I know it exists now.

What do you think?

We're wasting time. No human being can live...

...after his temperature drops 10 degrees below normal.

This man's frozen through and through. He's dead.

What about this protective...?

There's no such medicine known to science.

- You better have him locked up. - Take him in.

- Come along, doctor. - Dr. Bassett, I protest.

- Give me a chance to explain... - Help me move this stretcher.

You must allow me to remain with my patient.

Dr. Bassett, that man is not dead. He's under deep anesthesia.

I can restore him to consciousness, but it'll take time.

He must come out of it gradually.

I daren't risk the shock of a sudden awakening.

- No. - Then put me under arrest.

Have an armed guard if you like.

But I must remain here until my patient awakens naturally...

...or I can't be responsible for his life.

We'll sit here until doomsday before he ever wakes up.

If Jasper Adams isn't dead, then one of us is crazy.

Bassett, you're unreasonable. Give me an hour...

Let's get out of here before we catch pneumonia.

Then give me just a moment. Just one moment to demonstrate my theory.

I can prove this man's alive.

Now then.

Here we have the basic solution...

...which acts as an anesthetic.

Eighty cc's.

This is the activator.

This works against the basic solution...

...and counteracts its poisonous properties.

Fourteen minims.

And this substance...

...protects the tissues from the cold.

- What are those chemicals? - I don't know. But I don't trust him.

Two minims.

Well, gentlemen...

...there's enough poison in this to kill 100 men.

The slightest jar will release its poisonous vapors.

- I told you. - You'll return the patient to my care...

...or we'll all die together. Stay where you are, sheriff.

I can crash this to the floor before you can move a hand.

I'll lock you in the ice chamber until I've restored my patient to normal.

- Oh, no, you're not. - Get back!

We've got to get out of here.

We can't. That stuff's between us and the doorway.

In here. Quick.

Come back here. You're not gonna leave us.

Is there any other way out of here?

Door over there. Other room.

Open the door!

- There's no other way out of here! - Break it down.

People will trace us. Find out what you've done.

Don't do this to us.

Don't.

Adams.

Jasper Adams.

- That's as far as I remember. - Well, thank heaven you're alive.

But I don't understand. It's... It's impossible.

As you both know, a man can live indefinitely...

...if his body's been immunized from the freezing process.

But mine wasn't.

I should be dead.

- Doctor, you'd better rest. - No. l...

I must think.

Why didn't it kill me?

I took nothing to keep myself from freezing to death...

...and yet I lived.

It's impossible...

...and yet it happened.

Doctor, you shouldn't.

Jasper Adams was here. I left him here.

How did he get out? What happened to him?

Dr. Kravaal...

...in that outer room.

Jasper Adams.

Now how?

- Did you move him? - No.

I see. He must have regained consciousness...

...while we were in the ice chamber, found himself here alone...

...tried to grope his way out up the stairs in the dark...

...and fell to his death.

But still, that doesn't explain what kept me alive.

The vapor.

The vapor we breathed when I dropped the graduate.

That's the answer.

By sheerest accident, the fumes we inhaled...

...were in perfect proportion to carry us safely through the years frozen in ice.

Then the other men must be alive too.

- Nurse. - Yes, doctor?

Get more blankets out of that chest. We're going to revive those men.

Dr. Mason, we're at the end of the trail.

The heart of the secret is that the protection...

...must be given by inhalation, not by injection.

That formula. I remember writing it.

Where is it?

Right where I left it.

We're gonna get those men out at once.

Hadn't you better let me do most of this?

Oh, no, my boy. You do as you're told. These are my patients.

That's right, we'll need lots of hot water, so keep up the fire.

Yes, doctor.

Door is there.

I don't see how you keep all this ice. What makes it?

It's the underground arm of a glacier. It's been here for centuries.

Oh, Judy? Judy.

Can you give me a hand?

- That's it. All right, doctor. - All right.

- More coffee. - It's all gone.

I'll have to melt this ice before we can make more.

Hadn't I better go make arrangements...

...to move them so they can be treated?

Oh, that won't be necessary. They'll recover just as I did.

In the course of an hour or two, we can all leave...

...and announce this discovery to the world.

Do you realize the importance of what you've accomplished?

I have accomplished. That's good.

I worked for 20 years to find a thing...

...and at last it's achieved by accident.

But we don't care how it happens, do we? So long as we get results.

- Say, what is this? - Stimulant.

It's going to be a little hard for him...

...on account of his condition. It isn't good.

Oh, by the way, this is Dr. Bassett, the coroner...

...who was so sure that a man could not be frozen and still live.

And this is Mr. John Hawthorne, he's the district attorney...

...whose only idea at our last meeting was to convict me of murder...

...and have me hanged.

And here's young Mr. Adams, who's really responsible for this whole thing.

And this rather groggy gentleman is Sheriff Stanton.

You. You.

That won't be necessary now.

Now, you'll be all right. You'll be all right.

- Kravaal! - Here. Take it easy.

- Let me out of here. - Easy.

We're friends. There's no need to be afraid.

- Sure. Come on, sit down. Over here. - Where...?

What...? What happened?

This is Dr. Mason and Miss Blair who discovered us in the ice chamber.

- I must get in touch with my office. - You have no office.

Let it sink into your brain that this is the year 1940...

...and that you've been buried, lost, frozen in the ice for 10 years.

Why, it... It can't be.

It's true, Mr. Hawthorne. This is 1940.

Ten years.

I can't believe it.

But I'll know for myself when I reach the mainland.

Which will not be until you've had food and a chance to regain your strength.

- Did you say food? - I did.

There's plenty in the storeroom.

But while we're preparing it for you...

...I suggest that you think over the changed aspects of the case...

...as it stands today.

We five are the proof that men can live after 10 years of frozen sleep.

But there was a sixth man in this room 10 years ago...

...Jasper Adams, who did not survive.

- You'd already killed him. - Oh, no.

He awakened in this room, alone...

...and died for lack of attendance as I said he would.

Who's responsible for that, Mr. Hawthorne?

Am I, who begged for a chance to remain with him...

...or you, who denied me that right?

I'm going back to the mainland with complete vindication of my theory...

...but I wonder what you're going back to...

...when I prove that the death of my patient is your responsibility.

Just see that they remain quiet till we come back.

I'll show you where the storeroom is.

Did you ever hear such raving nonsense? Ten years.

No. It's true. This is 1940. Here.

Take a look at my driver's license. My club card.

Now, you wait here a minute while I light the lamp.

There we are. You see, there's plenty of food there.

It's cold storage perhaps, but still good.

And there's the stove.

I think we'll start with hot soup.

All right.

- I'll have it ready in a jiffy. - Good girl.

Yes, Dr. Bassett. I imagine you'll find things quite changed on the mainland.

Here's some hot soup for you.

- There you are, sheriff. - That'll be fine. Thank you.

Dr. Bassett.

Well, Mr. Hawthorne, have you found the answer to my question yet?

Yes.

Under the law, a person is declared legally dead...

...after seven years' disappearance.

Therefore, we've been legally dead for the past three years...

...and we're not responsible to anybody for anything.

Excellent.

I see your mind has rounded back into its customary legal form.

- I congratulate you. - Wait a minute.

I was my uncle's heir.

I stood to inherit upward of a million dollars.

You mean to say I can't collect my inheritance?

Not legally. You're officially dead, and the matter ends there.

Why, you've cost me all that money with your crazy experimenting.

I'm sorry, but if you'll think of something besides yourself...

...you'll realize that this is worth a great deal more...

...than the money you'd only have squandered in any event.

This piece of paper opens up a whole new field of medical practice.

Think of it. When we reach the mainland with this new weapon...

...an army of doctors will spring into action overnight.

And the battle to wipe one more plague...

...from the face of the earth is launched.

You don't fool me. You think you've made a great discovery...

...at my expense, and you're going to cash in on it.

I'll remind you that you forced yourself into this place against my wishes.

Anything that happened to your inheritance is your fault, not mine.

As for this...

...it's my gift to the world to be used by anyone who needs it...

...free of charge. - Don't try that noble stuff on me.

You've got a fortune and I've got nothing.

If you think you're gonna get away with that, you're crazy.

Adams! Adams, that paper.

- He's dead. - Murdered.

You call everything murder, don't you?

I should have fired a second sooner.

Don't you realize what that boy has done?

I only know what you did. We're all witnesses.

- You better give me that gun, doctor. - No.

I've seen the work of a lifetime destroyed in a second.

The technique of a new cure that...

I found it by accident, but now it's gone. That paper held it.

But you know what was on it.

Would I have killed a man to save it if I did?

I know the ingredients, yes.

But the proportions that make the difference...

...between life and death, do you know them?

Do you know what kept us alive for 10 years?

Well, I don't. But I had them in my hand, and they're gone.

I honestly believe you should give yourself up.

We'll swear to the provocation. The courts will be lenient.

And let me off with manslaughter?

Do you think I'm going back to rot in prison...

...while the memory of what was on that paper fades from my mind?

Right now, I can almost see those figures. And if I could...

Nobody leaves this place until I've rediscovered...

...the exact proportions of that formula.

- That may take days. - Or weeks.

All I know is that if I delay, I may never find it.

How can you tell when they're right? You need laboratory animals.

I have laboratory animals.

Here.

- No. You're not gonna use us. - Why not?

If the outside world remembers us at all, it thinks of us as dead.

Our lives are finished. But at least we have a chance...

...to give back to the world what that boy has destroyed.

- But, doctor... - I have no desire to harm any of you.

I may succeed at the very first test. I only hope I do.

But if any of you make any attempt to escape...

...or interfere with this work...

...I shall kill you.

The man's a maniac.

There's only one of him and five of us.

Yes, but he's armed.

We've got to rush him. That's our only chance.

- Give me a hand, will you, sheriff? - Yeah.

Over here.

What's that?

- He's tearing out something. - It must be the ladder.

There goes our only chance to get out of here.

There's no use kidding ourselves. We're in a spot.

- All we can do is wait for a break. - We can destroy those chemicals.

- There must be some way out of this. - What, for instance?

We're locked in, no one knows we're here. We have a madman for a jailer.

We all gotta stick together.

Never get separated. Not even for an instant.

But from his viewpoint, he's perfectly justified.

- Oh, you talk like a fool. - That's not necessary, Hawthorne.

Oh, I suppose because of professional ethics...

...you feel the same way. - In a measure.

I can appreciate what he's trying to do.

Why, you're actually defending him. You talk like him.

Listen, Mason. You're either with us or against us.

You do one thing to help that man, and we'll make you wish you hadn't.

You men are hardly in a position to threaten anybody.

Our lives aren't worth a nickel.

We're guinea pigs, to be experimented on by a maniac.

Hawthorne, regardless of what you call Dr. Kravaal...

...or what you think of his methods, I think he's a great man...

...attempting to do a great thing.

- Grab him! - Let me alone.

- Stop it! Let him go. - You fools! What are you trying to do?

- Let me alone. - Stop it!

Good thing they showed their true colors.

Let that man go.

Unlock those handcuffs...

...at once.

I said, at once.

Over here, Dr. Mason, Miss Blair. Please.

It was a wasted effort, gentlemen, to destroy those materials.

I have an ample supply in the storeroom.

I'll call for you later, Dr. Bassett.

She's wise to get her rest while she can.

If I were you, I'd do the same thing. I can manage this without you.

No, thanks. I'll sleep when you do.

Let me have the bell jar, please.

Over the graduate.

- You don't approve, do you? - Would it make any difference if I did?

Not the slightest.

You were shocked at the death of young Adams.

That's because you're not yet steeled to the hard bargains...

...fate sometimes drives with us.

But tell me, Dr. Mason, which is more valuable to humanity...

...his life or my work?

- Your work, I suppose. - You suppose?

You know. This work is worth 1000 lives like his.

Well, that should stand for a few hours...

...to give the mixture a chance to settle.

- Why don't you try to get some sleep? - No. I'm not sleepy.

Only a suggestion. We've got lots of work ahead of us...

...and I won't be needing you for a while.

Well, in that case, I think I'll sit down over here and rest a while.

As you please.

Oh, it's you. Wouldn't you like to lie down a little while?

No.

I'm not sleepy.

- But you can relax while I'm awake. - Yeah, but don't go away.

Now, you nap for 10 minutes while I make some tea.

- Well, call me if anything... - I will.

Dr. Kravaal, would you like some tea?

Well, that's very kind of you. Yes, I would.

You'll find some in the cupboard over there.

Oh, doctor. There's plenty of soup left if you'd like some.

Why, thank you.

I think I would like some.

And those men in the other room could stand some more food.

I wonder if you'd take it in to them.

I'd do it myself, but they'd refuse it from me.

I understand. I'll get some dishes.

I'm sorry about the dishes, but they're all I could find.

That's all right. I'm sure they'll all be so hungry...

...they won't care how it's served.

Now, I'll go with you to the door.

Oh, he'll be all right.

Stand away from the door, please, gentlemen.

I'm sending Miss Blair in with some food.

I've brought you some more soup.

- What's he doing out there? - I don't know. I've been asleep.

- Where's Dr. Mason? - He's resting.

- It sure smells good. - Oh, no, you don't.

- Let me go! - You're staying right here with us.

And if your Dr. Mason thinks anything at all of you, maybe he'll help us.

Because whatever happens to us, happens to you too.

I...

I...

I can't move.

Mr. Hawthorne!

You.

You...

- You did this. - I didn't.

I didn't know what he was doing. Let me help you to a chair.

Dr. Kravaal, you did this.

- What did you do to them? - Now, now, Miss Blair, come.

- This won't do at all. - They're dead, and I helped kill them.

Nonsense. They're as well as you are.

It's just an anesthetic that won't hurt them a bit.

Help me over here.

And now take his pulse.

I can't.

Nurse.

Take his pulse.

- Well? - Ninety-five.

Let me know the instant there's a change.

Yes, doctor.

It's irregular now.

It's jumping.

It's stopped.

He's dead!

Yes.

He's dead.

- Tim. Tim, wake up! Wake up, Tim. - What's the matter?

- He just killed Dr. Bassett. - What?

Yes, I was there. I saw him do it.

He put a solution on a piece of cotton and made him inhale it.

You killed Dr. Bassett?

I suppose it was too much to expect success at the first effort.

- Why didn't you call me? - I'll call on you when I need you.

You've got no right to say I killed Dr. Bassett.

I'm no more to blame for his death than any surgeon...

...you, for instance, would be for losing a desperate case.

More than anything in the world, I wanted to administer this mixture...

...to Bassett and see him live.

But it was not to be.

Well...

...we still have two more chances.

Will you please record as follows:

Experiment Number One.

Henry Bassett, age about 40...

...while under anesthetic, was given basic solution 100 cc's...

...activating element, 12 minims, by inhalation.

Death was instantaneous.

A blood sample taken from the subject after death shows...

...blood corpuscles are being destroyed. They're disintegrating.

The typical reaction to very heavy poisoning.

Well, obviously, the solution is too strongly activated.

I'll reduce it to the absolute minimum.

Stanton.

Stanton, wake up. Wake up!

- What? What is it? - Bassett. He's dead.

He's in there, dead. Kravaal killed him while we were knocked out.

- There was something in that soup. - Bassett's dead?

Yes, and we'll be next. That madman won't stop at anything.

Kravaal's not gonna get his hands on me.

Listen, you get over there in the corner. I'll hide here.

If he finds one of us, his back will be to the other.

- I see. - If he finds you first, stall him.

Keep him facing you until I can get him from behind.

Right.

Now we'll try it again.

This time with only 4 minims of the activator.

Legitimate experimenting with known elements is one thing.

What you're doing is rank guesswork.

Trying this on humans is nothing short of murder...

...and I won't let you do it.

You won't let me? I'm sorry you take this stand.

I'd hoped you had the courage and the imagination to help me.

However, since you won't, I'll have to carry on alone.

I'm going to lock you in here so that you can't interfere.

- What was that? - A shot.

Somebody must have attacked him.

But there was only one shot.

Do you suppose whoever wasn't shot could have?

Well, now, there's no use getting panicky about it.

Failure.

It seems to be a deadly poison in any proportion.

Why?

Dr. Mason, I'm through.

Take this record, go back to your laboratory...

...retrace every step I've taken...

...and find my mistake if it takes the rest of your life.

- You mean, we can go? - Yes.

Out in the world, you'll have laboratories...

...colleagues for consultation...

...the finest modern equipment at your disposal.

- It's your duty. - How can we get out of here?

You've torn the ladder down.

Tables, boxes. Anything you can pile up where the ladder was.

Come on, Tim.

Dr. Mason! Dr. Mason, come here!

- Let's get out of here. - No. Wait a minute.

That slide carries a sample of Hawthorne's blood.

Now, look in there and tell me what you see.

Why, that's the strangest thing I ever saw.

The blood corpuscles are dissolving, all of them. Disintegrating.

Exactly as in Bassett's case.

Yet this man only had the vapor of 4 minims.

Yet this sample shows his whole body was saturated.

Mason, we've found the truth.

The fault was not in the solution at all, but in the bodies of the men...

...we used for the experiment. Don't you understand?

The strength of what I just gave them had nothing to do with their dying.

It was the combination.

The new mixture met the old one which had soaked into their bodies...

...for 10 years, touched it off like a spark of gunpowder...

...and killed them instantly. - Possible.

Possible? We can prove it. We're not defeated, Mason.

We need bodies with no poison in them.

Bodies like yours...

...or hers. - Tim!

Judith, finish piling up those boxes, then climb out yourself.

- Call from the steps. - What about you?

I'm not taking this gun off him until you're clear.

- Then I'll follow. Now hurry! - All right.

Don't touch that bottle!

Judith, you ready?

Almost.

No doubt you'll inform the police of what has happened.

Not a doubt in the world.

Well, at least take this record book with you.

Otherwise they'll impound it as evidence.

I'm not taking anything, Dr. Kravaal.

Then I'll just lay it here where you can reach it.

Judy!

Tim. Tim! Tim!

He'll be all right. And your scream helped, as I hoped it would.

- Now, come, Miss Blair. - Don't touch me.

Come.

You know, I can always lock you in here...

...and perform the experiment on Dr. Mason...

...if you'd prefer that.

Miss Blair.

Now just breathe easily and quietly.

No.

- No. - There.

There's no steps. We'll have to jump.

There's a light burning.

Hey, there's a man in here, tied up.

Kravaal, he's alive. In there! Kravaal!

We gotta get out of here. He's got Judith.

Here, let me try that.

Not enough.

Not enough.

Here, let's see if this'll do it.

Judith!

- Come out with your hands up! - No, no. Not yet!

I must know if she's alive.

- You'd better surrender. - Fools.

I'll stand no interference this time.

I'll kill the first man who comes through that door!

Maybe this'll help.

Don't come through that door! I must know if she's alive!

- All right, Kravaal. - Judith.

Look.

Pulse and respiration all right.

Temperature.

Thirty degrees?

Below freezing.

But you can see.

Hear the heartbeat.

She's alive.

Frozen but alive.

You've seen a modern miracle.

Slowly.

- Bring her back slowly. - Yes, I know.

Yes.

But the work's finished.

- We'd better get him to a hospital. - No time.

That book. Dr. Mason...

...take it.

Use it.

Is there anything else you wanna tell me?

No.

Work's finished.

Case closed.

"I, for one, am resolved that no matter what sacrifices...

...I may be forced to make of myself or of others...

...I will not be stopped in my search for this secret...

...so long as I shall live."

That is the dedication of this research work.

And it is signed in a firm hand, "Leon Kravaal."

This book contains the records...

...of some of the most amazing experiments I've ever read.

Experiments on every kind of an animal, including man.

I feel that we can do no better than to stand back of Dr. Mason...

...with everything we have.

Give him unlimited time and equipment...

...to complete the great unfinished work of Dr. Kravaal.

- Good luck, doctor. - Thank you, Dr. Harvey.

It's unfortunate that Dr. Kravaal's intensity of purpose...

...his reaching for success...

...forced him beyond the limits of the law.

He paid with his life...

...that we might have this, his parting gift to humanity.

Whatever his crimes may have been...

...l, for one, shall always remember him as a great man...

...and a great benefactor.