6 Hours to Live (1932)

With a global treaty thwarted by the stubborn refusal of “Capt. Onslow” (Warner Baxter) his life is soon in peril - and not just his, but his affianced baroness “Valerie” (Miriam Jordan) ought to get a bulletproof vest too! Tragically, for him, the perpetrators do manage to do away with him but wait - there are some scientists who have been working on an experimental resuscitation machine, and so “Prof. Bauer” (George F. Marion) suggests to the police that they “borrow” his still lukewarm corpse and put it in their machine. Remarkable success ensues, but only for six hours. Conscious and fully cognisant of what did and will happen, it falls to “Onslow” to ensure the treaty fails, track down his own murderer and do a bit of closing of his own before the grim reaper comes a-calling for a second time. As resurrection thrillers go, this is actually quite a sophisticated little number with no sign of Frankenstein’s monster-syndrome, grunting, lurching or carrying off of wenches. This chap is every bit the same as he was when he was alive first time around, only just a lot more narked. It does take a while to get going, and the denouement is a bit undercooked, but Baxter always does debonair well and this feature also has Halliwell Hobbes in one of his few, non-butler, roles - he even gets to play a Baron! There’s just an hint of science here, the romance is well under control and the seventy minutes flew by.