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A genuine oddity, Life Returns was originally filmed by Universal Pictures in 1935. The story, concerning the efforts by researchers Onslow Stevens and Lois Wilson to find a means to briefly bring dead animals back to life for research purposes, was built around the actual accomplishments of Dr. Robert E. Cornish of the University of California-Berkeley. On May 22, 1934, Cornish was successful in reviving a dog that had been pronounced dead: the actual footage of this experiment was incorporated into Life Returns. Presumably because of its controversial subject matter, the film was shelved by Universal and never released by that studio. It finally received distribution in January 1939 via a small-time firm called Scienart Pictures, which also took credit for producing the film.