This unique movie is something of a synthesis between 1940s film noir and 1950s science fiction---only the criminal mastermind is a disembodied brain!
December 15, 2008 |  | A Dead Man's Brain....told him to EVADE TAXES!! |  |
What could be more terrifying than that? OK so we have the typical set up of the scientist with the lab in his basement. He has saved some money by marrying his lab assistant, who is played by an anorexic-looking Nancy Davis with giant eyes and a giant head to match. Maybe that is what got him to thinking about keeping brains alive because that is his medical specialty! He and his drunken pal have been experimenting with floating monkey brains in bacterial-infested broth in a fish tank, testing to see if they stay alive by snapping a roach clip to either side and looking for "alpha" waves on his oscilloscope. No such luck. So. A plane crashes and a nefarious rich guy who was mean to his mousy grown up kids cacks on the doctor's operating table. Hmmm! A fresh brain! We haven't been successful yet with a monkey brain so a human brain is sure to work! Wife and drunken pal object to no avail. Out pops the brain. Here comes a curious reporter. "Say....how come his stiff looks like the top has been popped? And what's with this brain in the dirty aquarium?". So the brain starts squealing over the oscilloscope, the mad scientist becomes possessed. The brain forces him to clean up his sartorial style, to stop calling Nancy Davis "baby", and to withdraw all of the dead man's money from his various and sundry accounts....in order to EVADE TAXES!!!! Oh the horror. No one gets killed. The G men come around. The brain puffs up like a big souffle, and is then taken down in a rain of bullets. Totally farcical. Definitely recommended!!
March 17, 2008| | | Great lesser known title!! | |
Donovan's Brain is a perfect example of how enjoyable a good 50's sci-fi flick can be. Great script and solid acting with adequate special effects makes this one a real winner.
I enjoyed this brainy excursion and think it has great potential for repeat watchability. If you enjoyed this film, I also strongly recommend Creature With The Atom Brain, another very enjoyable sci-fi effort with a similar story.
April 8, 2005The Evil multi-millionaire, W.H. Donovan is in a plane, flying to his next destination of dastardly deeds, when suddenly the plane crashes! Donovan is the sole survivor, barely alive, unable to last more than a few more minutes, but who will carry on his selfish agenda if he dies? Luckily, there's a scientist nearby named Dr. Patrick Cory, who just so happens to be experimenting with a monkey brain in his lab. Cory's been keeping the little simian brain "alive" in a tank of icky water by sticking electrodes into it. Now, with the help of his wife Jan (Nancy Davis) and a fellow doctor (Gene Evans), Cory tosses out the monkey brain, replacing it with Donovan's gray matter! The brain is successfully saved, floating peacefully in it's new aquarium habitat, when shockingly, it begins pulsating, glowing eerily, and growing to the size of a wrinkly, 20-pound ham! Cory is possessed by W.H. Donovan's mind, and begins flying all over the country, closing out bank accounts, blackmailing politicians, killing nosey, blackmailing reporters; and getting his (Donovan's) life in order. Back at the lab, Jan is hurriedly trying to concoct a way to help her husband get un-Donovanized. Will she succeed, or will the devilish Donovan destroy her marriage along with everyone in his path? DONOVAN'S BRAIN is classic cerebral sci-fi at it's best...
March 21, 2005 | | Tribute to the power of a plot premise | |
Donovan is a successful businessman who dies in an airplane accident and whose brain is rescued by a young scientist ,Cory an assistant to the older scientist Dr Schratt .They keep the brain alive ,which turns out to be an unwise move as it begins to take over and influence the mind of Cory pushing it into ever darker realms of thought and action .
The sets are rudimentary with an especially under resourced laboratory being especially unconvincing and the acting , Lew Ayres as Cory apart , is wooden .Yet the picture does evoke a genuine sense of dread and a powerfully miasmic air to it .The movie makes an impact through the power of its central idea and it is worth watching for this alone
March 15, 2005More reviews at Amazon.com ...
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