Donovan's Brain

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!!

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.

The 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...

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

Let's face it, brains are gross...they're gray, wrinkly, gelatinous, and usually covered with viscous fluids. Sure, some monsters find them rather tasty, but I think most of us would, at the very least, wince with disgust at the thought of handling a brain, that is unless you're some kind of medical professional specializing in brains, a creepy scientist with a hankering to tinker in the realm of the unknown, or just a sickie with a with an unnatural urge to mess around with disgusting things. Regardless, Hollywood has found disembodied brains to be a worthwhile subject for at least a few films from The Brain from Planet Arous (1957), Fiend Without a Face (1958), The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962) (okay, this one features a disembodied head rather than a disembodied brain, but either way, it's a real stinker), The Brain (1964), The Man With Two Brains (1983), and this film, Donovan's Brain (1953). Of the sub genre, Donovan's Brain isn't the best, but certainly isn't the worst.

The film, based on a novel written by the prolific and influential Curt Siodmak (fans of early horror and sci-fi films will recognize the name) and directed by Felix Fiest, Donovan's Brain features Lew Ayres (calling Dr. Kildare...) as Dr. Patrick Corey, a scientist obsessed with unlocking the mysteries of the brain. The film also stars Nancy Davis (future First Lady Nancy Reagan and the woman who taught a whole generation how to `Just Say No') as his wife Janice, and veteran actor Gene Evans, who I last saw in the Steven McQueen western Nevada Smith (1966), as Dr. Frank Schratt, a local practitioner, part-time assistant to Dr. Corey, and a part-time alcoholic (his first scene in the film has him passed out on the floor).

The film begins with Dr. Corey and his wife returning from a trip to the local monkey store with a new specimen for Corey's experiments (don't get too attached to that monkey, Janice), that involve, you guessed it, brains...it seems Corey is intent on proving a brain, hooked to electrodes, can survive in a fish tank with dirty water, long after the host body is gone. Why, you ask? Why not, I say...well, after numerous failed attempts, this last one succeeds, and not a moment too soon as Dr. Corey is about to upgrade from monkey brains to human brains. It seems there's been a small plane crash in the area, and since Dr. Schratt is nowhere to be found (he's actually sleeping one off, if you know what I mean...glugg, glugg...), Dr. Corey is called in to tend to possible survivors. Apparently there's only one, a man named W.H. Donovan. Who is W.H. Donovan? Well, I tell you...he's an extremely rich man who possesses a very dark side, as we learn later on in the film. Anyway, attempts to save Donovan, who's very badly hurt, fail, Corey sees an opportunity in harvesting the dead man's brain. With the help of his wife and Dr. Schratt, they manage to not only save the Donovan's brain, but keep it alive...and soon it begins to grow (with a lot of pulsating and glowing involved), and become strong. So strong, in fact, it begins to psychically force its' will on Corey (primarily) and the others. In becoming aware of his predicament and his new found powers, Donovan see possibilities he never before imagined, and plans begin to formulate. What kind of monstrosity has been unleashed on the world? Can it be stopped? Perhaps, but at what cost?

I will say I enjoyed this film a lot. It's odd as the film is listed as sci-fi/horror, but it had an underlying `noir' quality, specifically the scenes where Donovan has taken over Corey's body, and is arranging his affairs, dealing with those who think him dead. He's a real meany, compared to congenial Corey who's obsessed but with the best intentions (saving lives, dammit!), to put it simply, and Aryes does a remarkable job switching personalities from Corey to Donovan. It's definitely a Jekyll and Hyde situation, and obvious enough for those who know Corey and have knowledge of the experiment understand what is happening. The direction is very good, and the use of shadows fairly pronounced, eliciting the `noir' quality I spoke of before. The plot is strong, and moves along at a good pace, allowing for little wasted screen time during the 84 minutes running time of the film. There are melodramatic elements included, involving concern for the change taking place with Dr. Corey, and given my limited experience with Siodmak's work, I feel this adaptation stays close to the original material. The effect is meant to infuse meaning and purpose to the characters, effectively turning them from 2-dimensional images on the screen to 3-dimensional characters the audience cares about, something that tends to be missing in a lot of modern day horror films, in my opinion. The special effects are pretty good (you will believe that pulsating brain lives) and enhance the story nicely. I wasn't too impressed with Nancy Davis' performance, but I couldn't decide if it was her acting, the inclusion of her character just because the story called for a female actress, or some of her lame lines (her character seemed resigned to state the obvious and provide little bits of exposition throughout, along with suffering a slight tinge of misogyny not uncommon in films of the time).

The film is presented in its' original format (full screen), and looks very sharp, although I did notice some minor speckling throughout, but nothing to get in a bind over (the scenes featuring the stock footage car crash are the worst, showing very noticeable damage). The only special feature is that of a theatrical trailer, but I really wasn't expecting much since this comes from MGM Midnight Movie series, which isn't known for its' inclusion of extras, but can be counted on to provide a good looking transfer.

Cookieman108