''Donovan's Brain'' is an independently made 1953 American

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

, produced by

Tom Gries Thomas Stephen "Tom" Gries (December 20, 1922 – January 3, 1977) was an American TV and film director, writer, and film producer. Life and career Gries was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Ruth Marie (Gluck), an actress and advertising c ...

for Allan Dowling Productions, directed by Felix Feist, that stars

Lew Ayres Lewis Frederick Ayres III (December 28, 1908 – December 30, 1996) was an American actor whose film and television career spanned 65 years. He is best known for starring as German soldier Paul Bäumer in the film ''All Quiet on the Western Fro ...

, Gene Evans,

Nancy Davis Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress who was the first lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989, as the second wife of President Ronald Reagan. Reagan was born in ...

and Steve Brodie. The film was distributed by

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

and is based on the 1942 horror novel '' Donovan's Brain'' by Curt Siodmak. The story involves an attempt to keep alive the

brain The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

of millionaire megalomaniac W.H. Donovan after an otherwise fatal plane crash. The brain has other ideas and begins to possess people.

Plot

Dr. Patrick Cory and his wife Janice live in a mountain retreat where Cory attempts to keep a monkey's brain alive after having it removed from the monkey's skull. The private plane of businessman Warren Donovan crashes near Cory's cabin, and rescuers request Cory's help. Donovan is seriously injured and is taken to Cory's cabin. There, his heart stops, so Cory takes the businessman's brain for experimentation. Cory manages to keep the brain alive in an electrified saline solution. After writing messages in Donovan's handwriting while he is sleeping, Cory believes Donovan's consciousness still survives and he attempts to communicate with the brain. Gradually, Cory begins to exhibit Donovan's personality traits such as smoking cigars, using ruthless personal manipulation, and walking with a limp. Janice and Frank Schratt, Cory's friend and assistant, suspect that Donovan's consciousness is using

telepathic Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...

mind control Mind control may refer to: Psychology and neurology * Brainwashing, the concept that the human mind can be altered or controlled by certain psychological techniques * Brain–computer interface * Hypnosis * Neuroprosthetics, the technology of cont ...

to overpower Cory's free will. In the meantime, news photographer Yocum discovers that Cory has illegally stolen Donovan's brain and demands money to keep the secret. Donovan's brain grows increasingly powerful, using Cory to collect a financial fortune and taking control of Yocum's mind and forcing him into a fatal car crash. After realizing that Donovan can control only one person at a time, Janice and Frank plot to destroy the brain. However, Frank's plan goes wrong when Donovan forces Frank to shoot himself. Ultimately, lightning strikes the Cory home and a fire breaks out, burning Donovan's brain and bringing an end to the horror. Frank survives, and Cory willingly goes to accept the consequences for his actions, while Janice reminds the authorities that it was Patrick's idea, in a moment of freedom from Donovan's brain, to connect the ranch's lightning rod to the power supply, which resulted in the fire.

Cast

as Dr. Patrick Cory * Gene Evans as Dr. Frank Schratt *

as Janice Cory * Steve Brodie as Yocum, investigative news photographer *

Tom Powers Thomas McCreery Powers (July 7, 1890 – November 9, 1955) was an American actor in theatre, films, radio and television. A veteran of the Broadway stage, notably in plays by George Bernard Shaw, he created the role of Charles Marsden in Eugene ...

as Donovan's Washington advisor * Lisa K. Howard as Chloe, Donovan's daughter * Kyle James as Chief Ranger Tuttle who accuses Dr. Schratt of drunkenness * Victor Sutherland as Nathaniel Fuller, Donovan's lawyer * Michael Colgan as Tom, Donovan's son * Peter Adams as Mr. Webster * Harlan Warde as Treasury agent Brooke who, along with Agent Smith, investigates Dr. Cory's withdrawal of $27,000 * Shimen Ruskin as Tailor from whom Dr. Cory orders Donovan's expensive suits

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Donovan's Brain (Film) 1953 films 1953 horror films 1950s science fiction horror films American science fiction horror films American black-and-white films American mad scientist films Films based on horror novels Films based on American novels Films directed by Felix E. Feist 1950s English-language films 1950s American films American independent films 1953 independent films Articles containing video clips English-language science fiction horror films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links