| Donovan's Brain |  | Director: Felix E. Feist
Actors: Lew Ayres, Gene Evans, Nancy Davis, Steve Brodie, Tom Powers
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
List Price: $14.95
Buy Used: $3.79
as of 9/9/2010 01:20 UTC details
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Rating:  16 reviews
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
Languages: Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 83 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
ISBN: 0792850017
UPC: 027616862853
EAN: 9780792850014
Theatrical Release Date: September 30, 1953
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 16
 Sci Fiction predicts real life!! August 15, 2010
Alberto M. Barral (new york)
This movie is a masterpiece of prophetic genius. Nancy Davies (later first lady as nancy Reagan)dominates this movie with her opaque, universally middle class presence. Her hunched shoulders, blank expression and obsessively de-sexualized clothing make her the closest image of an American secular nun ever to come on the screen. It is absolutely impossible to imagine her anywhere near a sexual situation in these clothes and the neurotic control of every detail of her make up and outfits is a preview of her image control skills that would so well serve the Reagan administration in projecting a restrained yet efficient pseudo-Imperial elegance.
In this movie she is the wife of a scientist who is charting new ground by keeping a human brain alive after the body has died in an accident. The brain eventually takes over his own will, and I must say that the evil, selfish tax-cheating millionaire is a much more attractive figure than the sappy doctor she married. Although it also, accidentally, points out the profiling that corporate American wealth has taken in our own time.
The great and unexpected bonus for watching this film is in seeing the character traits that made Nancy such a great presence in the White House of Reagan's reign. Her demeanor was irreproachably correct, yet her manipulative character could not help but control everything under a sweet, perfect smile. This was a premonition of the much bigger role real life awarded her years later, when she finally had control of a powerful man with limited brain power. The reward did not come as an Oscar for roles of these nature, which were pretty much her career, but in the theater of international politics where she joined the company of other B actresses that switched to politics and excelled beyond their wildest dreams: Evita and Mme Mao Tse Tung.
A must see for pop culture studies, presidential image historians, and cult movie and science fiction analysts.
 do's bra.. March 30, 2010
John Lemoine
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
lax action-it only causes 1 to drive off cliff and his friend to shoot himself but how is it this friend comes back to life-best exp. of this film is seeing lew ayres his friend and nan reagan acting here and the ending w/ the brief storm fx. pretty plain borin movie sadly to say just like its aka--lady and monster
Noir Meets Sci-Fi December 15, 2008
Marshall T. Schwartzman
This unique movie is something of a synthesis between 1940s film noir and 1950s science fiction---only the criminal mastermind is a disembodied brain! Straddling the line between serious crime story and creature-feature camp, "Donovan's Brain" can be appreciated for either quality, wherein lies its appeal. There's a tax-evasion scheme involving the Feds and a sinister plot to take over the world using mind control. As for the DVD itself, the Midnite Movies print is mint, except for some noticeable but brief deterioration in the stock-footage scenes.
A Dead Man's Brain....told him to EVADE TAXES!! March 17, 2008
The Queen of Noirs (Santa Clara, CA USA)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
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!!
Great lesser known title!! April 8, 2005
Tuco (Phoenix, Az USA)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
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.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 16
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