Donovan’s Brain Blu-ray review
Release Date: March 22
Order your copy of Donovan’s Brain here!
-I think someday you’ll be as famous as Madame Eve Curie.
-Well if I’m as useful to you as she was to her husband, I’ll settle for that.
-You’re just as useful and lots prettier.
While Curt Siodmak’s 1942 horror novel “Donovan’s Brain” (praised by no less than Stephen King in his book “Danse Macabre”) was made in 1944 as THE LADY AND THE MONSTER and then remade yet again in 1962 as THE BRAIN, it is the eponymous 1953 version that did it the most justice. As luck would have it, the folks at Kino Lorber have put out a crisp, magnificent-looking transfer of the classic on Blu-ray, and we got the chance to give it a look-see.
The film focuses on the benevolent-but-boundary-pushing Dr. Patrick Cory (Lew Ayres) as he, his wife Janice (Nancy Davis) and his alcoholic best buddy Dr. Frank Schratt (Gene Evans) use the death of businessman William Donovan as a chance to experiment with science to keep a human brain alive. Unfortunately they bet on the wrong horse, as Donovan’s ruthlessness in life comes to play in death as a he slowly takes over Cory’s body using the power of ESP emanating from his brain floating in a tank of water.
Although this is a total mad scientist run amok scenario, the thing that sets it apart from others of its ilk – your Frankensteins and whatnot – is how darn likable Ayres’ portrayal is. You believe in the benefit of what he’s trying to pull off, however unethical it may seem, and you feel genuine sorrow as every kindly instinct he embodies is swept aside by Donovan’s sociopathic personality.
Star Lew Ayres made his name in a series of “Dr. Kildare movies in the 30’s and 40’s, although readers of this site would recognize him more readily as the English teacher in Tobe Hooper’s SALEM’S LOT, or as armory chief Mandemus in BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES. His performance in DONOVAN’S BRAIN is the stuff every actor dreams of, getting to embody all facets of the emotional spectrum, playing both flawed good guy and self-interested bad guy all in one.
Of course the big story here is Davis, who later became better known as First Lady Nancy Reagan. Her recent passing makes this an opportune time to revisit one of her signature roles, although viewer beware that 1950’s sexism is in full effect here, with Davis at one point literally having her concerns swept aside to go make some sandwiches.
Parodied memorably by Steve Martin in THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS, director Felix E. Feist’s DONOVAN’S BRAIN is a better-than-average programmer that is often overlooked in the great scheme of the era’s other B-pictures. It’s more than just “that movie with Nancy Reagan,” and is worth a viewing in its pristine new form.
Special Features
While not an overstuffed plate of extras, Kino has provided a really terrific commentary by film historian Richard Harland Smith, who clearly did his homework while at the same time making it a fun listen. Smith not only provides a rich plethora of biographical info on both the actors and the filmmakers, he also gives lots of details on the set design and other behind-the-scenes details, including a director switch with original writer Curt Siodmak being given the heave-ho for incompetence. Most importantly, Smith puts all this information in a historical context, for example mentioning the irony of Ayres appearing in a movie with Davis, as Ronald Reagan’s previous wife Jane Wyman had left him for a short-lived affair with Ayres. Juicy stuff!
On the disc you’ll also find the original trailer as well as a version via “Trailers From Hell” with a cool commentary by Joe Dante, which you can also view below.
