I've watched a head-in-a-pan movie for this project, but Donovan's Brain is my first brain-in-a-pan movie. And actually, it's in a tank, but whatever. I'm not sure if that would be an entirely different genre - they are both about mad scientists essentially playing god. But here, the brain itself is the big bad, which makes it a little less depressing than a head that is constantly asking people to kill it.
Donovan's Brain is a direct adaptation of the 1942 science fiction novel of the same name by Curt Siodmak. From what little research I've done, this seems to be the seminal "disembodied brain telepathically controls people to do its evil bidding" story - it's been directly adapted onto film two other times (1944's Lady and the Monster and 1962's The Brain). But it's been used as a concept in countless other sci-fi/horror films since.
Also, I just had to look up "seminal" to make sure it means what I thought it meant. It does. But it's odd that the one meaning is so far removed from the other.
Donovan's Brain is about a scientist named Patrick Cory, who is in the midst of research on keeping brains alive independent of their bodies. Things actually start out rather ominously, as he and his wife Janice (Nancy Regan! nee Davis) are driving in their car while a monkey cries out from its kennel in the back seat. He asks her "You're not going to be friends with this one too, are you?" Poor monkey. Anyways, along with his assistant Frank Schatt (Gene Evans), he manages to take the brain out of the monkey but keep it alive in a fish tank - it's pretty much just a brain floating in some fluid with wires attached to it. But they can see (because science) that there is some activity going on there.
Anyways, in the middle of his experiment, Dr. Cory gets an emergency phone call. There has been a plane crash out in their neck of the woods, and he is the nearest doctor. He goes to the scene of the accident, and finds several people already dead, although one man (Mr. Donovan) is still alive - but barely. There is no time to get him to the hospital, so they rush him to Cory's house. It turns out Donovan is a millionaire - Cory will be set for life if he can manage to keep him alive. Unfortunately, it's all for naught, as Donovan dies in Dr. Cory's office. But Cory gets a jolt of inspiration - what if they can keep his brain alive? The man's body is already dead, so why not see if they can take his brain out - at the very least, it will be good for science. Despite Frank and Janice's objections, Cory successfully removes the brain and keeps it alive.
Cory is excited, and realizes that he may be able to communicate telepathically with the titular brain. Unfortunately, it turns out to be a bad idea. Donovan was a real dick when he was alive, and before he knows it, Cory is out unconsciously helping Donovan with his unfinished business. Will Donovan's brain completely take over? Will there even be any Dr. Cory left? Tune in to find out!
Donovan's Brain is really old school - the mad scientist lab, plain direction, and earnest acting really date it. And since the concept has been done so often before it feels a like a bit of a rehash - you kind of know what's coming. But it still manages to be pretty enjoyable. Sure, you've maybe seen it all before, but here it feels like you're really getting it from the source. So while it's never really scary and relatively predictable, it's noteworthy in a historical context. And honestly, it's hard for me not to get into a movie that features several minutes of footage of a fake brain shaking in a tank.
The horror elements of the film are pretty much in line with what you'd expect from a 50s film. Hardly anything violent ever happens onscreen, and what does is obviously stock footage. There aren't many deaths in the film, and honestly the scariest thing (conceptually speaking) is Dr. Cory losing his free will. But he never does anything *really* bad, unless you count screwing the IRS as *really* bad. The effects of Donovan's brain itself are pretty well done. I always like a nice laboratory setting, and the afore mentioned shots of the shaking brain in a tank are pretty cool. (It made me laugh that no one would think it noteworthy that the brain had essentially doubled in size at times, but whatever.)
The acting is pretty good in Donovan's Brain. I mean, yeah, it's a kind of silly story, but it's interesting to see a story told like this where people are still presenting it in a serious fashion. (I'd be curious to know exactly what year "camp" was born - but that's a discussion for a later time.) Lew Ayres stands out as being solid as Dr. Cory. While the affectations that he takes on as Donovan's brain takes over are not subtle in the least, Ayres integrates them into his performance well. His mannerisms often change and give you a good idea of just who is in charge. (And I think subtlety just wasn't a goal in 50s horror films.) Nancy Reagan is good as his concerned wife, and Gene Evans is really fun as Dr. Cory's assistant (his demeanor reminded me a bit of Charles Grodin, which I think is a good thing?).
Overall, Donovan's Brain is a fun film. It's certainly not essential by any means, but if you are looking for a good example of semi-serious but still kind of corny 50s horror, I think this would be as good of a place to start as any. I mean, it's a 50s black and white film about a telepathic brain in a tank. Your reaction to that sentence should be all you need to know.
I would recommend this film.
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