Billion Dollar Brain (1967)

A former British spy stumbles into in a plot to overthrow Communism with the help of a supercomputer. But who is working for whom?

Director:

Ken Russell

Writers:

Len Deighton (novel), John McGrath (screenplay)

Stars:

Michael Caine, Karl Malden, Ed Begley

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Caine	...	Harry Palmer
Karl Malden	...	Leo Newbigen
Ed Begley	...	Gen. Midwinter
Oskar Homolka	...	Col. Stok (as Oscar Homolka)
Françoise Dorléac	...	Anya (as Francoise Dorleac)
Guy Doleman	...	Col. Ross
Vladek Sheybal	...	Dr. Eiwort
Milo Sperber	...	Basil
Janos Kurutz	...	Latvian Gangster
Alexei Jawdokimov	...	Latvian Gangster
Paul Tamarin	...	Latvian Gangster
Iza Teller	...	Latvian Gangster
Mark Elwes	...	Birkenshaw
Stanley Caine	...	G.P.O. Special Delivery Boy
Gregg Palmer	...	1st Dutch Businessman

Storyline

Harry Palmer has left the British Secret Service and become a private detective. One of his first assignments is to deliver an apparently innocent thermos flask to an old friend in Helsinki, Palmer is suspicious of the flask contents and begins to doubt the motives of his friend and those of his boss a Texan billionaire.

---

Plot Keywords:

british | harry palmer | spy | private detective | soviet union | 

---

Taglines:

Pow . . . Power . . . Brainpower

---

Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Thriller

---

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 December 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

A milliárd dolláros agy

Filming Locations:

Senaatintori, Helsinki, Finland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jovera S.A., Lowndes Productions Limited

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (as De Luxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the third Harry Palmer film, after The Ipcress File and Funeral in Berlin. Michael Caine had originally signed a five-picture deal, but when he was reluctant to return to the role, producer Harry Saltzman let him out of the contract. Much later, though, he did make two more Harry Palmer films: Bullet to Beijing and Midnight in Saint Petersburg.

---

Goofs

At the end soldiers fall in to the sea and quickly sink. However bodies dead or other wise, even carrying heavy rifles, will float in the especially cold, salty dense sea.

---

Quotes

Leo Newbigen: [Nude in the sauna with Anya] Harry hey, what do you think, huh? Isn't she something?
Harry Palmer: Yeah, she's great. How's the wife and kids, Leo?

---

Connections

Featured in Caine Below Zero (1967)

---

Soundtracks

"Fashion Bazaar"
(uncredited)
Music by Stuart Crombie
Bosworth Music Ltd

User Reviews

Not great, but with some points of interest.

When ex-agent Harry Palmer recieves a mysterious request to deliver a flask to Finland in return for a fee, Col. Ross forcibly re-employs him with British Intelligence. Palmer is ordered to proceed to Finland with the flask (which contains deadly nerve gas), in an attempt to infiltrate the organisation of Texan oil billionaire Gen. Midwinter, who is believed to be behind an anti-Soviet plot of some kind.

The third and final of the Harry Palmer films (if you don't count the two woeful straight to cable efforts of the mid-nineties) is generally considered to be the weakest. The strength of both 'The Ipcress File' and 'Funeral In Berlin' was that they were the complete antithesis of the Bond films, portraying the spying game as mundane, shadowy and unglamorous. However, with 'Billion Dollar Brain' maverick director Ken Russell presents the audience with an outlandish plot and large futuristic sets, which seem at odds with the style of its predecessors. The result is that the film appears to be aping Bond, and as such the character of Palmer is less effective.

Despite these shortcomings there are pleasures to be had. Michael Caine once again displays wit and charm as Palmer, Guy Doleman is his usual droll self as Ross and Oskar Homolka makes a very welcome return as Col. Stok. Ed Begley gives his all as the lunatic Midwinter, Karl Malden provides reliable support as an old aquaintence of Palmer, and the tragic Francois Dorleac lends an exotic mystery to her character. The snowbound Finnish locations are beautifully filmed and the production design by Bond man Syd Cain is very stylish.

Ultimately the film is let down by rather wild and undisciplined direction and a cartoonish finale. It's a shame that 'Billion Dollar Brain' strayed so far from the template of the previous films, but its by no means all bad, and can be reasonably entertaining if you're in the right mood.