Brainstorm (1965)

Scientist Jim Grayam saves his boss' wife from suicide but falls in-love with her and plots to kill her husband by pretending to be criminally insane.

Director:

William Conrad

Writers:

Mann Rubin (screenplay), Lawrence B. Marcus (story) (as Larry Marcus)

Stars:

Jeffrey Hunter, Dana Andrews, Anne Francis

Cast

Cast overview:
Jeffrey Hunter	...	Jim Grayam (as Jeff Hunter)
Anne Francis	...	Lorrie Benson
Dana Andrews	...	Cort Benson
Viveca Lindfors	...	Dr. Elizabeth Larstadt
Stacy Harris	...	Josh Reynolds
Kathie Browne	...	Angie DeWitt (as Kathie Brown)
Phillip Pine	...	Dr. Ames
Michael Pate	...	Dr. Mills
Robert McQueeney	...	Sgt. Dawes
Strother Martin	...	Mr. Clyde
Joan Swift	...	Clara
George Pelling	...	Butler
Victoria Paige Meyerink	...	Julie Benson (as Victoria Meyerink)
Stephen Roberts	...	Judge
Pat Cardi	...	Bobby

Storyline

A young scientist saves an attractive married woman from a suicide attempt, becomes romantically involved with her, plots to kill her husband, and then fakes insanity to escape the murder charge.

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Plot Keywords:

suicide attempt | scientist | murder | insanity | neo noir | 

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Taglines:

The Most Fiendish Idea Ever Conceived By The Human Brain!

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 May 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das teuflische Spiel

Filming Locations:

VA Hospital - 11301 Wilshire Blvd., Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

William Conrad Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There are several connections with the cast and crew: Dana Andrews and Jeffrey Hunter appeared in The Frogman together, in 1951... Hunter played Andrews' character in Lure Of The Wilderness, which was a remake of Swamp Water... Dana Andrews and Anne Francis had worked together twice: In The Crowded Sky (as pilot and flight attendant) and The Satan Bug (as father and daughter)... Jeffrey Hunter was directed by William Conrad in The Man From Galveston... And Viveca Lindfors played Pilot's wife in King of Kings, where Hunter played Jesus Christ.

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Goofs

When Dr. Larstadt is looking at the x-rays of what is supposedly Grayam's skull, the films are clearly not all of the same person. Note the different dental work in the last two images, for example.

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Connections

Featured in Trailer Trauma 2: Drive-In Monsterama (2016)

User Reviews

Underrated psycho-thriller directed by William Conrad

Like Raymond Burr, William Conrad started out in late-40s film noir as (no surprise) a heavy, and also ended up in series television ("Cannon"). But he also produced and directed both TV and some movies. His Brainstorm arrived in 1965, smack in the transition period from big old films made in the style of the studios to the newer kinds of filmmaking in the 1970s renaissance. It's an offbeat but interesting movie. The first third recalls Max Ophuls' Caught, the middle Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity, and conclusion Samuel Fuller's Shock Corridor. Jeff Hunter is a computer whiz working in some top-secret aerospace concern run by sinister mogul Dana Andrews. One night Hunter finds a car stalled on a railroad track with a woman (Anne Francis) passed out inside. He rescues her, and she turns out to be Andrews' wife, who was making a suicide attempt. Major complications ensue, with romantic involvement leading to attempts to "gaslight" Hunter which in turn engender a plot to murder Andrews. Viveca Lindfors turns up as an enigmatic psychoanalyst in this roiling plot that, in the spirit of the 60s, poses the question, "Is insanity contagious?"