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Getting that awful joke out of the way, let me explain.

This film exists in two forms. THEY SAVED HITLER'S BRAIN is the much worse of the two. Avoid at all costs.

But, MADMEN OF MANDORAS is a hilarious little sci-fi/exploitation B-movie, well worth your time. Please see my more extensive review under that title.

The film was released as MADMEN OF MANDORAS in 1963 and did play in theaters. Posters and lobby cards were made. It probably played in drive-in theaters and ratty city grindhouses on the bottom of double bills.

Around 1972, additional footage was added and the movie released again (probably to television) as THEY SAVED HITLER'S BRAIN. I guess to sell it to TV the movie needed to be a little longer. What a mess. The two different groups of footage do NOT mesh together at all.

But MADMEN OF MANDORAS, recently released by BCI in their Starlite Drive-In Theater series of DVDs, (from the original negative!) is worth getting for fans of schlocky 60's grade-Z trash. Sure, the plot is insane, the film is loaded with every cliché about Latin America that ever came out of Poverty Row Hollywood, and the Hitler head in a jar (not just brain, entire head; it actually even speaks and yells a little) isn't even remotely scary, it's just hilarious.

Fans of Ed Wood films and similar low budget trash will be in heaven here with the stilted dialog, mind-boggling plot machinations and perfunctory grade-B acting, with plenty of phony Spanish accents. MADMEN OF MANDORAS sits on my shelf with pride, right alongside Plan Nine, Robot Monster and Mesa of Lost Women. Quaff a few adult beverages, and enjoy.

They Saved Hitler's Brain: One Star

Madmen of Mandoras: Nine Stars! Get it!

I am a B Movie Whore. I get perverse pleasure out of really bad movies. Plus, you can learn a lot about movie making by observing other people's mistakes. Some of my favorite Bad movies include "Teenage Zombies", "Plan 9", "The Beast of Yucca Flats" and "Shriek of the Mutilated".

But nothing prepared me for "They Saved Hitler's Brain". This is a disjointed mess, with mismatching scenes (which were filmed over 10 years apart) laughable special effects and abysmal acting.

This movie was originally made in the 1950s and then some acting students purchased it and added some new scenes. But the students forget to dress as if they were in the fifties. Consequently, there are sixites hairstyles and cars in one scene, and then fifties styles and cars in another. Totally bizarre.

The special effects look as if they were created by 8 year olds for a 3rd grade school play. The scenes with Hitler's head in a glass tube are unforgettably absurd. The plot lacks any sort of coherence.

Now, some bad movies are fun to watch because you can laugh at them. But this movie just makes you stare at it with your mouth open, in stunned confusion and utter disbelief.

The scenes with Hitlers Head in the jar, especially when he is riding in the front seat of his henchman's car, are so wacky and silly, that they alone are worth suffering through this mess.

But be forewarned. This one is tough to watch. So far, it is the worst movie I have ever seen.

The movie is indeed a pastiche of two separate films with separate casts, shot years apart. However, I take issue with Leonard Maltin and the others who refer to the Stanley Cortez footage (the latter part of the film) as being from the 1950s. The actors are dancing The Twist in the Dos Palabras club in one Cortez scene. The Twist became a craze in the Fall of 1960, and remained all the rage for the next couple of years. The original Madmen of Mandoras was released in 1963 (I have a 22X28 poster, complete set of lobby cards, and some stills from this flick). All this is consistent with an early '60s (probably '62 or '63) filming of the Cortez footage.

The el cheapo additional footage (the first part of the film) was probably shot sometime between 1972-1976. The "liner notes" to the Drive-In Cult Classics 2 DVD says the modification of the old Crown International Pictures for TV release began in 1972, and the first mention of "They Saved Hitler's Brain" in a TV listing was in December, 1976.

BTW, StanleyCortez was a distinguished cinematographer who was nominated for an academy award - Orson Welles' The Magnificent Ambersons; he also photographed Charles Laughton's Night of the Hunter. The professionally photographed latter part of the film compared with the totally amateurish photography in the first part of the film makes the hodgepodge all the more evident.

It seemed that towards the end of the Second World War the Nazi's not only came up with a game plan to escape from the advancing allies to a South American country named Mandoras to regroup their forces and wait until the time was right to launch their second attempt to take over the world. They had a far more deadlier and sinister plan in how to do it then the use of any Atomic or Hydrogen bomb. The Nazis dreamed up a most intriguing idea of how they can take their leader, Adolf Hitler, along with them by putting his head, well really his brain, in a sealed and vacuumed-packed jar and have it, the brain's, super intelligence direct and guide them to total victory.

You would wonder why his brain? or even his head? why not Hitler's whole body? A movie that has to be seen to be believed with footage taken from two totally different films spliced together to try to make some sense to what the story is all about. With the results of the movie starting out like a porno flick,without any sex, and ending up like a bunch of out-takes of a very bad imitation of "Mission Impossible".

We have Hitler's head popping up all over the movie like some jack-in-the-box giving orders to his Nazi henchmen and evilly smirking every time someone gets beaten, shot or killed by them.

It had to be a miracle of science that they could have Hitler's head severed from his body and not only live but be able to communicate with them and instruct them on how to conquer the entire world. All this when he was not able to do so when he was still in one piece during the war before he was smuggled out of Germany by them. Did somehow by him becoming bodiless make Hitler smarter?

The plot also revolves around something called G-gas being released into the air and thus making it possible for the Nazi's hair brain plan of world domination to become a reality. Theirs only one hitch to their evil scheme, they have to stop a US scientist who's working on an antidote to the G-gas that would short-circuit their entire operation.

You know what, that after all these years since the release of "They Saved Hitler's Brain' I can't for the life of me see why Hollywood hasn't made a sequel.

I don't think this movie is as bad as a lot of people seem to think. It actually has a little bit of charm all its own. Of course,you see that I said "a little bit". But it was enough to keep me interested to watch the entire film. It was a blast from the past. The clothes,the cars,the gun play,the black and white grainy film,and the bad acting! It is a genre that is long since gone with the wind. And the extra footage was a real riot!! Night scenes shot(I mean filmed)in broad daylight reminded me of another flick in this genre,"Plan 9 From Outer Space". You might say that "...Hitler's Brain" is so bad that it's good. Then again,you might not. I plan on watching this movie several more times and savor all the crazy antics again and again. It is no "Indiana Jones" but it may just provide a laugh or two on a dark winters night with the wind howling outside your door. Turn the lights down low,lock your doors and windows,and pop the movie in your DVD. You'll laugh,you'll cry,and you'll kiss 92 minutes good-by!!!

I assume everyone knows that They Saved Hitler's Brain is basically two bad movies crushed together as one. The first 20-30 minutes were produced in the mid-sixties, and the rest was produced in the late fifties...a fact that really comes through in the production values.

I actually prefer the first half of the movie, and do have at least one good thing to say about this film...the editing in in the first half is excellent. The chase and crash footage from Thunder Road is edited in rather seemlessly...if I hadn't seen Thunder Road first, I would have never recognized it or realized it was stock footage.

Of course, all the characters introduced in the first ten minutes are dead by the halfway point, and the fifties-half of the movie begins, which actually takes you down to South America (or at least San Diego) to meet Mr. H, his goons, and his inane plan for immortality. We go from bad but moderately interesting sixties film to bad and boring fifties sci-fi/nazi movie.

I assure you, as great as a movie entitled "They Saved Hitler's Brain" sounds, it does not live up to that title. It doesn't even live up to the title "They." It's just disappointing.

The plot in general is a little difficult to follow, but as I understand it, well, they saved Hitler's brain. And given that a brain is really no good without a head, they also saved Hitler's head, and a bit of a neck. That way he could live in a big glass jar and bark orders in German.

Sure it sounds fun, but we only see Hitler Head for about 5 minutes out of the 90 total. The rest of the time winds through confusing kidnapping plots, and government scientist, and formulas, and lots of boring people who speak in unnecessary Spanish accents. I never quite understood who was the main character (They sort of shift back and forth), or who was the villain (Hitler I guess, but really his role is more of a cameo). Until they get to the wacky Nazis, it's all rather unfunny, and generally uninteresting.

The movie is poorly made, and that keeps it from being a complete snooze, but with a title like "They Saved Hitler's Brain" I really expected better. Disappointing.

Thank goodness for IMDb. It explained two very important things that were confusing me. The first 30 minutes were not originally a part of this movie and this was made for tv. That explains so much. I really wish they could have explained the giant backwards swastika too. I love that the imaginary South American country is decorated by sombreros hanging on walls. It would be like America being decorated by tukes. Only watch this if you are looking to make fun of a movie.

I honestly started watching this movie with no idea of its plot (aside from that given by the title) and expected it to be some sort of cheap B movie from the fifties requiring me to suspend all reality of biology, physics, etc. as is necessary to watch so many sci-fi B movies of that era. I normally get a kick out with those movies because everyone knows they were made just for escapist fun . This one, sadly, wasted so much time on irrelevant subplots and secret agent chases added in the late sixties, that I fell asleep before getting to the original, early sixties movie.

The part of the film made in the early sixties has some fun in it (if one can suspend all belief in science and accept the head itself) and has the really bad/silly plot, over acting, melodrama and effects that made B movies what we expect them to be. It rambles along to its 'climax' (with the head reacting to fire as no real human head ever could). The jarringly 'mod' new story (with the car chase scene that can't seem to decide if it takes place during the day or in the middle of the night) added to the beginning almost is reminiscent of the silly cheesiness of The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes - except this was intended to be serious and thus seems a little pathetic.

Overall, the final film is just bad – and not in a good way. Unless you want a good cure for insomnia, avoid this one.

Yes They Saved Hitler's Brain - along with this film. Apparently this film is actually call THE MADMEN OF MANDORAS (1963) with some extra added footage to create a TV movie in 1968 - from everything I've read on it.

The movie is, well, odd. It makes since to a degree but not completely. Maybe this is why there is a cult following for the film.

Personally I don't think this is a grand film - it's really boring in parts and interesting in other scenes. The best scene is the flashback to Hitler and his head being saved - that was done nicely. The part where we see Hitler's head is fairly neat. The rest of the film is rather bland especially for an action sci-fi film. The only real action is people talking and talking - a lot.

Sadly, this is not a really cool sci-fi spy action film like I was hoping it would be.

2/10

If you loved Eegah and Plan 9 From Outer Space you will love this movie.This film is classic "bad" as bad was meant to be. In this film there is a kidnapped scientist,a misguided businessman and hidden Nazis with a master plan.This movie also presents a female federal agent over two decades before Dana Scully on X-Files. Progressive or lousy,its your call. I gave it a 6.

"They Saved Hitler's Brain" signaled a further comedown for director David Bradley, with his previous Columbia title "12 to the Moon" in 1959 one of the more forgettable outer space sagas of that time (his early career included 16mm amateur features "Peer Gynt" and "Julius Caesar," starring his friend Charlton Heston). Shot in June-July 1962 as "The Return of Mr. H," this was clearly an overly ambitious premise with too many characters, no sense of place, and threadbare sets that only exacerbate the tedium (Crown International had to change the release title from "Maniac" to "The Madmen of Mandoras" to avoid being confused with Hammer's 1962 Michael Carreras film). Its lone positive is the camerawork of veteran Stanley Cortez ("The Magnificent Ambersons," "The Night of the Hunter"), whose effective use of light and shadow are wasted on such low budget frivolity. The fictitious South American country Mandoras is the setting for a modern day Nazi movement spearheaded by the Big Cheese himself, Adolph Hitler (Bill Freed), despite being reduced to only a cranium in a jar since his 1945 'demise.' The kidnapping of a scientist devising an antidote to a deadly nerve gas is followed by various comings and goings by family members, people getting in and out of cars, walking around to no great purpose, and a general sense of apathy as to when, or if, something might actually happen. The hero (Walter Stocker) is hardly a heroic figure, shuffled around from place to place with nary a complaint between cigarettes, while his clinging wife (top billed Audrey Caire) is hysterically useless under pressure ("with a wife like that, who needs a girlfriend!"). Her missing sister is having a wonderful time in Mandoras, oblivious to the danger which admittedly comes off as truly feeble when the climax takes place at the ubiquitous Bronson Caverns in Los Angeles, explosions heard rather than seen, dust flying in the air to represent the aftermath. The Hitler noggin at least gets a grand sendoff originally, a wax replica melting in gruesome fashion for 64 seconds to the music score of "Creature from the Black Lagoon," mercilessly chopped down to 12 seconds for the TV edit that adds 20 minutes of cheap black and white film stock depicting two totally incompetent CID agents who get themselves bumped off for their meager troubles (only then do we finally yield to the "Madmen of Mandoras" story proper, which still doesn't improve matters much). These new scenes look so much worse with shaky camerawork and atrocious dialogue, two of the actors also filming additional scenes for "Carnival of Crime" in a jungle setting that stands alone in similar fashion, dragging out an already dire viewing experience (Crown pulled the same lousy stunt with "Blood Mania," replacing eye pleasing sleaze with talking head scenes). Speaking of talking heads, the Hitler noggin hardly features in the overall product, a shame since Bill Freed's expressions are for the most part quite amusing though all too brief (at least this back seat driver has nothing to say as he travels by car for the dreary climax). The only recognizable cast members are Carlos Rivas (in a dual role as brothers) and Nestor Paiva, the rest fairly interchangeable, contributing to the general air of disinterest as its 92 interminable minutes drag to its much anticipated conclusion ("Madmen" at least a more tolerable 74 minutes).

"Is this a bad joke?!" utters a character when the plot is explained. In all fairness, I can't see how anyone would elevate this to ANY list, good or bad; mediocre but not Ed Woodian or as as bad as "Mesa of Lost Women." The oddity of the film is that some 1970's people added some footage at the beginning, which doesn't advance the plot but does highlight that the ORIGINAL, in contrast, had higher production values which viewers dismiss. Why they added more is a mystery: to finish the film? to change its politics (women's lib)? Given the fact that it was probably too expensive to replicate the "look" of the original footage, it was probably a money-making scheme. The original was on a par with other low-budget films like "Beatniks," "Teenagers from outer space", etc., with a few recognizable actors. Add to that it's intentionally funny moments (husband-wife banter, a beatnik sister, an improbable marriage at the climax) makes this NOT a topper for movie Baddom. What would have been interesting was if the amateur 1970's filmmakers had disassembled the film, like Steve Martin's "Dead men don't wear plaid" or Woody Allen's dubbed spy movie "What's up tigerlily"(surely the granddaddy of MST3K). As for the misnamed title, 2 other 'head' films also avoid using "head": "Brain that wouldn't die"(though they change the movie title at the end from brain to head) and "Thing that couldn't die." I guess "head" just doesn't sound scary. And the other complaint that 'Mr. H'(aka Hitler) doesn't say anything, well, it's not the Biography Channel; besides, what else would he say?: "Will someone PLEASE scratch my nose?!" For this invasion he's literally just a figurehead/paperweight (one of the characters alludes to this), and his head without a body aptly metaphors the Nazi totalitarian society where noone must feel anything (what would Nazis do on a Saturday night?). As Mr. H's plans backfire again, you'd think he'd learn from history: two wrongs don't make a Reich.

Definitely B, or should it be D grade sci-fi noir in the old style with an out-there ridiculous premise that audiences are bound to be curious whether it can be pulled off. and how.

A model of a trite script with corny humor that includes all the most tired, overused lines from any and all generic police flicks that have gone before, with a few implied "zieg heils" thrown in as a lazy attempt to distinguish it. There's one bright spot in the cast, seen too infrequently, a hip,contrary little sister of the principal female lead's character who wants nothing to do with all the solemnities, just a girl who wants to have fun, and she livens things for the short time she's on screen. Also fun is Hitler's head in a jar barking indistinguishably what doesn't sound like real German, then melts in the final conflagration

Amusing in the so-bad-it's good way.

In its original form, this was called THE MADMEN OF MANDORAS, but shown in the States it was retitled THEY SAVED HITLER'S BRAIN and some additional footage was added. The story is about a group of Nazis who decided to cut off Hitler's head and shove it in a pickle jar until they could later re-attach it to another body and create a 4th Reich. To show us how bad Hitler was, before cutting off his head he screamed and ranted like someone who THINKS they are talented and can pretend to speak in German. Then, inside the jar, you see a head that looks like wax and yet can somehow speak--yelling "macht schnell!" again and again. I just kept thinking to myself "if they can smuggle Hitler's head out of Germany, then WHY cut off the head--can't they just take ALL of him?!".

While this might not technically be the worst film ever made, it is very close--and totally inept throughout. However, unfortunately, it is NOT timeless like bad films like PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE because unlike PLAN 9, THEY SAVED HITLER'S BRAIN is a very dull film. You know, the sort of film that is bad but not fun to watch with friends to laugh at how bad it was. Take my advice, for a bad but fun film try PLAN 9 or TEENAGERS FROM OUTER SPACE or ATTACK OF THE KILLER SHREWS--this film is just boring and not worth your time.

Horrible acting. Horrible writing. Horrible props. Horrible storyline. Horrible effects. Horrible everything!

This is it, the one and only truly most horrible film ever produced by the human race. I'd recommend burning it, but even that would be a waste of good oxygen.

If you thought "The Brain That Wouldn't Die" was unsophisticated, you oughtta get a load o' this schlock! At least in TBTWD, there was a rudimentary rig set up that was supposed to keep the brain (and its encasing head) from deteriorating. In "They Saved Hitler's Brain" (a really snazzy title!) Der Fuhrer's neatly groomed head sits in a transparent case atop a complex-looking machine. But the case is simply detached and carried around like a hatbox--even taken on a car ride (where bare shoulders are visible). The whole film is a silly, schmalzy slow-starter in which some of the Nazis look like Mafia thugs and no more than half a dozen German words are ever spoken. The actors don't even feign an accent or attempt a Teutonic demeanor. The main (and most interesting) characters are a young "CID" agent and his tag-along wife, who exhibit more sexual passion and playfulness than most players in modern movies. Much of the action and intrigue takes place in a fictitious South American country where at least the nationals have believable accents. It's too bad the Hitler head didn't get more screen time. Although it can speak, it does so on only one occasion, filling the rest of its frames with blackly comedic shifty-eyed, twitchy, rodent-like gesticulations. For bad-movie mavens to miss this one is definitely verboten!

TV movie They Saved Hitler's Brain began life in 1963 as a 74-minute drive-in B-movie called The Madmen of Mandoras, in which Hitler's severed head, saved by Nazi madmen, plotted world domination from a small South American island. Several years later, when it came to selling the film for TV, it was decided that a longer running time was necessary: new footage was shot (on a non existent budget) and clumsily integrated into the old, a few of the original scenes were excised, and the resultant incomprehensible mess slapped with a new title. The outcome is a virtually unwatchable, sleep-inducing crap-fest that, if it wasn't for the fact that TV movies do not qualify, would sit very comfortably in IMDb's Bottom 100.

I was, however, impressed by two scenes—a car blown up by a bomb and another vehicle rolling and exploding—at least until I discovered that they were originally from a Robert Mitchum film called Thunder Road (1958).

Screw what others think - this film is completely brilliant - an indulgence of campy silly garbage that is hilarious and totally enjoyable .... i love it!

The acting and special effects in this film are so bad as to be funny. The lack of any meaningful (or at least coherent) plot is equally hysterical. I was laughing so hard in some scenes that I had trouble getting my breath. As far as a serious horror film is concerned this is disaster but as far as a comedy is concerned it is smash hit.