Brainstorm

Lots of small pleasures in this strangely compelling William Conrad-directed mid-60s noir sleeper. Among other things, the unusual cast is very game. Sci-Fi veterans Jeffrey Hunter (the first Captain of the Enterprise) and Anne Francis (the cause of Walter Pidgeon's "Monsters of the Id" from FORBIDDEN PLANET) team up in this effort to hoodwink the system by having Hunter feign insanity. Hunter, whose tragic life seems to mirror his desperate character here, is impressive in a demanding role requiring more emoting than he generally showed in his more typically laconic choices. Hammer veteran Viveca Lindfors is particularly effective in the analyst role, appearing to be sympathetic and caring but really only doing her own cold-blooded job. Cast is rounded out by noir vet Dana Andrews. It's a shame Conrad didn't really pursue directing much after this effort; the clever little script takes a different approach to psychotherapy and insanity which is well-suited to the low budget Conrad had to work with. The music, cinematography and fashions are all pure mid-60s, a compliment to a bygone era full of excesses but also occasionally blessed with productive experimentation. I would count this movie as one of the productive attempts, particularly worthy of your time if you're a noir or Star Trek Classic fan. Not a masterpiece, but certainly worthy of the cult status it has attained over the years. 8/10

This was a pleasant surprise! I went into the movie expecting standard noir, which I enjoy greatly, and it started thus. I was delighted by the multitudes of appearances of old generation stars, as well as many who were just starting their careers. The two leads, Francis and Hunter, are excellent. And then the story starts spinning off into unexpected directions, creating a film which seems much more '70s than '60s. I quite enjoyed this!

What I found most interesting about this movie was the idea of Jeffrey Hunter's character feigning insanity. I wondered was he really faking or just deluded? Because, the idea of pretending to be insane to the nth degree sounds, well, insane. I thought the movie was well cast. However, Jeffrey Hunter steels every scene he is in as he seemed to revel in this role. It was good to see Jeffrey Hunter in a role he could sink his teeth into. He did a good job in communicating his desperation. It would have been nice to see him in more character roles. If you want to see Jeffrey Hunter in a role that is out of character then this is a movie worth checking out.

By the time "Brainstorm" was made, both Jeffrey Hunter and Dana Andrews had descended into B films. "Brainstorm" was one of them, costarring '50s starlet Anne Francis.

Directed by William Conrad, it's actually a good movie about an engineer who falls in love with the unhappy wife of a wealthy man (Andrews) and concocts a scheme to kill him and get away with it by faking insanity.

Hunter is very good in this dramatic role - he was a far better actor than some of his contemporaries but due to his personal demons, he never fulfilled his early promise. It's a shame because he played this kind of angry, edgy role very well, belying his staggering good looks. He gets good support from Andrews, Francis, and Viveca Lindfors, who plays a psychiatrist.

There is one scene that may be unintentionally funny - when Hunter is in the asylum, one of the inmates starts singing the beginning of a song over and over again. Hunter finally screams, "Either finish that song or SHUT UP!" Brainstorm is worth a watch, especially to see Hunter do a role deserving of his abilities, and one he no longer had an opportunity to play in A films.

Scientist Jim Grayam (Jeffrey Hunter) from Benson Industrias Research saves his chief's spouse (Anne Francis) from suicide but falls in love with her and schemes to kill her husband (Dana Andrews) by pretending to be criminally crazy. As he contacts a psychologist (Viveca Lindfords) from a State Mental Hospital to consider him insane .And then fakes insanity to escape the killing charge. The Most Fiendish Idea Ever Conceived By The Human Brain! .May Scare You Out of Your Mind!

A nice thriller with several surprises ,twists and turns. A simple and plain premise becomes more and more confuse and twisted when starring plots to kill a husband and becomes romantically involved with the wife . Being well-paced by actor/producer/filmmaker William Conrad in the decade he produced and directed several films for Warner Brothers . Fine interpretation from duo protagonists , the attractive Jeffrey Hunter who had an uneven career and died early and co-starring is the always gorgeous Anne Francis , along with the ordinarily effective Dana Andrews as the revenger hubby. And a lot of notorious secondaries , such as : Strother Martin ,Stacy Harris , Kathie Browne , Michael Pate , and look for Richard Kiel , Steve Ihnat , John Mitchum , and William Conrad himself as a mental patient.

This Brainstorm 1965 packs an adequate cinematography in black and whilte by Sam Leavitt who along with John Alton , Nicolas Musuruka and John Seitz were the best cameramen of the Noir Cinema . As well as atmospheric and thrilling musical score by George Duning . The motion picture was competently produced/directed by William Conrad . At the beginning his prosperous career he worked successfully in the Radio . Since his corpulence effectively precluded playing strapping roles like Matt Dillon in broadcasting , subsequently playing character parts in Big screen as Body and Soul , Sorry, Wrong Number, The Racket , Naked Jungle , among others . Bill began to concentrate on directing and producing by the early 1960's. This, ironically, included episodes of "Gunsmoke". In 1963 he contributed to saving 77 Sunset Strip (1958) for yet another season.. In 1971 he returned to acting and became the unlikely star of the Quinn Martin production Cannon (1971), for which he is chiefly remembered. Bill imbued the tough-talking, no-nonsense character of Frank Cannon with enough humanity and wit to make the series compelling but, despite the show's popularity, he made his views clear in a 1976 Times interview that he found himself poorly served by the scripts he had been given. A planned sequel, The Return of Frank Cannon (1980) failed to get beyond the movie-length pilot, but the actor's popularity resulted in another starring role in Jake and the Fatman (1987) as District Attorney McCabe, co-starring with Joe Penny and a brief run as eccentric Nero Wolfe (1981). A self-effacing man with a good sense of humor and never afraid to speak his mind, Bill Conrad died of heart failure in February 1994. He was elected to the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame and (posthumously) to the Radio Hall of Fame in 1997.