Au bord du gouffre

Original title: The Mind Benders

1963
1h 49m

IMDb RATING

6.4/10

981

YOUR RATING

Dirk Bogarde in Au bord du gouffre (1963)

Dedicated British scientist Dr. Henry Laidlaw Longman (Sir Dirk Bogarde) tests the possibility of brainwashing. If the experiment succeeds, he will stop loving his wife Oonagh (Mary Ure).

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Dedicated British scientist Dr. Henry Laidlaw Longman (Sir Dirk Bogarde) tests the possibility of brainwashing. If the experiment succeeds, he will stop loving his wife Oonagh (Mary Ure).Dedicated British scientist Dr. Henry Laidlaw Longman (Sir Dirk Bogarde) tests the possibility of brainwashing. If the experiment succeeds, he will stop loving his wife Oonagh (Mary Ure).Dedicated British scientist Dr. Henry Laidlaw Longman (Sir Dirk Bogarde) tests the possibility of brainwashing. If the experiment succeeds, he will stop loving his wife Oonagh (Mary Ure).

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.4/10

981

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Rowing Coach
(uncredited)

Grace Arnold

Train Passenger
(uncredited)

Timothy Beaton

Paul Longman
(uncredited)

Elizabeth Counsell

Girl Student on Station
(uncredited)

Roger Delgado

Dr. Jean Bonvoulois
(uncredited)

Geoffrey Denton

Train Guard
(uncredited)

Ashik Devello

2nd Indian Student
(uncredited)

Ian Dewar

Crowd Ringleader
(uncredited)

Terence Edmond

1st Student at Party
(uncredited)

Director
- Basil Dearden
Writer
- James Kennaway
All cast & crew
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9:57

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Is the inspiration for the name of the British band Wayne Fontana and The Mindbenders.

Goofs
Early on in the film a scientist commits suicide by jumping off a moving train. According to the direction of the train, he jumps out on the right hand side. However, when the train is stopped and people disembark and go down the line to check on him, they are getting out of the train on the left hand side.

Quotes
Annabella: And I have every limb and organ that a girl should have, except one. I no longer have a shoulder to weep on. A Polish gentleman wore it away with his tears.

Crazy credits
This story was suggested by experiments on "THE REDUCTION OF SENSATION" recently carried out by certain Universities in the United States. The producers whilst making this acknowledgment wish to state, however the the events & characters portrayed are fictitious. Any similarity to actual events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Connections
Featured in Trailer Cinema (1992)

User reviews25

Featured review

6/10

another strange Bogarde film

Dirk Bogarde can be described as a great actor who was never in a classic film. Popular films, like the Doctor series, certainly; good films like The Tale of Two Cities; excellent films like The Servant; fascinating, discussed films like Death in Venice and The Night Porter. But classic films like Casablanca - maybe Darling comes closest, and that's not even his movie.

"The Mind Benders" is another Bogarde film on the bizarre side. When an elderly scientist is suspected of treason, an investigator endeavors to find out whether his experiments in isolation made him do something - betray his government - that he ordinarily wouldn't have done. One of his coworkers (Bogarde) agrees to go into the isolation tank; when he emerges, he is told things about his wife that, if he believes them, will threaten his seemingly happy marriage.

The film holds one's interest; with his science fiction bent, it has the distinctive '60s stamp on it.

Mary Ure plays Bogarde's wife. The acting is good, with the usual fine performance from Bogarde, a man who, once he got away from Rank, was attracted to unusual roles and unusual films. This isn't as wild as it gets for Bogarde. It's not great, but it's not bad either.