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“What you see is real. What’s done is done and what I’ve done is right. It’s the work of science.” Who can argue with science, right? Join this episode’s Grue-Crew – Whitney Collazo, Chad Hunt, Joseph Perry, Jeff Mohr, and guest Sammie Cassell – as they get all sciency with The Brain that Wouldn’t Die (1962).
Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Episode 77 – The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (1962)
A doctor experimenting with transplant techniques keeps his girlfriend’s head alive when she is decapitated in a car crash, then goes hunting for a new body.
IMDb
- Director: Joseph Green
- Writers: Joseph Green (screenplay); Rex Carlton & Joseph Green (original story)
- Selected Cast
- Jason Evers as Dr. Bill Cortner
- Virginia Leith as Jan Compton
- Anthony La Penna as Kurt
- Adele Lamont as Doris Powell
- Bonnie Sharie as blonde stripper
- Paula Maurice as brunette stripper
- Marilyn Hanold as Peggy Howard
- Bruce Brighton as Dr. Cortner
- Lola Mason as Donna Williams
- Doris Brent as nurse
- Audrey Devereal as Jeannie Reynolds
- Eddie Carmel as monster
- Sammy Petrillo as Art
Your Decades of Horror Classic Era Grue-Crew find much to fault and much to love with a generous portion of cheese to top it off in The Brain That Wouldn’t Die. Filmed in 1959 and released three years later, The Brain That Wouldn’t Die must be viewed through 1959 eyes to be enjoyed. Sexist behavior, attitudes, and dialogue abound and Dr. Bill Cortner, the character with the most screen time, has a likeability factor of zero. On the other hand, the image of Virginia Leith as “Jan-in-the-Pan” is riveting and somehow extremely disturbing.
This episode’s Grue-Crew recommends The Brain That Wouldn’t Die for its iconic and disturbing imagery. As of this writing. The film is available on a Blu-ray from Scream Factory and streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era puts out a new episode every other week. In two weeks, the next episode in their very flexible schedule will be a Whitney Collazo pick, Murders in the Zoo (1932).
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To each of you from each of us, “Thank you so much for listening!”
