I just bought this DVD and watched it last night. I had never seen it before. All I can say is: huh?
This definitely belongs on everyone's top 5 "worst movies of all time" list. It is an incredibly rotten, incoherent mess.
Several scenes at the beginning of the movie were obviously filmed a few years AFTER the rest of the movie (the film stock doesn't match and the hairstyles and fashions are not the same as what you see on people during the rest of the movie). This "tacked on" footage is poorly edited in among the older footage to make it seem like the actors are all part of the same story. (If you dare to call this a story).
There is a lot of boredom, bad dialogue, bad acting . . . frankly, bad EVERYTHING . . . until we find out that Nazi scientist's had removed Hitler's head (not just his brain, but his WHOLE DAMNED HEAD). The living head is encased in a glass tank (sort of like the head in THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE) on top of an electronic box with dials and switches on it (I'm not sure what the hell this box is used for, but it's there anyway). The box sits on a table under a huge swastika.
We find out that the Nazis are planning to take over the world with nerve gas and they have kidnapped an American scientist who has the formula for the antidote (I think . . . by this time, my mind was beginning to wander). The scientist's daughter and her husband show up and try to rescue the old man.
As for Hitler's head, the Nazis occasionally carry it around by attaching a handle to the top of the glass tank. Every time the Nazis do something evil, we see a close-up of the smiling head.
You might want to give this VERY BAD movie a try. But remember, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
So, does the head talk?
Jabootu has an in depth review (http://www.jabootu.com/tshb.htm) of this turkey. I haven't seen it but your comments peeked my interest so I had to investigate. According to Wikipedia the strange 70's looking footage was edited in for tv. Even that sounds strange, but there is even car crash footage from the 1958 Robert Mitchum movie Thunder Road.
Sounds like a formula for a really bad movie. I might try to catch it sometime.
Kind of wondered if this movie was the inspiration for the heads in jars on Futurama. They're very similar.
Can't figure out what the Nazis were trying to do in this movie. I mean, would it have been more difficult to sneak out the whole Hitler? Maybe just remove the brain and leave his body behind to fool people -- or better still, leave a double behind, and again, take the whole Hitler. And did they not have any intention of grafting him onto a new body, or were they just going to leave him in a jar? Gives a whole new meaning to the term "figurehead."
So, which movie is better: The Brain That Wouldn't Die, or They Saved Hitler's Brain?
THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE is very entertaining. Watching THEY SAVED HITLER'S BRAIN is about as much fun as a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
The box with the dials is essential..need that electricity to keep the brain going! Pure science right there I tell ya.
So that boring huh? Sounds like it deserves a few good laughs. Wonder why MST3K never picked it up. That's all right though, I am sure I can come up with enough smart remarks as I watch it. Thanks for the review!
Leila
oh man. throw this on one side of a disc, and "the flesh eaters" on the other side and call it the "mad nazi scientist set".
"Mach Schnell! Mach Schnell!!"
I simply love this movie -- It is so wrong on so many levels --
Nobody mentions the fact that the guy who finished the film years later simply purchased the unfinished film from the guy who started it, added his own modern footage, and then released the "incoherent mess" --
Now that's some Chutzpah!!
What a gem . . . Oh, I'm crying with joy . . .
love
denny crane/peter johnson
Why is it called "They Saved Hitler's BRAIN", if they actually saved his entire HEAD?
Very logical question. They Saved Hitler's Head,,,I like it!
Whenever I hear someone speak of this film, I think of an Angry Samoans song from back in the 80s about them saving Hitler's.......umm...smaller brain.
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:om7zefekhgf4
plan9superfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Why is it called "They Saved Hitler's BRAIN", if
> they actually saved his entire HEAD?
To make the movie more marketable. Quite a few old B-movies have titles that don't quite fit, in order to cash in on a popular fad, or to at least sound cooler. Since these were low-budget movies for teenagers, nobody really cared if it made sense. In some ways, the movie business has changed very little.
The exact same thing happened to the title of The Brain that Wouldn't Die. The Head that Wouldn't Die sounds pretty creepy, but mentioning a brain gives it a cool sci-fi sound. Actually, that title was doubly misleading, since it was not so much that the head wouldn't die, but rather that it was kept alive. Of course, The Head that was Kept Alive, doesn't sound frightening at all.
It was also released under the title MADMEN OF MANDORAS
Nothing quite like having Hitler's head be carried around in a bottle and, at times, try to make some sort of facial motion.
This movie really hurt me. I mean, most of it is that darn stupid pair (man and woman) running around and being chased by the bad guys. The plot seemed to be trying for the old serials, where the hero or heroine was an intrepid reporter or detective tracking down dangerous people. This though, was more like them looking for paint drying in the old mansion.
I remember that the DVD menu had an animated Hitler head that would jump up and yell stuff in german if you did not hit play. That turned out to be more amusing than the head in the movie. Well, there was that one time he grimaced. That was pretty funny.
Andrew - - that's the same DVD that I have - - the one with the animated Hitler head on the menu screen. It's probably the past part of the whole damned movie.
Yep that is the DVD I picked up at Netflix and as Burgomaster said it is the best part of the DVD. This is a very bad movie. Worst than KING OF THE ZOMBIES with those Nazi henchman.
Didn't "Elvira,Mistress Of The Dark"Feature It On Her TV Show In The 80's??
plan9superfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Why is it called "They Saved Hitler's BRAIN", if
> they actually saved his entire HEAD?
Well, i guess the head was kind of the bank....i mean if you save a head, what kind of intrest rate will you get...from the audience i mean...
This has MST potential, but it would take a Looooot of editing to make it palatable for a 90min show. Now, what would make a good short to show, before you present this one...."Ship of shame?", maby?