The Brain That Wouldn't Die



The Brain That Wouldn't Die (also known as The Head That Wouldn't Die) is a 1962 American science-fiction/horror film directed by Joseph Green and written by Green and Rex Carlton. The film was completed in 1959 under the working title The Black Door but was not released until May 3, 1962, when it was renamed. The main plot focuses upon a mad doctor who develops a means to keep human body parts alive. He must eventually use his discovery on someone close to him, and chaos ensues.

Plot
Dr. Bill Cortner (Jason Evers) saves a patient pronounced dead, but the senior surgeon, Cortner’s father (Bruce Brighton) condemns his son’s unorthodox methods and transplant theories.

While driving to his family’s country house, Cortner and his beautiful fiancée Jan Compton (Virginia Leith) get into a car accident that decapitates Jan. Cortner recovers her severed head and rushes to his country house basement laboratory. He and his crippled assistant Kurt (Leslie Daniels) revive the head in a liquid-filled tray. Jan's new existence is agony, however, and she begs Cortner to let her die. He ignores her pleas, and she grows to resent him.

Cortner decides to commit murder to obtain a body for Jan. He hunts for a suitable specimen at a burlesque nightclub, on the streets, and at a beauty contest. She begins communicating telepathically with a hideous mutant, an experiment gone wrong, locked in a laboratory cell. When Kurt leaves a hatch in the cell door unlocked, the monster grabs and tears off Kurt’s arm. Kurt dies from his injuries.

Cortner lures an old girlfriend, figure model Doris Powell (Adele Lamont), to his house, promising to study her scarred face for plastic surgery. He drugs her and carries her to the laboratory. Jan protests Cortner’s plan to transplant her head onto Doris’s body. He tapes Jan’s mouth shut.

When Cortner goes to quiet the monster, it grabs Cortner through the hatch and breaks the door from its hinges. Their struggles set the laboratory ablaze. The monster (Eddie Carmel), a seven-foot giant with a horribly deformed head, bites a chunk from Cortner’s neck. Cortner dies, and the monster carries the unconscious Doris to safety. As the lab goes up in flames, Jan says, "I told you to let me die." The screen goes black, followed by a maniacal cackle.

Cast

 * Jason Evers as Dr. Bill Cortner
 * Virginia Leith as Jan Compton
 * Leslie Daniels as Kurt
 * Adele Lamont as Doris Powell
 * Bonnie Sharie as Blonde Stripper
 * Paula Maurice as Brunet Stripper
 * Marilyn Hanold as Peggy Howard
 * Bruce Brighton as Dr. Cortner
 * Arny Freeman as Photographer
 * Fred Martin as Medical Assistant
 * Lola Mason as Donna Williams
 * Doris Brent as Nurse
 * Bruce Kerr as Beauty Contest M.C.
 * Audrey Devereal as Jeannie Reynolds
 * Eddie Carmel as Monster
 * Sammy Petrillo as Art

Production notes
The film was shot independently around Tarrytown, New York in 1959 under the working title The Black Door. The title was later changed to The Head That Wouldn't Die. Some prints of the film use both the opening title The Brain That Wouldn't Die and the closing title The Head That Wouldn't Die.

The monster in the closet is played by Eddie Carmel in his first cinematic role. Carmel was a well-known Israeli-born circus performer who worked under the name "The Jewish Giant". He was the subject of a photograph by Diane Arbus, titled "The Jewish Giant at Home with His Parents in the Bronx, NY, 1970".

The score, titled "The Web", was composed by Abe Baker and Tony Restaino and was noted for creating a sinister mood.

Release
The movie was picked up for release by AIP and released in 1962 on a double bill with Invasion of the Star Creatures. AIP cut it for theatrical release.

Home media
An uncut, 35mm print was used in the Special Edition release by Synapse Films in 2002. Running 85 minutes, this version features more of the stripper catfight, as well as some extra gore.

The Mystery Science Theater 3000 version of the film (along with the uncut version, included as a bonus feature) was released by Rhino Home Video. On November 26, 2013, Shout! Factory re-released the MST3K version as a bonus feature part of its 25th Anniversary DVD boxed set. The Cinema Insomnia version was released on DVD by Apprehensive Films. This film was the first movie watched by Mike Nelson in Mystery Science Theater 3000 (episode 513), after he replaced Joel Robinson (Joel Hodgson) on the series. Jan in the Pan is the nickname given to the female lead by the characters on the show.

In December 2015, Shout! Factory released a Blu-ray edition of the uncut film, with a high-definition transfer taken from the negative.

The Remake
The upcoming remake, The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (2016), is a satirical take on the story, utilizing both the intentional and unintentional comedic elements of the original, while bolstering the characters and plot. Directed by Derek Carl and written by Hank Huffman, the team behind the short film Bad Seed (2015) and the upcoming web series Y2K 2000 (2016), the remake proudly wears its influences on its sleeve, from the colorful gore-fest Re-Animator to the exceedingly funny The Man with Two Brains. The film will be shot in Portland, Oregon, with a local cast and crew.

Adaptations
The movie first became a stage musical in October 2009 with The Brain That Wouldn't Die: A New Musical, produced at the Overtime Theater in San Antonio, Texas. The world premiere musical comedy was a collaboration between composer Phillip Luna and writer/lyricist Jon Gillespie.

The movie also the inspired the musical stage production, ''The Brain That Wouldn't Die! In 3D!!!'' by T Sivak and E Gelman, that premiered at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in October 2011.

In 2015, Pug Bujeaud's musical theatrical production ''The HEAD! That Wouldn't Die'' was mounted in Olympia, Washington by Theater Artists Olympia. Lyrics and music were written by the ensemble cast and the TAO collective.

In popular culture

 * The film was featured on the nationally syndicated horror host televisions Cinema Insomnia. The host segments revolved around the horror host Mr. Lobo finding a suitable flower pot for his co-host and houseplant Miss Mittens.
 * A clip from the film was featured on the US version of the comedy game show Whose Line is it Anyway?, in the game "Film Dub".
 * In the 2002 video game No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy In H.A.R.M.'s Way, two guards turned into "man crates" are having a conversation. One of them quotes the movie's most famous line ("Like all quantities, horror has its ultimate, and I am that!"), and the other recognizes it and adds, "I never thought I would ever relate to Jan in the Pan."
 * Aspiring horror actresses who appeared as contestants on the VH1 series Scream Queens reenacted one of the scenes from the film. In the fourth episode of the first season, contestants reenacted the scene in which Jan voices her hatred for the doctor as part of a challenge.
 * On November 9, 2010, the band Black Cards released a music video for their song "Club Called Heaven" based on the film.
 * The film was featured in Episode 513 of Mystery Science Theater 3000.