THE BILLION DOLLAR BRAIN
UK, 1967, 111 minutes, Colour.
Michael Caine, Karl Malden, Ed Begley, Oskar Homolka, Francoise Dorleac, Guy Doleman, Vladek Sheybal.
Directed by Ken Russell.
The Billion Dollar Brain is the third of the Harry Palmer films, from novels by Len Deighton. Michael Caine, in one of his earliest starring roles, appeared as Harry Palmer in The Ipcress File. He followed this up with Funeral in Berlin.
Caine is still the British spy, caught up in the cold war and the various plots and counter-plots. In this film, the billion dollar brain is a super computer which is employed to overthrow communism – with agents and double agents galore. The film has an interesting supporting cast of character actors led by Karl Malden. Francoise Dorleac appears in one of her final films as she was killed in a car accident. (Francoise Dorleac was Catherine Deneuve’s sister.)
The film is similar to many which were being produced at the time, cold war stories which were very popular including The Quiller Memorandum, The Kremlin Letter.
Surprisingly in view of his later career, the film was directed by Ken Russell. Russell had made a number of documentaries in the 1950s but was famous for his documentaries about composers for the television Monitor program. They were inventive, stylish, eccentric – a different view of composers and their lives and genius. From Billion Dollar Brain he went on to make the adaptation of D.H. Lawrence’s Women in Love, with Glenda Jackson winning an Oscar for best actress. He then began his more extravagant films of the 1970s including his Tchaikovsky film, The Music Lovers, his version of John Whiting’s The Devils, followed by The Boyfriend as well as biographies of Mahler and Liszt in Lisztomania and Valentino.
1. How good a thriller was this? As a spy film of the sixties? Its particular qualities? How conventional?
2. The significance of the title, the atmosphere of the credits, the focus on the machine and mechanism? Its repercussions on human behaviour?
3. The character of Harry Palmer? Michael Caine’s style? The fact that this was the third in a series? The particular characteristics of Palmer and espionage? The contrast with James Bond style? Yet success?
4. The complications of the plot and audience interest? How real and plausible? How much an adventure?
5. The film's presentation and comment on the British, Ross and his ways of espionage, his authority over Palmer? The relationship with the Russians? The way the Russians used the British? The ironic comment on Cold War collaboration?
6. How attractive a heroine was Anya? The deadly romance with Palmer? The significance of her work as a double agent? Was she a credible double agent? Did this matter?
7. The importance of Leo and his double play, his greed? Friendship with Palmer, manipulation of Anya, the irony of his death?
8. The importance of Midwinter and his madness? The irony and satire on Texas fanatics, the nature of his fanaticism, the attack, the disaster on the ice?
9. Machines and humans? Lies, morality, war? Did the film have much insight into these?
10. The irony of the ending and the flip style? What impact do films like this have? In terms of important themes, and popular entertainment?
