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.
The movie is about Dr. Bill Cortner (Jason Evers), who 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.
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Directed by Joseph Green, produced by Rex Carlton and Mort Landberg, written by Rex Carlton and Joseph Green, starring Jason Evers, Virginia Leith and Eddie Carmel.
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Source: “The Brain That Wouldn’t Die” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.. 25 October 2016. Web. 22 November 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brain_That_Wouldn%27t_Die .
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Ah, good ol' Jan-in-the-pan.
If you ever visit North Carolina and find yourself on US 29 North outside of Greensboro Longtime fans of the movie may find the steps outside the welcome to NC center at the state line of interest. They are the same steps Dr. Cortner runs up carrying the bundle supposedly containing his fiance's head
It was either still under construction or just finished when the film was shooting. Used to know where the crossroad was they drive through just before the crash but a lot of the roads in the area have been rerouted, closed, widened, or otherwise changed since so I'm no longer sure where it is
11/21/16: OFF from work today. Just got back home from Thanksgiving grocery shopping and cooking dinner ( not my Thanksgiving meal ) for my family. Well, while waiting for my food to finish, I sit here at the kitchen table to watch your movie on my IPad. Thanx for sharing. Alohaaa from Hawaii. A Happy Thanksgiving Day to all. Don't forget to thank GOD for all HIS blessings especially for HIS SON, JESUS CHRIST and HIS wonderful sacrifice. THANK YOU, GOD, how wonderful & awesome YOU ARE. I love JESUS🌸🌺🌼✝️
Thank you for this brilliant movie. You made my day.
I don't understand the ending. Who lives and who dies?
Well, at least she gave him a good head.