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Warner Brothers

Jim Grayam (Jeffrey Hunter, a year prior to his turn in Star Trek’s 1st failed pilot) discovers Lorrie Benson (Anne Francis) passed out in her car stopped dangerously on a railroad crossing. Jim moves the car second ahead of a speeding train and returns Lorrie to her home and her possessive and domineering husband millionaire Cort Benson (Dana Andrews). Eschewing any monetary reward Jim is pulled back into Lorrie’s orbit when she insists on his attendance at a party while her husband is away. Jim and Lorrie begin a torrid affair. (Tastefully off screen as the production while weakened still ruled in 1965.) Benson learning of the affair, deploys his wealth and contacts to destroy Jim’s life and the couple begin to plot their escape with the murder of her husband.

Directed by William Conrad who is best known as an actor, Brainstorm is a tight and fairly entertaining late film noir. There is enough flair in the presentation that make one regret that Conrad’s turned more to performance and less towards direction. Somewhat hampered by the jazz score, as many lesser budgeted films of this period were, the movie still is bolstered by fine performances and reveals that organically develop from the noir plotting.

Anne Francis is quite convincing as Lorrie the trapped spouse of an emotionally abusive man. Her character is not the conniving plotted femme fetal of film noir but rather a sympathetic and terrified woman desperate for escape, but ultimately too broken to stand on her own.

Jeffrey Hunter threw himself into the part of Jim Grayam. Skilled at portraying deeply internal characters here Hunter not only employs those talents but in the film’s third act get to let loose and devour the scenery with deliberately overly expansive performance.

Dana Andrews turns in a perfectly acceptable performance, but his character is one there to drive the plot and as such is the least developed of the core three.

Sam Leavitt’s cinematography is not particularly atmospheric nor is it overly pedestrian but rather balances neatly between the two.

Brainstorm is part of the Criterion Channel’s Hollywood Crack-up collection, a compilation of films dealing with madness and mental manipulation. Before this set appeared on the channel I had never heard of Brainstorm (1965) but I do not regret the one and three-quarters hours I spent Sunday evening watching this piece of cinema.

Brainstorm is currently streaming on The Criterioon Channel.