They Saved Hitler's Brain, The Evil Twerp Returns

Ira Levin's "The Boys from Brazil" is my favorite horror yarn that dramatizes the return of Adolph Hitler.  This blog has delved into this theme too with my 2014 review of Nazis at the Center of the Earth . Anything Hitler is easy fodder for horror stories.  The civilized world has found it therapeutic to not only defeat this murderous thug, but also humiliate him in film.  Most recently, Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" did this in a very brutal re-telling of the end of World War 2. Today we examine 1968's "They Saved Hitler's Brain."

Our feature today runs 92 minutes.  This is significant because the portion of the film we are interested in runs only an hour.  In the early 60s, a neat film called "Madmen of Mandoras" told the story of Nazis fleeing to South America with Hitler's head to resurrect the Third Reich.  To fit this film in a two hour block on TV, portions of a dull 1970s film were added to the beginning of 'Madmen' and the film was re-titled "They Saved Hitler's Brain."  Ignoring the first 30 minutes of this epic, we begin when Phil (Walter Stocker) and his wife, the beautiful Kathy (Audrey Caire) arrive in Mandoras to find a kidnapped chemist and his daughter.  Once there they are harassed and abducted by German Nazis, who have taken over the country.

After Phil and Kathy are grabbed they are brought to the presidential palace, turned Nazi lab.  At this lab, Hitler's head, in a glass jar, barks out orders, yells a lot, and begins a plan for Mandoras to conquer the world with poison gas bombs.  Phil and Kathy must escape and foil this plan before the gas bombs are released on all major cities.  Fortunately for our very cute couple, the police chief of Mandoras (Nestor Paiva) emerges as an ally.  As the Nazis start murdering anyone in their way, our trio of good guys springs into action.  No spoilers here, but if you, like me, detest Hitler, the ending will warm your heart...even more than the aforementioned Tarantino film.

Cheesy and campy, "They Saved Hitler's Brain" is still a fun B movie. Major pieces of the plot were utilized in "Nazis at the Center of the Earth." Damsels in much distress, handsome hunks barely able to help them, and blonde blue-eyed villains that are easy to hate are the strengths of this film.  For pure fun with a bit of horror and science fiction, see "They Saved Hitler's Brain."