Billion Dollar Brain
Encyclopedia
Billion Dollar Brain is a 1967 British espionage film
directed by Ken Russell
and based on the novel Billion-Dollar Brain
by Len Deighton
. The film features Michael Caine
as secret agent Harry Palmer
, the anti-hero
protagonist of the film versions of The IPCRESS File
(1965) and Funeral in Berlin
(1966). The "brain" of the title is a sophisticated computer with which an ultra-right-wing organization controls its worldwide anti-Soviet spy network.
Billion Dollar Brain is the third of the Harry Palmer film series, preceded by The Ipcress File
(1965) and Funeral in Berlin
(1966). It is the only film in which Ken Russell
worked as a mainstream 'director-for-hire', and the last film to feature actress Françoise Dorléac
.
A fourth film in the series, an adaptation of Horse Under Water
, was tentatively planned but never made. However, Caine played Palmer in two later films, Bullet to Beijing
and Midnight in Saint Petersburg
.
), who has left MI-5
to work as a private investigator, is told by a mechanical voice on the phone to take a package to Helsinki
. He does not know that he is about to encounter his old acquaintance Leo Newbigen (Karl Malden
) – nor that the package contains virus-filled eggs that have been stolen from the British government's research facility at Porton Down
. Later, he is coerced into working once more for the British secret service
. He must become a member of the 'Crusade for Freedom' organisation – an ultra-right-wing
group led by maniacal oil-billionaire 'General' Midwinter (Ed Begley
) – and thwart its planned attempt at liberating Latvia
from Soviet domination, which would cause a worldwide conflict; he must also recover the stolen virus for the British.
Cast notes:
and other parts of Finland
, including Turku
. The Riga
scenes were filmed in Porvoo
. The remainder of the film was shot at Pinewood Studios
. Scenes involving "The Brain" were filmed in Honeywell
facilities and featured Honeywell 200
mini-computer.
. In order to create a relentless, harsh mood, he left out sweet-sounding instruments like violins and flutes and relied mainly on brass and percussion including three pianos
, which are featured prominently in the main theme, and later, together with the percussion, create sonorities similar to Stravinsky's Les Noces
. The score is basically monothematic, constantly varying the main theme. For more romantic moods, it features the ondes Martenot
, an early electronic instrument, played by its most prominent soloist, Jeanne Loriod
. Thus, even the tender moments have an eerie undertone.
Later on, Harry Palmer attends the end of a symphony concert, which is supposed to feature Dmitri Shostakovich
's "Leningrad" Symphony
, written in 1941 during the siege of Leningrad
. What we hear, however, is the end of Shostakovich's 11th Symphony
"The Year 1905". Yet, music from the "Leningrad" symphony is featured later on during Midwinter's speech to his soldiers in Finland and during the final battle on the ice.
Spy film
The spy film genre deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way or as a basis for fantasy . Many novels in the spy fiction genre have been adapted as films, including works by John Buchan, John Le Carré, Ian Fleming and Len Deighton...
directed by Ken Russell
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church...
and based on the novel Billion-Dollar Brain
Billion-Dollar Brain
Billion-Dollar Brain is a Cold War spy novel by Len Deighton, and the fourth protagonised by an anonymous secret agent working for the British WOOC intelligence agency. It follows The IPCRESS File , Horse Under Water , and Funeral in Berlin...
by Len Deighton
Len Deighton
Leonard Cyril Deighton is a British military historian, cookery writer, and novelist. He is perhaps most famous for his spy novel The IPCRESS File, which was made into a film starring Michael Caine....
. The film features Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
as secret agent Harry Palmer
Harry Palmer
Harry Palmer is the name of the protagonist of a number of films based on the main character from the spy novels written by Len Deighton. Michael Caine played Harry Palmer in the films based on three of the first four of the published novels featuring this character, and also later in two films not...
, the anti-hero
Anti-hero
In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...
protagonist of the film versions of The IPCRESS File
The Ipcress File
The IPCRESS File was the first spy novel by Len Deighton, published in 1962.It was made into a film in 1965 produced by Harry Saltzman and directed by Sidney J. Furie, starring Michael Caine as the protagonist....
(1965) and Funeral in Berlin
Funeral in Berlin (film)
Funeral in Berlin is a 1966 British spy film based on the novel Funeral in Berlin by Len Deighton. It is the second of three 1960s films starring Michael Caine that followed the characters from the initial film, The Ipcress File ...
(1966). The "brain" of the title is a sophisticated computer with which an ultra-right-wing organization controls its worldwide anti-Soviet spy network.
Billion Dollar Brain is the third of the Harry Palmer film series, preceded by The Ipcress File
The Ipcress File (film)
The Ipcress File is a 1965 British espionage film directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Michael Caine, Guy Doleman, and Nigel Green. The screenplay by Bill Canaway and James Doran was based on Len Deighton's 1962 novel, The IPCRESS File. It has won critical acclaim and a BAFTA award for best...
(1965) and Funeral in Berlin
Funeral in Berlin (film)
Funeral in Berlin is a 1966 British spy film based on the novel Funeral in Berlin by Len Deighton. It is the second of three 1960s films starring Michael Caine that followed the characters from the initial film, The Ipcress File ...
(1966). It is the only film in which Ken Russell
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church...
worked as a mainstream 'director-for-hire', and the last film to feature actress Françoise Dorléac
Françoise Dorléac
Françoise Dorléac was a French actress. Born in Paris, she was the daughter of screen actor Maurice Dorléac and Renée Deneuve, and was the elder sister of Catherine Deneuve. The two sisters starred together in the 1967 musical, The Young Girls of Rochefort...
.
A fourth film in the series, an adaptation of Horse Under Water
Horse Under Water
Horse Under Water is the second of Len Deighton's spy novels featuring an anonymous British agent protagonist . It was followed by Funeral in Berlin.- Background :...
, was tentatively planned but never made. However, Caine played Palmer in two later films, Bullet to Beijing
Bullet to Beijing
Bullet to Beijing is a 1995 made-for-television film that continues the adventures of the fictional spy Harry Palmer, who appeared in the 1960s films The Ipcress File, Funeral in Berlin, and Billion Dollar Brain, based on books by author Len Deighton...
and Midnight in Saint Petersburg
Midnight in Saint Petersburg
Midnight in Saint Petersburg is a 1996 thriller film starring Michael Caine for the fifth time as British secret agent Harry Palmer.It served as semi-sequel to Bullet to Beijing which had been released the year before, the two films having been shot back-to-back...
.
Plot
Harry Palmer (Michael CaineMichael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
), who has left MI-5
MI-5
MI-5 may refer to:* MI5, Security Service of the United Kingdom* MI-05, U.S. state of Michigan, 5th congressional district* Spooks, a TV series broadcast in some countries under the title MI-5* M-5 * Mil Mi-5 aka Mil V-5...
to work as a private investigator, is told by a mechanical voice on the phone to take a package to Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
. He does not know that he is about to encounter his old acquaintance Leo Newbigen (Karl Malden
Karl Malden
Karl Malden was an American actor. In a career that spanned more than seven decades, he performed in such classic films as A Streetcar Named Desire, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, On the Waterfront and One-Eyed Jacks...
) – nor that the package contains virus-filled eggs that have been stolen from the British government's research facility at Porton Down
Porton Down
Porton Down is a United Kingdom government and military science park. It is situated slightly northeast of Porton near Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. To the northwest lies the MoD Boscombe Down test range facility which is operated by QinetiQ...
. Later, he is coerced into working once more for the British secret service
Secret service
A secret service describes a government agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For instance, a country may establish a secret service which has some...
. He must become a member of the 'Crusade for Freedom' organisation – an ultra-right-wing
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
group led by maniacal oil-billionaire 'General' Midwinter (Ed Begley
Ed Begley
Edward James Begley, Sr. was an Academy Award-winning American actor.-Biography:Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Begley began his career as a Broadway and radio actor while in his teens. He appeared in the hit musical Going Up on Broadway in 1917 and in London the next year. He later acted in...
) – and thwart its planned attempt at liberating Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
from Soviet domination, which would cause a worldwide conflict; he must also recover the stolen virus for the British.
Cast
- Michael CaineMichael CaineSir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
as Harry PalmerHarry PalmerHarry Palmer is the name of the protagonist of a number of films based on the main character from the spy novels written by Len Deighton. Michael Caine played Harry Palmer in the films based on three of the first four of the published novels featuring this character, and also later in two films not... - Guy DolemanGuy DolemanGuy Doleman was a New Zealand actor.He is perhaps best known for his role as "Count Lippe" in the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball, and as "Colonel Ross" in the three film adaptations of Len Deighton's "Harry Palmer" novels, starring Michael Caine, in the 1960s...
as Colonel RossColonel RossColonel Ross is a fictional character in the Harry Palmer series of novels by Len Deighton and the film adaptations of the books where he was portrayed by New Zealand actor Guy Doleman. A senior officer in British military intelligence Ross oversees a department whose activities are similar to... - Oskar Homolka as Colonel Stok
- Karl MaldenKarl MaldenKarl Malden was an American actor. In a career that spanned more than seven decades, he performed in such classic films as A Streetcar Named Desire, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, On the Waterfront and One-Eyed Jacks...
as Leo Newbigen - Ed BegleyEd BegleyEdward James Begley, Sr. was an Academy Award-winning American actor.-Biography:Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Begley began his career as a Broadway and radio actor while in his teens. He appeared in the hit musical Going Up on Broadway in 1917 and in London the next year. He later acted in...
as 'General' Midwinter - Françoise DorléacFrançoise DorléacFrançoise Dorléac was a French actress. Born in Paris, she was the daughter of screen actor Maurice Dorléac and Renée Deneuve, and was the elder sister of Catherine Deneuve. The two sisters starred together in the 1967 musical, The Young Girls of Rochefort...
as Anya - Vladek SheybalVladek SheybalVladek Sheybal , born Władysław Sheybal, was a Polish character actor, whose career lasted from the 1950s into the 1980s. He was probably best known for his portrayal of the chess grandmaster Kronsteen in the 1963 James Bond film From Russia with Love, a role for which he had been personally...
as Doctor Eiwort
Cast notes:
- Donald SutherlandDonald SutherlandDonald McNichol Sutherland, OC is a Canadian actor with a film career spanning nearly 50 years. Some of Sutherland's more notable movie roles included offbeat warriors in such war movies as The Dirty Dozen, , MASH , and Kelly's Heroes , as well as in such popular films as Klute, Invasion of the...
has a very small appearance as the computer technician who asks Karl Malden "What's going on?"
Production
Location filming for Billion Dollar Brain took place in HelsinkiGreater Helsinki
Greater Helsinki and the smaller Helsinki Metropolitan Area or Capital Region refer to two regions of different size surrounding Helsinki, the capital of Finland...
and other parts of Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, including Turku
Turku
Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...
. The Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
scenes were filmed in Porvoo
Porvoo
Porvoo is a city and a municipality situated on the southern coast of Finland approximately east of Helsinki. Porvoo is one of the six medieval towns in Finland, first mentioned as a city in texts from 14th century...
. The remainder of the film was shot at Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
. Scenes involving "The Brain" were filmed in Honeywell
Honeywell
Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
facilities and featured Honeywell 200
Honeywell 200
The Honeywell 200 was a character-oriented two-address commercial computer introduced by Honeywell in the early 1960s, the basis of later models including 1200, 1250, 2200, 3200, 4200 and the later 2070, and the character processor of the Honeywell 8200....
mini-computer.
Soundtrack
The score is by Richard Rodney BennettRichard Rodney Bennett
Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, CBE is an English composer renowned for his film scores and his jazz performance as much as for his challenging concert works...
. In order to create a relentless, harsh mood, he left out sweet-sounding instruments like violins and flutes and relied mainly on brass and percussion including three pianos
Pianos
Pianos is a two-story bar/restaurant/live music venue in the Lower East Side section of Manhattan at 158 Ludlow Street.Its stage attracts local and national alternative rock groups as well as DJs, though a more typical performance consists of smaller name local and touring acts...
, which are featured prominently in the main theme, and later, together with the percussion, create sonorities similar to Stravinsky's Les Noces
Les Noces
Les noces by Igor Stravinsky, is a dance cantata, or ballet with vocalists.-History:The ballet was premiered on June 13, 1923 at the Théâtre de la Gaîté, by the Ballets Russes with choreography by Bronislava Nijinska...
. The score is basically monothematic, constantly varying the main theme. For more romantic moods, it features the ondes Martenot
Ondes Martenot
The ondes Martenot , also known as the ondium Martenot, Martenot and ondes musicales, is an early electronic musical instrument invented in 1928 by Maurice Martenot. The original design was similar in sound to the theremin...
, an early electronic instrument, played by its most prominent soloist, Jeanne Loriod
Jeanne Loriod
Jeanne Loriod was a French musician, regarded as the world's leading exponent of the ondes Martenot.Born in Houilles, Yvelines, she was the younger sister of Yvonne Loriod, the pianist and second wife of Olivier Messiaen. She performed all of Messiaen's works for ondes Martenot, most notably the...
. Thus, even the tender moments have an eerie undertone.
Later on, Harry Palmer attends the end of a symphony concert, which is supposed to feature Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
's "Leningrad" Symphony
Symphony No. 7 (Shostakovich)
Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 60 dedicated to the city of Leningrad was completed on 27 December 1941. In its time, the symphony was extremely popular in both Russia and the West as a symbol of resistance and defiance to Nazi totalitarianism and militarism...
, written in 1941 during the siege of Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
. What we hear, however, is the end of Shostakovich's 11th Symphony
Symphony No. 11 (Shostakovich)
The Symphony No. 11 in G minor by Dmitri Shostakovich was written in 1957 and premiered by the USSR Symphony Orchestra under Natan Rakhlin on 30 October 1957...
"The Year 1905". Yet, music from the "Leningrad" symphony is featured later on during Midwinter's speech to his soldiers in Finland and during the final battle on the ice.
Miscellany
- The film contains an homage to the ice battle in Sergei EisensteinSergei EisensteinSergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein , né Eizenshtein, was a pioneering Soviet Russian film director and film theorist, often considered to be the "Father of Montage"...
's film Alexander NevskyAlexander Nevsky (film)Alexander Nevsky is a 1938 historical drama film directed by Sergei Eisenstein, in association with Dmitri Vasilyev and a script co-written with Pyotr Pavlenko, who were assigned to ensure Eisenstein did not stray into "formalism" and to facilitate shooting on a reasonable timetable...
(1938).