And the more cough medicine I drink, the more I wonder about it. Sometimes, after the little swirly angels fly out of the 30-milliliter cup, I envision exchanges like this one, between the creator of the film and a would-be exhibitor:
EXHIBITOR: Okay, first off, I love the title.
CREATOR: Yes, we think it has a lot of zip.
EXHIBITOR: There's just one thing ...
CREATOR: Mmmm?
EXHIBITOR: Well, in the script it's just a brain. I mean, they call it "Mein Fuhrer," and so forth, but, well, it could be anyone's brain.
CREATOR: You can tell right off it's evil, though.
EXHIBITOR: That's true. That's very true.
CREATOR: It swells and throbs and whatnot.
EXHIBITOR: Mmm. Yes. And that's all great. But here's the thing: How do we know it's Hitler's brain?
CREATOR: Well, the heiling and "Mein Fuhrers" and what have you ...
EXHIBITOR: Sure, sure. All good for context. But I think we want to make sure the audience, you know ... that we remove all doubt.
CREATOR: I'm not sure where you're going with this.
EXHIBITOR: Well, what if they save the whole head? I think when you put Hitler on that poster, people want to see the mustache. They want to know for sure.
CREATOR: "They Saved Hitler's Head?" I'd be a laughingstock!
EXHIBITOR: No, no. Keep the title. It has, as you say ... it has zip.
CREATOR: A lot of zip.
EXHIBITOR: A whole hell of a lot.
CREATOR: Only an idiot would see "They Saved Hitler's Brain" on the lobby card and expect to see a mustache. Brains, I hasten to remind you, are unadorned by facial hair.
EXHIBITOR: Listen, Shakespeare. I don't know much about all that, but I know what sells tickets. I'm telling you they can save Hitler's brain inside his head, for Pete's sake, and the title still applies.
CREATOR: Well, technically.
EXHIBITOR: Sure! Think about that scary Hitler head in, oh, I dunno, a jar. You got the evil jerries angle and the sci-fi angle.
CREATOR: Let me think about it.
EXHIBITOR: What's to think about? Brain on the poster, head on the screen. Mark my words: People are going to want to see that mustache.
Article comments
1 - Michael J. West
A college buddy and I used to have an exam-time tradition. Every semester during finals we would have a "Hitler's Brain Night." We'd rent two or three films, but Hitler's Brain was always the feature - not the one with the '68 footage, mind you, but the original 1963 edit.
Like a great piece of literature, we found something new in it each time - one semester it was the surf-inspired score, another it was that the city in which the film took place was called Dos Palabras ("Two Words"). Watching it became like rereading a favorite poem, one in which you were required to come up with a new "Hitler's Brain" crack every time. (There's an important distinction between Hitler and Hitler's Brain - they share many physical aspects and other traits, but in fact they are two different entities.)
Then we checked IMDb and discovered that it had the alternate title of The Amazing Mr. H. Not as good a title as They Saved Hitler's Brain, but light-years more apropos.
God, what a film. Mach schnell! Mach schnell!
2 - Baronius
Simon - Your article is a worthy homage.