The Brain

The Brain (1969)

Genres - Comedy, Crime  |   Sub-Genres - Caper, Crime Comedy  |   Release Date - Apr 4, 1969 (USA)  |   Run Time - 115 min.  |   Countries - France, Italy  |   MPAA Rating - G
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson

The Brain (Le Cerveau) is a tongue-in-cheek caper film with more twists and turns than a rural Oregon highway. David Niven plays The Brain, so named because it was he who mapped out the British Great Train Robbery (it says here). Now The Brain plans to lift a fortune in NATO money, which is being shipped by train from France to Belgium. Complicating matters are a pair of free-lance thugs (Jean-Paul Belmondo and Bourvil), who hope to steal The Brain's plans and claim the money for themselves. A plot device derived from The Lavender Hill Mob involves a 50-foot replica of the Statue of Liberty. An amusing closing-credits bit caps this exhilarating exercise.

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Themes

Keywords

crime, heist, mastermind, train [locomotive]