The Mind Snatchers (1972)

Directed by Bernard Girard; written by Ron Whyte (from the play by Dennis Reardon); 1972; color; 94 mins; rated PG; available on DVD; a.k.a. The Happiness Cage, and The Demon Within

Genre: Sci-fi/psychological Thriller
Actors: Joss Ackland, Ralph Meeker, Ronny Cox
Comparable Films: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Brainstorm*(also stars Walken)
Movie in a Sentence: Pugnacious misanthrope becomes an unwilling guinea-pig for a military-financed behavior modification experiment involving a button wired directly to the pleasure sensor in the brain.
Should You Watch This? Yes, Walken is magnificent in this and the rest of it is good, too.
RATING: I'll go 8 out of 10, maybe a high eight.
Walken Content: Chock full! Lotsa Walken!
Walken Quote: So Walken's girlfriend visits him in prison, and she's upset because they broke his arm and imprisoned him even though he's innocent of the charges. She's getting all worked up and he's calm as a clam, sitting there telling her she's boring him. She calls him "unhappy."
And he responds, "You remember that man we saw in Frankfurt? The mentally retarded man who just kept smiling while everyone around him was screaming? Well he was happy."


General Thoughts: Christopher Walken's first starring role. Our boy is all over this movie. Does he earn it? You bet your sweet bippy he does. He is a nihilist here, a brooding brute. He is skinny but scrappy, picking fist-fights with girls as foreplay, never once apologizing, not to anyone. He is an animal loose in the world, baring his teeth and snapping at the locals. But he's a rebel who is also in the military (good choice, fella), and they break guys like him for breakfast. Or at the very least transport guys like him to a remote clinic where they do dangerous behavior-modification-brain-experiments on him. And then they eat a healthy breakfast.

But not Walken, his mind's gonna be snatched!

The Mind Snatchers is a psychological thriller with a hint of sci-fi. It is also known as The Happiness Cage, which is its original title, and just between you and me: I like it better. Sure, 'The Mind Snatchers' is sharper, it grabs you (if you will), but it just feels like false bravado and it doesn't quite match the tone or pace of the film. 'The Happiness Cage' works as a title because it speaks to the meat of the film's concern: artificially inducing pleasure as a means of control.

Dr. Frederik is a brain-specialist, played well by Joss Ackland, whom I always think of as the bad guy in Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey; sorry Joss if that makes you wince. Here, he is no 'Mad Scientist' out for progress at any cost. He is vocally introspective, sympathetic, and struggling with the ethics of sacrifice for the greater good. He discovers a way to hardwire a button straight to the pleasure-sensor inside a brain. Bing! Like orgasm on tap. Sure, his intentions are noble (science, medicine, therapy, etc) but he just can't control his military sugar-daddy Major Bigdeal So-and-So who naturally wants to militarize the technology, and just who is gonna stop him?

Walken's character, Reese, is antagonistic and an active misanthrope, but I like him because he's funny about it, and I believe him because his integrity never bends. He is likeable in a Jim Morrison kind of way, a brilliant asshole with a stupid chip on his shoulder. Reece is a "button-pusher" (ahem), the kind of guy that is always trying to get a reaction out of people while passionately demanding to be left alone. He is college-educated, and a private in the army stationed in Germany.

When MPs break his arm trying to arrest him for allegedly beating a woman (he had heard his girlfriend's friend trashing him, so he stares her down (he's SO intense in this), and tells her flat-out, "I don't care if you're a girl, I'll punch you right in the mouth. Get up." She leaves with daggers in her eyes, but untouched) it turns out his psych profile matches what Frederik is looking for in a test-patient, so off he goes to Dr. Frederik's isolated, prison-like clinic.

Ronny Cox (you might remember him as the bad guy in both RoboCop and Total Recall) is Sgt. Buford Miles. This cowboy hat wearing, happy-go-lucky hick is Reece's roommate at the clinic, and he is a good foil for him. Miles' manner, his drawl and country-boy naivete are annoying at first, but it is played right, and it makes him endearing in a younger brother kind of way. Perhaps a slightly retarded younger brother kind of way.

The Mind Snatchers has a One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest kind of feel, though it pre-dates the film by three years (Ken Kesey wrote the novel Cuckoo's in 1962) and it definitely has a spirit of its own. It is of a darker breed, more willing to wax philosophically about these concepts they're dealing with: motivation, control, social responsibility.

Walken had called the film "a piece of garbage". But then again, he also feared that his career was over. Fortunately, he is a professional performer, not a critic. And, fortunately again, he was wrong on both counts. Though it was flawed in areas: pacing, transitions, the ending could have been stronger, and his girlfriend in the film was an awful actress. Despite these weaknesses and more, this was no garbage. This is Walken marking his territory. This is Walken taunting his enemies. This is Walken killing it. The end of his career?

No, Chris. This is just the beginning.

Me and My Brother (1968)

Directed by Robert Frank; written by Robert Frank and Sam Shepard; 1968; duration 85 mins; in color and black&white; unrated (nipples and f-bombs); available to purchase on DVD only through a Steidl book about the film; no subtitles (c'mon Steidl, dropping the ball on that one)

Genre: Experimental Art Film
Actors of Mention Other Than Chris: Allen Ginsberg playing himself
Comparable Films: Orson Welles' F is for Fake, or perhaps Woody Allen's Zelig, also Synecdoche, NY
Movie Contained in a Sentence: A film director explores themes of alienation, dissonance, identity, and familial responsibility through a story about a catatonic schizophrenic and his somewhat obnoxious poet-brother who is forced to take care of him.
Should You Watch This Film? Yes. But don't expect to have a "pleasant" time. It is clever, and thought-provoking, but it is also trying to show schizophrenia and it is more than a bit depressing, so, you know, know that going into it.
RATING: I'll give it a 7 out of 10, maaaybe an eight. Not for everybody, nor for every mood, but this film has a unique perspective and a creative voice

Don't go towards the light!

Walken Content: Not so much, about three minutes of screen-time. He plays the director of the film from within the film, as he hires an actor to take over the part of the "real" person, the brother, in the "documentary". Heavy stuff, no? Walken only gets a smattering of lines and then disappears, but the real bummer is you never hear his voice, because it is dubbed (and badly) by the real director of the film.

Walken's great big Peter-Lorre-eyes stare out from a wrinkle-less face, a baby-face. With his awful plaid jacket, and his "look-how-cool-I-smoke-a-cigarette" manner, oh, you can tell he's going places. Even with the jarring bizarro-world effect of someone else's voice coming out of Walken's mouth, you can tell his personality and charm will not be denied.

Walken Quote: There isn't much to choose from, so let me give you some context. Walken is playing the director, sitting in a darkened theater interviewing an actor to play a part, right? But the film being shown is of the actor not only already playing the part, but following Walken's suggestions. Wheels within wheels. We hear a siren go off. Then Walken says: "I like that siren. Try not to shiver. Just look straight at me and try not to shiver. You can smoke if you want. Good. Now bite the apple."

General Thoughts: Beyond even Walken's dubbing, there is a worrisome disconnect between the sound that is presented and the action taking place on the screen. Some of it is brilliant. It is. There are layers of sound being built up, incongruous noises that shouldn't work, but do, and previous dialogue replayed in bits, like an insistent but spotty memory.

But EVERYONE has rubber lips in this, because the film trains the viewer to look for it, and see it, even when it isn't there. The juxtaposition of picture and sound is such a recurring theme that nothing seems real, nothing seems authentic, even when everything matches up perfectly. Sure, it adds to the surreality and alienation of the film, but at what expense? It can be annoying, and certainly confusing at times. The director throws a lot of creative tricks at the audience to convey schizophrenia, but in the end it is up to you whether or not you enjoy the affliction.

A Word on Availability: This was a film that until recently wasn't available to own. No VHS, DVD, or digital download, nothing. You had to wait for a film festival or art museum to show it. Recently though, a German book company has put together a really nice book about the film (screenplay excerpts, pictures, etc.) and included the DVD (both PAL and NTSC) with it. Unfortunately, they don't advertise that well the fact that the film comes with it, so I am taking the liberty of providing a link to the Amazon page where it is available. You're welcome.

The Kiss Off: And so begins Christopher Walken's film career. He is 25 years old in this. He is a spritely 77 as I write this now. By focusing on each film of his, and not just the supposedly "good ones," I hope to provide a comprehensive guide for anyone interested in finding Walken-gold without having to watch 90 movies.

Although you can. I did. It was wonderful. In fact, do that. Right now.

The Anderson Tapes (1971)

Directed by Sidney Lumet; written by Lawrence Sanders and Frank Pierson; 99 mins; color; available on DVD; it's rated PG, but I'm thinking PG-13 is a little more accurate

Genre: Ensemble Heist Action-Comedy
Actors: Sean Connery, Dyan Cannon, Alan King, Margaret Hamilton (the wicked witch of the West!)
Similar Films: The Conversation, The Thomas Crown Affair, Oceans 11
Movie In a Sentence: A thief and his team try to get "one last big score" despite the prevalence and efficacy of surveillance technology.
Should You Watch This? Nah. Don't bother. I mean, if it's already playing, go for it. But a brand new Walken is the only draw here.
RATING: I give it a 6 out of 10.
Walken Content: Only about 15 minutes or so spread out throughout the movie, but it's a strong, likeable character.


This is Christopher Walken's first big studio film and his first line in this one is a doozie. CW and Sean Connery just get released from prison, and CW turns to say goodbye to Sean, and with this energized grin, rolling his eyes in almost mock pleasure he says, "America, man, y'know it's so beautiful I wanna EAT IT."

You can't ask for a better first line than that.

His character, known as The Kid, acts as a kind of ineffectual Jiminy Cricket to Connery's Pinocchio. Connery's character, the eponymous Anderson, is the "hero" in this, despite him being an unapologetically heartless scoundrel. We're supposed to forget about how much of a prick he is and get lost in his brutish charm and lightly obscured brogue as he orchestrates that "one last big heist."

So what's the big scam? He's going to shack up with his old girlfriend in her apartment building and rob her neighbors. That's right, just clean them out. Not a bank, or a casino, or the mob. People. And the things in their home. Nice, right? Real likable.

The Anderson Tapes is a caper film that has replaced the clever twists and cunning ploys that usually drive a caper-type film, with various and numerous scenes of clandestine surveillance. That's right. Close-ups of the little spool on the cassette tape as it records the thieves' voices as they scheme, and creepy-looking mustachioed men hunched in dark rooms listening to everything. Which is cool, it is, but it doesn't GO anywhere. Nothing escalates and nothing is of value. The parade of secondary characters are fun and colorful, but certainly not enough to carry the story.


Director Sidney Lumet, who would go on to make quality films such as Dog Day Afternoon, Network, and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, seemed to not be able to make up his mind what kind of a movie this was. Was it a thriller? Cause it wasn't thrilling. A comedy? I was laughing some, but not at the punchlines. I blame its own eagerness to seem funny. It was needy. And nothing says lame like needy comedy.

The score is awful. Tinny, lame, and annoying. They kept using this shrill sound effect to show that others were listening in, a kind of electronics/sonar skree, as if we could ever forget that this is about surveillance technology. We get it.

Geez, I'm so negative.

There were some good performances. Alan King is great as Pat the mob-boss. Very Italian. He's trying to convince Connery that home security has gotten better since he's been in prison, and he says, "Some a dees places gaht moats." Charming and yet still intimidating. That's how I like my mob-bosses.

Connery's acting is fine, but whatever, and Dyan Cannon is enticing in a sex-robot kind-of-way, but ultimately she is forgotten by the end of the film, perhaps sooner.

Enough of them. How is Walken? He is brilliant, naturally, but underused. His quiet intensity crackles in his fifteen minutes or so of accumulated screen-time spread across the 95 minute story. Skinny, early twenties, plucky, and he is the moral compass of the group. Or he would be except they are jaded career criminals and so they ignore him when he gets preachy.

He has some good lines. Near the end when they're trying to decide whether to take what they've stolen and run, or continue cleaning out the last apartment. Walken wants to go, so here they are, half a dozen guys in the elevator, all wearing crazy Hannibal Lector-looking leather masks, and even through the mask Walken smirks, but you can tell he's trying to cover his panic. He turns to Anderson and says, "Hey Duke, it's late, I'm turnin' into a pumpkin."

Overall, you could probably live a life and never have seen this movie. It has some moments that make you wish otherwise, and certainly if you want to mark and celebrate the beginning of CW's illustrious career, sure, but no, in the end it does not succeed as a great film. The pacing is slow, the characters (with the obvious exception of CW) are shallow and unlikable and the ending is unsatisfying. It doesn't matter what happens because nobody wins; not them, the cops nor us. It is a tragedy cloaked in a caper, stuffed with bugs and convinced it is a comedy.