Billion Dollar Brain

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Billion Dollar Brain

1967,

1h 51m,

Drama

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Watchlist

Watchlist

50%

8 Reviews

Tomatometer

42%

2,500+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

50%

Tomatometer

8 Reviews

42%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Harry Palmer (Michael Caine) is a former British secret agent who has taken up work as a private detective. An anonymous party hires him to deliver a seemingly normal package to Helsinki. However, he learns that he has been deceived into working for the Secret Service again, and is actually returning stolen virus-infected eggs to a government lab. Palmer is then persuaded to thwart a manic Texas oil baron (Ed Begley) who is planning to attack the Soviet Union with a supercomputer.

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Jan 14, 2006

2/4

It is a spy movie that commits the unforgivable sin of losing track of its plot.

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Jul 28, 2026

The plot is rickety at best and the globe-trotting story is at odds with author Len Deighton‘s more realistic sensibility, yet it never delivers the spectacle or ingenuity of a Bond adventure.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

May 24, 2024

5/5

…celebrates and detonates familiar spy tropes…classic Caine, a great spy movie, a super-smart view of geo-politics and an eye-popping action spectacle to boot…and not a lot of people know that about Billion Dollar Brain...

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Penelope Houston

The Spectator

Sep 28, 2020

Scrambled technique has the effect of a series of evasive mannerisms, to keep anyone from meeting the story head-on.

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Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Jul 1, 2014

4/5

A clever, brisk, entertaining spy picture that has a lot more Ken Russell in it than you might suspect.

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Pablo Villaça

Cinema em Cena

Jan 11, 2010

1/5

No mais fraco exemplar da série, Harry Palmer perde a personalidade irreverente, enfrenta uma ameaça absurda encabeçada por uma caricatura em um filme aborrecido e sem pé nem cabeça.

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Rey W

Jun 23, 2018

Fun third entry in the Harry Palmer series. Gets more "Bondish" than the previous entries, but Harry still remains somewhat grounded and down to earth. Ken Russell directs - though he keeps his wilder tendencies (mostly) in check.

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Leia P

Apr 14, 2017

Underrated, pre-Devils work by Ken Russell that's actually a lot of fun.

Poe S

Mar 9, 2017

The reason why I liked the Harry Palmer movies was because they were more realistic and gritty. This movie felt like a weird James Bond parody, wasn't suspenseful or well made. I liked Karl Malden but I felt the movie was lacking.

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Ken Russell

Director

Michael Caine

Harry Palmer

Karl Malden

Leo Newbigen

Ed Begley

Gen. Midwinter

Oscar Homolka

Col. Stok

Françoise Dorléac

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Synopsis

Harry Palmer (Michael Caine) is a former British secret agent who has taken up work as a private detective. An anonymous party hires him to deliver a seemingly normal package to Helsinki. However, he learns that he has been deceived into working for the Secret Service again, and is actually returning stolen virus-infected eggs to a government lab. Palmer is then persuaded to thwart a manic Texas oil baron (Ed Begley) who is planning to attack the Soviet Union with a supercomputer.

Director: Ken Russell
Producer: Harry Saltzman
Screenwriter: John McGrath
Production Co: Jovera
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Runtime: 1h 51m

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