Themes: Mind Games, Experiments Gone Awry, Mad Scientists
Release Year: 1972
Country: US
Run Time: 94 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Based on the long-running Broadway play by Dennis Reardon, The Happiness Cage, a multinational filmmaking effort, is a drama about medical experimentation in the U.S. military. The experiment is a brain operation which removes pain, replacing it either with bliss or sensual satisfaction. It is at first attempted on terminal cancer patients, but finally the doctors receive permission to test the procedure on a healthy but thoroughly obnoxious subject (Christopher Walken). ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
Review
Notable primarily for Christopher Walken's first starring film role, The Mind Snatchers (also known as The Happiness Cage, the name of the play upon which it is based) is a strange little film that, if ultimately unsuccessful, has some worthy pieces. The premise, though not original, is an intriguing one -- generally the debate over whether anyone has the right to "alter" another person's mind and specifically the suspicion that military forces engage in experiments in this area -- and that premise alone will be enough for many viewers. Others, however, are likely to be turned off by the very "stagey" feeling of the piece, the artificiality of much of the dialogue, the manipulative extremism of much of its arguments and a lack of reality where the character of the main scientist is concerned. Bernard Girard's direction is also problematic; it's fine, but the film cries out for a more creative approach. Fortunately, the very young Walken is on hand, carrying the film with an assurance that belies his limited cinematic experience. The actor has all the raw strength, nerve and defiance, as well as most crucially the huge reservoir of volcanic anger that the role calls for. Ronny Cox also does quite well as the "other" patient, and Bette Henritze impresses in a relatively minor role. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Cast
Joss Ackland - Dr. Frederick; Tom Aldredge - Medic; Ronny Cox - Miles; Bette Henritze - Anna Kraus; Ralph Meeker; Claus Nissen - Psychiatrist; Marco St. John - Orderly; Susan Travers - Nurse Schroeder; Christopher Walken - Pvt. James Reese; Marco St. John; Birthe Neumann - Lisa; Katherine Argo; John Zellers; Marsden Wagner; Morten Dryer; Diana Vangsaard; Melvyn Ellis; Soren Steen; Jorgen Falster; Leslie Ogle; Torben Hundal; Roland Jourdan; Norman Mackie
Credit
William Molyneux - Art Director, Bernard Girard - Director, Sidney Katz - Editor, Chris Dedrick - Composer (Music Score), Phil Ramone - Composer (Music Score), Manny Wynn - Cinematographer, George Goodman - Producer, Joseph Papp - Producer, Richard Lewis - Producer, Ross-Gaffney - Special Effects, Ron Whyte - Screenwriter, Dennis Reardon - Play Author
