I always get a kick out of the nonsense that passes for scientific rationale in films like "The Atomic Brain". In the early going, we're introduced to Dr. Otto Frank who's experimenting with the transplantation of animal brains into human beings. He uses atomic fission in a cyclotron to stimulate brain cells. An early attempt has yielded a werewolf without hair, a savage looking man with a pair of large canines who grunts his way through the film. Now, going for the gusto, the good doctor is ready to try moving a brain from one human to another, courtesy of Hetty March's (Marjorie Eaton) financial backing. She's just imported three young women on the pretense of a job offer, and her interest lies in getting a makeover for her own brain, since she's already over the hill and about to keel over.

Anita Gonzalez is the first victim of the trio; she's just not pretty enough for Hetty, so she winds up with a cat's brain. Her feline instincts come through handily when it comes to catching and eating a mouse, but she doesn't exactly land on her feet when she falls from the roof of the house - yikes! Tall and buxom, Bea (Judy Bamber) from England looks like the best candidate for Hetty's brain, but she gets her eye clawed out by Anita in a cat fight. That leaves Nina (Erika Peters) from Austria, the only one of the three with enough sense to know that something's not right with this picture. She enlists the help of Hetty's sixty year old gigolo Victor (Frank Fowler) in an effort to escape, when it dawns on him with a stabbing sensation that once Hetty's young again, he'll have his marching papers.

You'll have a clue as to what the eventual outcome will be when it's revealed that Dr. Frank's cyclotron gizmo is wired to a nuclear device just in case the authorities come calling. Unfortunately though, before doc goes completely mad as a hatter, he has the foresight to switch Dame Hetty's brain into the carcass of Xerxes the cat (using his real name). There's no pussyfooting around with Hetty, she paws the detonation button to end this charade, the mansion and lab going out in a blaze of glory.

You can have some fun with "Monstrosity", just like the Mystery Science Theater folks have, but no one has yet been able to answer one question. During the entire time the three young women were still fresh and trying to figure out how to escape, why didn't they just head for the front door?

An elderly woman wants to be young again. She has lots of money and enlists a mad scientist who works all day in the basement with his nuclear device to transplant brains atomically. Brought into the picture are three young women who will provide the body, once the process is perfected. One woman gets a cat brain transplant and runs around scratching people and screeching. Another is a victim of cat-woman and loses her eyesight. The third becomes the target for the transplant. Unfortunately, there are failed experiments running around the house, particularly a young woman who has no brain at all. She is just there to provide amusement. The old lady continues to bully the young women who ask to leave, but stay just because she tells them to (apparently, they need her to let them out of their contract and she will call immigration and get them sent back). When they finally act, it is too late. There is also an old lech who can't wait for the old lady to get a new body, but comes to realize that he is going to be left in the dust. He then becomes a possible roadblock, although the old lady is so mean spirited she doesn't seem to care. Nevertheless, the transplant does finally take place but with different consequences than the old lady had anticipated.

The biggest problem has to do with trust. The scientist works at the behest of the old woman, but seems to have his own agenda. He is annoyed by her constant meddling in what he is doing. He betrays here of course. So much of the movie is in anticipation of finally doing the transplant. We just can't get there and the ride is long and tedious.

Dr. Otto Frank (Frank Gerstle, best known for his TV and radio voice-over work) is a grave-robber and scientist who, with help from his hairy "monstrosity," steals fresh corpses from a mausoleum to further his brain transplant experiments. His lab and 'cyclotron' machine (which is used to reanimate dead bodies with new brains) is located in the basement of a large mansion belonging to old crone Hetty March (Marjorie Eaton),a rich, bitter, wheelchair-bound matron who funds his experiments and wants him to put her brain into a "fresh young live body" when he finally does master his technique. The two hire three international 'domestics' (from Austria, Mexico and England) to come to their home. Mrs. March pokes and prods them with her cane, makes them spin around and forces them to strip down to their underwear for a thorough investigation of what kind of bodies they're packin'. The Hispanic one (Lisa Lang) is deemed "useless" because she has a birthmark on her back, so they transplant a cat's brain into her head. She eats a mouse, claws out eyeballs and spends most of her screen time crawling around hissing at people. There's also another monster kept chained up out in the yard and a 'walking corpse' (a benign zombie lady who doesn't really serve any purpose). This ridiculous mess has a ludicrous plot, terrible acting (those awful 'foreign' accents from the ladies about take the cake),silly dialogue ("She doesn't have a brain. There may be advantages.") and some timid flesh-baring (nude women put into the cyclotron heave their naughty bits covered by a couple of steel beams).

Erika Peters (who was also in MR. SARDONICUS and HOUSE OF THE DAMNED) stars, with Judy Bamber, Frank Fowler and introducing Xerxes as the pussycat brain donor. It's narrated by a young Bradford Dillman. The film is also available with commentary from the Mystery Science Theater crew, but it's just as funny without it. Also known as MONSTROSITY.