THE EVIL BRAIN (1961) ***

The Evil Brain was the very first El Santo movie.  It was filmed (in Cuba) back-to-back with his second feature, Santo vs. Infernal Men.  If you’re a fan of El Santo, you may be taken aback by the fact that he only has a supporting role and doesn’t participate in any wrestling matches.  While it’s obvious the filmmakers were still figuring out how to best utilize El Santo’s talents, there are many elements already present that would go on to become hallmarks of the series, namely, a mad doctor villain, long street fights with the villain’s henchmen, musical numbers (a mariachi trio goes from table to table entertaining patrons at an outdoor café), and dance routines (a trio of Mexican folk dancers do some clog dancing and play castanets in a nightclub without the benefit of musical accompaniment).  Even in a very rough form and with minimal involvement from El Santo, all of this still manages to be quite entertaining.

The film begins straightaway with El Santo (although he’s only referred to as “El Enmascarado”) battling three thugs in the street who are armed with chains, switchblades, and brass knuckles.  The bad guys eventually get the upper hand, knock El Santo out, and bring him before their boss, a mad scientist who is working on a “cell disintegration” formula.  He performs an experiment on El Santo and turns him into his mindless servant.  (“I will control his will!”)  El Santo then helps the doctor’s men kidnap various scientists and bankers that will further his nefarious plans.  It then falls to El Santo’s buddy, the masked man Incognito (Fernando Oses) to thwart the mad scientist’s plan and return El Santo back to normal.

Usually, when I watch these El Santo movies, I don’t always have the benefit of seeing a dubbed version, or one that includes English subtitles.  I’m glad my version of The Evil Brain had subtitles.  Otherwise, I would’ve missed out on some truly priceless dialogue like, “We are dealing with some well-organized delinquents!” 

Despite some gratuitous padding from the needlessly drawn-out driving scenes, The Evil Brain moves at a relatively brisk pace.  The battles with the villain’s goons are exciting and the scenes of the henchmen kidnapping scientists and tossing them into the back of their car are very much like something out of an old Republic serial.  The action highlight is when Incognito battles the mind-controlled El Santo in the doctor’s lair.  I mean if you can’t afford to show two Mexican wrestlers grappling in a wrestling ring, I guess having them duke it out in a mad scientist lab is the next best thing.  Even if it feels like the editor fell asleep during the driving scenes, the fight sequences are tightly cut together and well-choreographed.

Unlike most El Santo movies, The Evil Brain remains involving even when he’s not on screen.  The mad doctor plot is just fun enough to work on its own merits and there are a few genuinely atmospheric moments (like the scenes in the wine cellar) along the way.  While later entries would go on and perfect the Lucha Libre formula, the foundation for fun was firmly set with The Evil Brain.

AKA:  Santo vs. the Evil Brain.  AKA:  Brain of Evil.