Donovan’s Brain, Part One: The Living Thought

In one of the most celebrated episodes of Suspense, Orson Welles stars as Dr. Patrick Cory in a chilling adaptation of Curt Siodmak’s science fiction thriller Donovan’s Brain. This is the first of a two-part drama that explores the terrifying consequences of science without limits—and thought without a body.

When a private plane crashes in the mountains, the only survivor is millionaire William H. Donovan—barely clinging to life. Dr. Cory attempts emergency surgery, but it’s already too late to save the man. Or is it? Driven by ambition and scientific obsession, Cory removes Donovan’s brain and keeps it alive in a laboratory tank.

At first, Cory insists his motives are purely scientific, studying how long a human brain can survive and function outside the body. But the experiment spirals into something far more disturbing when the brain begins to respond—first with electrical pulses, then with influence over Cory’s thoughts and actions.

Soon, Donovan’s ruthless personality begins to assert itself, manipulating Cory while leaving behind cryptic clues—“Sure, sure, sure”—and signatures in Cory’s own left-handed handwriting. As Cory’s mind slips further from his own control, even his wife and colleagues fear he is becoming something... other.

Part one ends with Cory fully under the influence of the powerful and malevolent brain. In part two, the full horror of Donovan’s posthumous intentions will be revealed.

Keywords: "Donovan’s Brain part one radio," "Orson Welles Suspense 1944," "William H. Donovan brain experiment," "Curt Siodmak adaptation radio," "sci-fi horror brain in a jar," "May 1944 Suspense CBS," "Roma Wines suspense classic."

Cast: Orson Welles (Dr. Patrick Cory), with supporting performances by Hans Conried, Joseph Kearns, and the Suspense radio company. Directed by William Spier.