Billion Dollar Brain (1967) – Cold War Computer Espionage

Well here’s a movie that I’m surprised I never heard of. Billion Dollar Brain is an 1969 espionage film staring the always great Michael Caine and the late Karl Malden. Michael Caine plays a retired British secret agent who is hired to deliver a package in Helsinki, while being re-recruited (against his will) by MI-6 – the Spy agency he has retired from.

This is a confusing tale of back stabbing and multiple levels of deceit where it’s hard to really figure out who is really working for whom. There’s the Soviets, there’s Nato… the British and a computer who it is unclear who it’s working for until about three quarters of the way through the film, when we are introduced to the “General” – a billionaire Texan who is amassing a private army to assist in a planned uprising in Riga, Latvia.

As I said, there are many twists and turns and back stabbing in this film. Another very cool element is the fact that most of the espionage in this film is computer based – very forward looking. Michael Caine is awesome, too. I had never heard of this film until very recently, and I am happy to recommend this film. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. 

Check out the trailer here: