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Daughter of the Mind

  • TV Movie
  • 1969
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
486
YOUR RATING
Ray Milland and Don Murray in Daughter of the Mind (1969)
HorrorThriller

A professor of cybernetics comes to believe that his dead daughter is communicating with him from the netherworld.A professor of cybernetics comes to believe that his dead daughter is communicating with him from the netherworld.A professor of cybernetics comes to believe that his dead daughter is communicating with him from the netherworld.

  • Director
    • Walter Grauman
  • Writers
    • Luther Davis
    • Paul Gallico
  • Stars
    • Don Murray
    • Ray Milland
    • Gene Tierney
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.2/10
    486
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Walter Grauman
    • Writers
      • Luther Davis
      • Paul Gallico
    • Stars
      • Don Murray
      • Ray Milland
      • Gene Tierney
    • 25User reviews
    • 8Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win total

    Photos

    Top cast17

    Edit
    Don Murray
    Don Murray
    • Dr. Alex Lauder
    Ray Milland
    Ray Milland
    • Professor Samuel Hale Constable
    Gene Tierney
    Gene Tierney
    • Lenore Constable
    Barbara Dana
    • Tina Cryder
    Edward Asner
    Edward Asner
    • Saul Wiener
    Pamelyn Ferdin
    Pamelyn Ferdin
    • Mary Constable
    William Beckley
    William Beckley
    • Arnold Watson Bessmer
    Ivor Barry
    Ivor Barry
    • Dr. Paul Cryder
    George Macready
    George Macready
    • Dr. Frank Ferguson
    John Carradine
    John Carradine
    • Mr. Bosch
    Virginia Christine
    Virginia Christine
    • Helga
    Cecile Ozorio
    • Devi Bessmer
    Frank Maxwell
    Frank Maxwell
    • General Augstadt
    Hal Frederick
    Hal Frederick
    • C.I.C. Technician
    Bill Hickman
    Bill Hickman
    • Enemy Agent
    Fritz Ford
      Charles Seel
      Charles Seel
      • Cemetery Custodian
      • (uncredited)
      • Director
        • Walter Grauman
      • Writers
        • Luther Davis
        • Paul Gallico
      • All cast & crew
      • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

      User reviews25

      6.2486
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      Featured reviews

      7jrbrowzer

      Group Trauma?

      I just came across this old TV movie of the week and after reviewing other reviews, it seems we all experienced the same thing in seeing this movie - we were all young when we first saw it, vividly remember the hand in the fishbowl and recall "daddy, daddy, daddy...." Whoever said films don't leave an impact?
      8rossjean

      If you see it as a kid, it stays with you....

      That is what everyone seems to say that I know. We even brought it up at my 30th class reunion! I remember watching it (10 yrs old) and being petrified! But it's all relative. What was scary back then might be cheesy now. But I sure would love to see it again! I found a site called movielead.com that claims to have it but you have to write a request and leave your email, and someone will get back to you. Anyone ever hear of that site and if they are legit? Thank you to all who critiqued it and gave it high ratings. I think the Baby Boomer crowd appreciates this kind of stuff far more than the younger ones. Made for TV movies are sometimes the best, but the hardest to get a copy of!
      7kevinolzak

      Ray Milland and John Carradine

      1969's "Daughter of the Mind" was one of ABC's earliest Movies of the Week, and like so many from that first decade left an indelible impression on younger viewers, based on the 1964 novel "The Hand of Mary Constable" by Paul Gallico, best known for writing "The Poseidon Adventure." Ray Milland and Gene Tierney, reunited from 1951's "Close to My Heart," again portray a married couple, Professor Samuel Constable and his wheelchair-bound wife Lenore, being visited by an apparition which claims to be their late daughter Mary (Pamelyn Ferdin), killed in an automobile accident some two months earlier. Enter parapsychologist Alex Lauder (Don Murray), keeping an open mind on the supernatural, while C.I.C. Inspector Saul Wiener (Ed Asner) suggests that foreign agents may be involved due to Constable's private government work. Everything is played with total conviction, keeping the audience guessing for the first two thirds, and even if there aren't any paranormal phenomena on hand it's still an enjoyable watch. Among the many guest stars present is venerable scene stealer John Carradine, around for only two minutes but making an impression on Lauder; his character, Mr. Bosch, is a lifelong illusionist who points the way to the final answer: "don't try to figure out how it was done, that's a waste of time...just start from zero and say this is the illusion I want to create, now how will I go about it?" Though only 49, the still beautiful Gene Tierney looked much older, in what turned out to be her final feature film role.
      7blanche-2

      Drama of the supernatural

      Scientist Ray Milland believes he's seeing and speaking to his late young daughter in "Daughter of the Mind," also starring Gene Tierney and Don Murray.

      I suspect this was a pilot for a series on psychic phenomenon that was to star Murray; hence the "guest starring" credits for Tierney and Milland.

      This is an intriguing drama. Milland is a scientist involved in sensitive government work, and our side is convinced that the messages he's getting from his daughter to quit what he's doing - bringing into play the possibility of defection - are a conjurer's trick by the other side.

      George MacCready, who plays Murray's boss, asks him to investigate. There are some sticking points for Murray. He sees the girl's image, he hears her voice - and then, during a séance, a wax replica of her hand appears in water, with verifiable fingerprints yet!

      If these things aren't true, how are they being accomplished? John Carradine, who plays an expert in the field of séances and mediums, advises him, "You're going about it the wrong way. Don't ask if it was a trick. Ask yourself, if you were going to do it, how would you?"

      Gene Tierney plays Milland's wife. 1969 was the last year she worked with the exception of one appearance in 1980. Though not Laura any longer, the blue eyes are beautiful and vibrant, her smile is lovely, and though illness has taken its toll, she is still beautiful.

      Ray Milland is fine as the devastated father though his bad hairpiece is distracting. He lost his hair after a permanent he received for "Reap the Wild Wind," and eventually embraced baldness.

      Pamelyn Ferdin, a popular child actress of the day, plays the daughter. All in all, a very interesting story.
      lor_

      Old-fashioned approach to horror

      One of my sci-fi/horror/fantasy reviews written 50 years ago: Directed and Produced by Walter Grauman, for 20th Century-Fox TV, broadcast by ABC-TV. Screenplay by Luther Davis, based on Paul Gallico's novel; Photography by Jack Woolf; Edited by Michael Economou; Music by Robert Drasnin. Starring: Ray Milland, Don Murray, Gene Tierney, Barbara Dana, Ed Asner, Pamela Ferdin, George Macready, John Carradine, William Beckley, Ivor Barry, Virginia Christine, Cecile Ozorio and Frank Maxwell.

      Stylish Grauman direction sets this above the run-of-the-mill made for TV horror opuses. Key scientist Milland is subjected to a "daughter back from the dead" supernatural hoax to convince him to defect -his gullibility to psychic suggestion is a most unlikely plot device. Carradine gives a fine cameo as an old-time magician and expert on spiritualist faking. Film ends with an old-fashioned touch: after the hoax is definitively exposed and the film is resolved, Ray hears the voice of his dead daughter saying "Don't forget me" as he gazes at his wife's sculpture of the child.

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      Related interests

      Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby (1968)
      Horror
      Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
      Thriller

      Storyline

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      Did you know

      Edit
      • Trivia
        This sole TV-movie credit for Gene Tierney..
      • Quotes

        Mary Constable: [wailing, as she vanishes] Oh, Daddy... I *hate* being dead!

      • Alternate versions
        Original broadcast version was 73 minutes long.

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      Details

      Edit
      • Release date
        • December 9, 1969 (United States)
      • Country of origin
        • United States
      • Language
        • English
      • Also known as
        • Fruto de la imaginación
      • Filming locations
        • 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA(Studio)
      • Production company
        • 20th Century Fox Television
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

      Tech specs

      Edit
      • Runtime
        • 1h 30m(90 min)
      • Color
        • Color
      • Aspect ratio
        • 1.33 : 1

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