''Change of Mind'' is a 1969

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

starring Raymond St. Jacques, Susan Oliver, Janet MacLachlan, and

Leslie Nielsen Leslie William Nielsen (11 February 192628 November 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters. Nielsen was bo ...

Plot

A married couple struggles to adjust when the husband, dying of cancer, has his brain transplanted into the body of a black man. David Rowe (St. Jacques) is a white district attorney who must now live his life as a black man. His wife Margaret (Oliver) tries to deal with the transformation of her husband's appearance as David feels the stings of racial prejudice for the first time. She has trouble being intimate with the man she knows is still her husband. Racist Sheriff Webb (Nielsen) is a local lawman who resents the district attorney, but after the sheriff is accused of killing his own black mistress, he must rely on David for his legal defense. Rowe investigates the murder of the young black woman while dealing with his superiors, friends and family treating him differently. During his investigation, David has to deal with the moral quandary of releasing evidence that clears the Sheriff, knowing it will allow the Sheriff to continue to abuse minorities.

Cast

* Raymond St. Jacques as David Rowe * Susan Oliver as Margaret Rowe * Janet MacLachlan as Elizabeth *

as Sheriff Webb *

Donnelly Rhodes Henry Donnelly Rhodes (December 4, 1937 – January 8, 2018) was a Canadian actor, known professionally as Donnelly Rhodes. He had many American television and film credits, probably best known to American audiences as the hapless escaped convic ...

as Roger Morrow * David Bailey as Tommy Benson *Andre Womble as Scupper *

Clarice Taylor Clarice Taylor (September 20, 1917 – May 30, 2011) was an American stage, film and television actress. She is best known for playing Cousin Emma on ''Sanford and Son'' and the mother of Cliff Huxtable Anna Huxtable on ''The Cosby Show''. and Mr ...

as Rose Landis * Jack Creley as Bill Chambers * Cosette Lee as Angela Rowe *Larry Reynolds as Judge Forrest *

Hope Clarke Hope Clarke (born March 23, 1941) is an American actress, dancer, vocalist, choreographer, and director. Clarke performed as principal dancer with the Katherine Dunham Company and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, 1960s; actress on stage, ...

as Nancy *

Rudy Challenger Rudolph Michael Challenger (October 2, 1928 – August 22, 2012) was an African-American supporting actor who had roles in various projects over the course of his thirty-four year career in film and television in Hollywood. He appeared on such ...

as Howard Culver *Henry Ramer as Chief Enfield *Joseph Shaw as Gov. LaTourette

Production

The film was shot in Toronto.

Reception

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

found that the movie was gimmicky giving it one out of four stars. It did like the Duke Ellington soundtrack. Roger Ebert gave the movie 2.5 stars, stating that it tended to focus on the trial aspects of the movie rather than the main character's reaction to now being a black man. Ebert was pleased with the acting in the movie. In a review by Roger Greenspun of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' it was found the movie failed to address any of the questions it was raising, and found the "pedestrian, sometimes conventionally audacious, direction " to be a hindrance. It did however praise the acting of St. Jacques and MacLachlan.

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo, Locus and British SF Awards. Two print editions appeared in 1979 and 1993. A third, continu ...

found the movie to be a rare treatment of racial issues in a science fiction film, nd that while the movie mostly succeeds, it did contain many crass lines of dialogue.

Novelization

A novelization of the movie was released in 1969 written by Chris Stratton.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Change Of Mind 1969 films 1960s science fiction drama films American science fiction drama films Films about brain transplants Cinerama Releasing Corporation films Films about racism Films directed by Robert Stevens Films scored by Duke Ellington 1969 drama films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films English-language science fiction drama films