The Man Who Stole Einstein’s Brain

Director
Michelle Shephard

Cinematography
Christian Bielz

Producer
Bryn Hughes

Editor
Nick Hector

Executive Producers
Bryn Hughes, Michelle Shephard, Carolyn Abraham

  • Hot Docs International Film Festival
    Toronto, ON
    May 3 and 5, 2023
    Get Tickets


COMPLETED

2023

He believes it will solve the mystery of genius. He thinks it will make him a scientific star. But the decision will haunt the rest of his life. The Man Who Stole Einstein’s Brain tells the little-known and bizarre story of Dr. Thomas Stoltz Harvey. In April 1955, Harvey is the chief pathologist of Princeton Hospital who steals the brain from Albert Einstein’s corpse while performing the autopsy on the world’s most famous scientist. While Einstein’s family demands the brain be returned, the ambitious Harvey strikes a secret deal with the estate to safeguard it for science - but science is not yet up to the job and Harvey can never outrun the power of Einstein’s celebrity. After cutting the brain into 240 pieces, he spends the next half century hiding it in basements, car trunks, and cardboard boxes, while his personal and professional lives crumble. He loses his job, three marriages fail and by his 80s, he’s working the night shift at a plastics factory to get by -- with Einstein’s brain in the closet. Quirky and poignant, this stranger-than-fiction portrait features a rich archive, interviews with those who knew Harvey best, and rare access to Harvey’s own recorded words.

A FREQUENT FLYER FILM Production

Music by DAVID WALL  Sound Design MICHAEL BONINI Cinematography CHRISTIAN BIELZ 
Editor NICK HECTOR  Written by CAROLYN ABRAHAM and MICHELLE SHEPHARD
Executive Producers CAROLYN ABRAHAM  MICHELLE SHEPHARD  BRYN HUGHES 
Produced by BRYN HUGHES Directed by MICHELLE SHEPHARD

Produced in Association with the DOCUMENTARY CHANNEL with the Participation of CANADA MEDIA FUND, ROGERS DOCUMENTARY FUND 
and the Assistance of ONTARIO CREATES, GOVERNMENT OF CANADA, HOT DOCS FORUM

Next
Next

Cynara