Daughter of the Mind (1969 TV Movie) User Reviews

Drama of the supernatural

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 23 January 2006]

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 still beautiful and vibrant, her smile is still 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.

Suspend disbelief and enjoy.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 4 April 2010]

Ray Milland has been grieving his dead daughter, Mary. Now, oddly, she has begun appearing to him--and it seems so very real. As a result, he goes to see a parapsychologist (Don Murray)--perhaps he can help Milland figure out if he's going crazy or if the child really is trying to contact him. Along the way, they learn that a government agent (Ed Asner) is watching them--unsure if maybe, perhaps, these manifestations are the result of the work of a hostile nation. After all, Milland is a top cybernetics scientist--maybe someone is deliberately messing with his mind. I don't want to say more, as it might divulge where it's going next.

Overall, it's a very tense and interesting made for TV film. However, there are quite a few plot holes and the whole thing seems overly complicated and far-fetched. Some of the film relies on technology that isn't even possible today--more than 40 years later!! Still, it is entertaining and it's nice to see such an accomplished cast (also including Gene Tierney and John Carradine) in a TV movie that often has more light-weight actors!

By the way, Pamelyn Ferdin who plays Ray Milland's dead daughter, Mary, should be a very familiar face and voice if you grew up when I did. She played on a bazillion TV show, such as playing Felix's daughter on "The Odd Couple" and was the voice of Lucy in three Charlie Brown movies/TV shows. Also, there's a tiny role starring Virginia Christine as the housekeeper. You may recognize her as Mrs. Olsen--the Folger Coffee lady.

(POSSIBLE SPOILERS)...Tale of supernatural is taut, interesting, but ultimately unbelievable...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 12 October 2005]

An exploration of the supernatural with only lukewarm success is DAUGHTER OF THE MIND from a novel by Paul Gallico and starring DON MURRAY as a parapsychologist helping RAY MILLAND discover the mystery behind the appearances of his dead daughter. GENE TIERNEY is Milland's worried wife, wheelchair bound and not having much to do aside from showing concern for the unexplained events.

Young Don Murray gives the strongest performance here, making the viewer feel the need to solve the daughter's strange appearances and he is completely convincing as he gradually becomes more and more involved in the weird circumstances. The final explanation requires a suspension of disbelief since the details are not exactly plausible.

Nice to see John Carradine, Virginia Christine and George Macready giving good support in minor roles--both men showing the ravages of age but still recognizable as the sterling character actors they always were.

Tierney and Milland were clearly coming toward the end of their careers in underwritten roles and neither one is particularly well served by the script, a muddled one that offers a rather unsatisfying explanation behind the mystery. The end result is only mildly satisfying, but still--while not a classic of suspense--the supernatural elements should intrigue many viewers.

Interesting to note that the director is Walter Grauman, the man who directed LADY IN A CAGE five years earlier, and then went back to directing mainly TV movies.

Utterly terrifying!

[Curtis G. · 10 June 2004]

I can't tell you a thing about this movie plot-wise, but I can tell you that this was, hands-down, the scariest thing I ever saw on TV as a child. All I had to do was say "wax hand in a fishbowl" to my best friend to freak him out. I remember images, like a ghostly image of the girl floating in air, and someone replicating the effect with mist and a projector, but that's about it. Oh, and that Pam Ferdin was in it. (I feel like I grew up with her, because I kept seeing her in everything.)

Even the odd title still haunts me, 30-something years after first I saw the movie. Would love to see this again...but then, maybe it's better if I didn't. Some things are best left to the (childish) imagination.

Ghost in the Machine

[sol-kay · 7/10 · 15 July 2006]

**SPOILERS** devastated by the loss of his ten-year-old daughter Mary, Pamelyn Ferdin, in a car accident that he holds himself responsible for well known cybernetics professor Samuel Constable, Ray Milland, has been visiting her grave almost every day. This was starting to worry his invalid wife Lenore, Gene Tireny, in feeling that he's going insane. It's some three months after the accident that Prof. Constable starts to believe that there may well be something very psychologically wrong with him when one evening driving home he runs into, and almost runs over, a live Mary Constable walking along a lonely road.

Being a man of science Prof. Constable doesn't believe in anything like ghosts or the supernatural but after seeing and talking to Mary he starts to believe in it. At the insistence of a friend Dr. Frank Furgerson, George Macready, Prof. Constable goes to see a man who could help him solve this dilemma Dr. Alex Lauder, Don Murray. Dr. Lauder is one of the worlds biggest expert in the field of parapsychology. Dr. Lauder is so impressed by what Prof. Constable tells him and what he sees and hears himself, in Mary's sudden appearance at the Constable home. That makes Dr. Lauder almost a true believer, like Prof. Constable, in the supernatural. This leaves the door open for Dr. Lauder to investigate if all these ghostly events are real or somehow manipulated by people behind the scenes.

Not what you would expect at first "Daughter of the Mind" is a lot more then a ghost story it also has a lot to do with the defense of the United States that Prof. Constable is very much involved in his top secret work for the Pentagon. Mary in her appearances keeps telling her father, Prof. Constable, about all the bad he's doing in helping develop weapons of war for the US military. It's for that reason that she's somehow trapped in an in-between or astral world and will never find peace. That's until her father stops doing anymore research for the US government.

Prof. Constable's weird behavior also attracts the US governments intelligent agencies in the person of CIC agent Saul Wiener, Edward Asner, who's having him and now Dr. Lauder followed day and night. The CIC and Agent Wiener feels that Prof. Constable is being duped into defecting to the Soviet Union by these "visions" that he's been having about his dead daughter Mary.

Very well made-for-TV movie that's as good as any film that was released in the theaters back in 1969. with an intelligent script and believable ending, an ending far too believable for a movie about the world of the supernatural and dark sciences. The supernatural is handled in a very unusual and honest way in the film by at first not trying to disprove it and then trying to make those who believe in look like gullible and mindless fanatics. At the same time not hit the audience over the head with it, the supernatural. By making it look like anyone who doesn't believe that such a world, beyond the proof of modern science, exist is a slave to what he, or she, was thought in school. As well totally lacking in any kind of constructive and abstract imagination of the unseen and unknown world, or worlds, around us. Which over the years brought into being some of the greatest achievements and advancements in the world of science and medicine.

Group Trauma?

[jrbrowzer · 7/10 · 5 February 2020]

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?

Haunting premise, intriguing middle, dumb ending

[missy_baxter · 7/10 · 25 June 2001]

This is very well-conceived and well-acted. But, just when you think you are watching an unsung classic, just when you are scratching your head to come up with a resolution, you realize that the film makers do not have one and instead leave us with the ultimate cop-out ending. Too bad.

Dreary ghost story...

[moonspinner55 · 4/10 · 6 August 2015]

Government officials become involved after a cybernetics professor and a parapsychologist record evidence of life beyond death: the professor's recently-deceased daughter, whose spirit has apparently come back to stop her father from proceeding with his work for the military. Made-for-TV adaptation of Paul Gallico's novel "The Hand of Mary Constable" wants to be more complex than the usual bump-in-the-night ghost story, but the questions and answers the film does offer us are nonetheless unexciting. The casting also seems off, with Ray Milland and Gene Tierney both far too old to be the parents of a little girl (grandparents would be more appropriate). Young Pamelyn Ferdin, however, excels once again in a difficult part for a child, and John Carradine pops up in a colorful cameo as an illusionist expert. This was the first television movie for 20th Century Fox, and the technical aspects (aside from Milland's heavy eye makeup and the cheapjack music score) are above-par for a TV feature.

Ray Milland and John Carradine

[kevinolzak · 7/10 · 28 July 2017]

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.

Not a supernatural movie

[ebeckstr-1 · 4/10 · 2 November 2019]

At its core this movie is a cold war espionage drama in the guise of a ghost story. There is some reasonably good acting and dialogue, and some fun cameos and supporting roles by well-known actors, including Gene Tierney, John Carradine, and Ed Asner, so it may be worth look if that sounds appealing to you. However, there is nothing supernatural about this movie; if you are a fan of made-for-television horror movies from that era, such as Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and The Night Stalker, and looking for something along those lines, this movie will likely disappoint you.

Absolute shame this is not available on video

[sgtmac124 · 10/10 · 26 June 2000]

First saw this made for TV film back in the 1970s when I was about the same age as the little girl in the movie.I wasn't able to understand it properly at the time,but the ghost theme captured my imagination.I found it very appealing and intriguing when I saw it again much later on as an adult.

Daughter of the Mind

[CinemaSerf · 6/10 · 3 June 2023]

At times, this is quite a decent supernatural drama with Ray Milland ("Prof. Constable") as a man haunted by the recent death of his young daughter. When driving home from the cemetery one night, he is certain that he has seen her, heard her - almost touched her! He decides that either this is a real psychic phenomenon or he is being had, so consults cybernetics man "Lauder" (Don Murray) to get to the bottom of it. FBI man Ed Asner ("Wiener") also has an interest in the case as it transpires that "Constable" is, unwittingly, working for the government on some top secret project and it soon looks like there is a third hand at work here and manipulation on a grand scale is afoot. The use of the visual effects and audio is quite effective in recreating a plausible scenario of re-incarnation but the score from Robert Drasnin overwhelms any subtlety and even Milland's acting is a bit too by the book. There is little by way of menace and as the political storyline develops, it really stops being very interesting. Still, worth watching for the first half hour.

Cold War and Ghosts?

[bekayess · 5/10 · 30 October 2006]

I saw this way back in 1969 when it first aired, and I saw it as a plain old ghost story, since I knew nothing of the Cold War when I was 12 years old. But...seen today, I think that maybe we could have a really cool horror movie with the Ghosts of all of our American Heroes who have died while fighting in Iraq coming back to haunt and terrify George W Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condi Rice ... and all of their peers and cohorts who put our American Heroes in Iraq in the first place--all because George W Bush had to prove himself to his old man since Saddam tried to kill the older Bush.

Now that's a movie I would pay to see!!!

I thought Pam Ferdin was Cathy Silvers!

[president-28 · 10/10 · 3 February 2005]

Like Curtis, this movie freaked me out when I was eight years old. I always thought that it was Cathy Silvers and tonight I was watching the 30 year reunion for Happy Days and thought, Let's Google!! Well, her filmography didn't list any TV shows (I would have never remembered Daughter of the Mind ) and found the Pamelyn Ferdin website and then ended up here. One of my life's greatest enigmas has been answered and now I plan to try and locate the movie from the vaults of Movie of the Week which gave rise to Mystery of the week which gave rise to McMillan and Wife, Columbo, The Night Stalker, and McCloud. Whew. Isn't the Internet wonderful?!!

Just saw part of Daughter of the Mind after many years...

[lwatson-7 · 10/10 · 22 January 2006]

I just was channel surfing and ran across "Daugher of the Mind", which have not seen since I was a young child (I am now almost the big 50), however, much to my dismay the movie was 3/4 over and I only got to see the last 1/2 hour. But this was enough to bring back memories of seeing it as a young girl and how haunting the movie was to me.

In now seeing the credits and getting the name of Pamelyn Ferdin I was able to go online (something I was not able to do 36 years ago) and find her web-site with all of this wonderful biography information.

I had no idea how many movies and TV shows she had done and I am sure that I must have seen many of them in order to have such fond and vivid memories of her.

To Pamelyn, "thanks for the memories" and hopefully this movie will be on again so I can see it from the beginning or better yet, obtain a copy for my collection. Also, I am glad to see that you are not a "casualty of child stars" and that you proved you can be a child star and a successful adult person.

Maybe "TVLand" can do a "Where are they now" special on Pamelyn.

Amazing so many others of my generation say the same thing

[gorwell777 · 31 May 2007]

I, too, saw this one afternoon on the 4 o'clock movie when I was less than 8 years old. (My mother must have been off caring for my baby sister or cleaning to have let me watch this.) I had nightmares for years. This movie comes to me sometimes when I think about other movies. It's a natural tie in when I think of "Barton Fink" (Theater of the Mind! . . . Daughter of the Mind). Thank God for the internet we can remember these things. Hope to find it someday on DVD. The Pam Ferdyn comments ring true too - probably the first actress I ever had a crush on (sorry Marcia Brady, you're a close second). I can't tell you as a kid how relieved I was that it was all a hoax. Back then I don't think I knew how many big stars were in it. I guess with all the outlets today, the chance of anything resembling the once great Movie of the Week formula is gone. I remember another Movie of the Week that I think had George C Scott in it as a man who was bit by a rabid skunk and slowly went mad - wish I could remember what that was. Anyway, you just never knew when you were going to run into something good - but with three channels, you didn't have much choice!

Death is only affecting the living.

[mark.waltz · 8/10 · 22 October 2021]

A great Ray Milland is the heart and soul of this beautiful science fiction ghost story where the powerful Milland is still grieving the long ago death of his young daughter that so called visions of her makes him believe that she's trying to communicate him. Wheelchair bound wife Gene Tierney isn't as convinced and this creates problems in their marriage. Government agent Ed Asner and Major General Frank Maxwell step in, believing that foreign governments are somehow involved in this scam. In fact, an entire conspiracy comes out about it, and it turns out to be so much more.

While Don Murray is top billed, It's Milan whom you'll remember because this is a far cry from many of his later performances where he played wealthy but extremely grouchy old men you long to see get their comeuppance. This is not Milland in any of the American International Edgar Allan Poe adoptions or Frogs or The Thing with Two Heads. Millland is completely vulnerable here, and he gives a lovely performance. There's also John Carradine, Barbara Bain and Virginia Christine. An early movie of the week that is completely outstanding.

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

[rossjean · 8/10 · 17 July 2008]

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!

The book was better

[tulsatv · 20 November 2004]

I had read the book, "The Hand of Mary Constable" in my dad's Reader's Digest Condensed Books, so I was thrilled when I saw that it was going to be a Movie of the Week.

Unfortunately, it didn't live up to the book, as is frequently the case. In particular, the technology supposedly employed by the hero (which was actually the protagonist's name in the book, Alexander Hero) was ridiculously inadequate.

The book had a real downbeat Cold War mood to it and was a highly effective and timely thriller. I first heard the term "cybernetics" there.

Much later, I read the uncondensed version of the book, and though it had a lot more sex (not at all a deterrent), it wasn't as propulsive as the condensed version.

Very Creepy Sad Movie but Hopefull ending

[MovieHistorian · 10/10 · 28 November 2005]

I remember this movie as a young child.Pamela Ferdin and Ray Miland were great in it.It was actually kind of creepy and depressing about a young girl who had died.It actually upset me as a little kid that the characters daughter died so young.I never knew kids could die and this freaked me out as a kid.In some ways I guess it made me realize that anyone can die young and old,but the ending was hopeful and made me feel a bit less freaked out.The musical score was very well done and the acting was good also.TV movies in the late 60's and 70's,80's were SO much better than they are today.They actually had a STORY and Characters that were more realistic and original.Today,writers have no talent as they need to RE DO like every movie in a remake.Sad.I like the Originals.Wow,now that I think about it,I must have seen this in the 70's as I am still in my late 30's and this was made in 1969,the year I was born.I probably saw it at age 11 or 12 sometime in the mid to late 70's on a rerun.It really scared me.

Uneven But a Fun Cast

[Michael_Elliott · 19 February 2010]

Daughter of the Mind (1969)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Mildly entertaining made-for-TV thriller about a father (Ray Milland) who lost his daughter in a car crash thirteen-months earlier but on the way home from her grave one night she stops him and passes along a message. The father seeks the help of his doctor friend (Don Murray) and soon the two try to figure out if this is really her ghost or if something else is going on. The supporting cast includes Gene Tierney as Milland's wife and we get small roles with Ed Asner and John Carradine. The film isn't a total success because it tries to be a lot smarter than it actually is with a couple plot twists that take place in the film. The first part of the movie plays out like a horror film but then we switch gears with some espionage thrown in for good measure. I can't say the spy and horror genre mixes too well together but the cast never let things get too boring. Milland, at this point in his career, will certainly be love-him or hate-him because he does have the ability to go over the top and something this hampers a film. He stays under control here for the most part, although some of his rants are a bit questionable. Murray is a tad bit too laid back in his role but Tierney turns in a good performance even if it's pretty much a thankless role. Both Asner and especially Carradine are wasted so if you're tuning in to check them out just be warned that they don't have too much to do with Carradine only getting one brief scene. The plot twists are extremely silly and don't work too well and when the movie is over you're going to think back and catch about fifteen other plot holes but while watching the film it isn't too bad thanks to the actors. This is certainly something very minor so only major fans of there's will want to check this out.

Ghost Buster

[cutterccbaxter · 18 January 2024]

As usual, Pamelyn Ferdin, nails her part as an apparition in Daughter of the Mind (cool title). Or is she a ghost?

John Carradine keeps his record streak of never appearing in a bad movie. His character provides wise advise to the hero, dependable Don Murray.

I wished Gene Tierney wasn't in a wheelchair. Couldn't they have had her on crutches at least?

Ray Milland is his usual late-period Milland grumpy self. He was much Moore fun in Lost Weekend.

Ed Asner never got to have as much fun driving when he later played Lou Grant for many years. As someone from Minnesota, I wouldn't have minded a couple of car chases sprinkled in on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. It would have been fun to see Ed speed down Highway 12 with Mary yelling: "Slow down, Mr. Grant, slow down!"

I like made for TV thrillers that have soviet spies pretending to be custodians, so I liked Daughter of the Mind. Also, I don't think there was an ESP Department when I went to school. If there had been, I would have majored in it.