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The Third Ear
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254 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
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About the author
Curt Siodmak
62 books21 followersCurt Siodmak (1902–2000) was a novelist and screenwriter, author of the novel Donovan's Brain, which was made into a number of films. He also wrote the novels Hauser's Memory and Gabriel's Body.
Born Kurt Siodmak in Dresden, Germany, Curt Siodmak acquired a degree in mathematics before beginning to write novels. He invested early royalties earned by his first books in the movie Menschen am Sonntag (1929), a documentary-style chronicle of the lives of four Berliners on a Sunday based on their own lives. The movie was co-directed by Curt Siodmak's older brother Robert Siodmak and Edgar G. Ulmer, with a script by Billy Wilder.
In the following years Curt Siodmak wrote many novels, screenplays and short stories including the novel F.P.1 Antwortet Nicht (F.P.1 Doesn't Answer) (1933) which became a popular movie starring Hans Albers and Peter Lorre.
Siodmak decided to emigrate after hearing an anti-semitic tirade by the Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, and departed for England where he made a living as a screenwriter before travelling to the USA in 1937.
His big break came with the screenplay for The Wolf Man (1941) which established this fictional creature as the most popular movie monster after Dracula and Frankenstein's monster.
In The Wolf Man Siodmak made reference to many werewolf legends: being marked by a pentagram; being practically immortal apart from being struck/shot by silver implements/bullets; and the famous verse:
"Even a man who is pure in heart, And says his prayers by night May become a Wolf when the Wolfbane blooms And the autumn Moon is bright" (the last line was changed in the sequels to The Moon is full and bright).
Siodmak's science-fiction novel Donovan's Brain (1942) was a bestseller and was adapted for the cinema several times. Other notable films he wrote include Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, I Walked With a Zombie and The Beast With Five Fingers.
Born Kurt Siodmak in Dresden, Germany, Curt Siodmak acquired a degree in mathematics before beginning to write novels. He invested early royalties earned by his first books in the movie Menschen am Sonntag (1929), a documentary-style chronicle of the lives of four Berliners on a Sunday based on their own lives. The movie was co-directed by Curt Siodmak's older brother Robert Siodmak and Edgar G. Ulmer, with a script by Billy Wilder.
In the following years Curt Siodmak wrote many novels, screenplays and short stories including the novel F.P.1 Antwortet Nicht (F.P.1 Doesn't Answer) (1933) which became a popular movie starring Hans Albers and Peter Lorre.
Siodmak decided to emigrate after hearing an anti-semitic tirade by the Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, and departed for England where he made a living as a screenwriter before travelling to the USA in 1937.
His big break came with the screenplay for The Wolf Man (1941) which established this fictional creature as the most popular movie monster after Dracula and Frankenstein's monster.
In The Wolf Man Siodmak made reference to many werewolf legends: being marked by a pentagram; being practically immortal apart from being struck/shot by silver implements/bullets; and the famous verse:
"Even a man who is pure in heart, And says his prayers by night May become a Wolf when the Wolfbane blooms And the autumn Moon is bright" (the last line was changed in the sequels to The Moon is full and bright).
Siodmak's science-fiction novel Donovan's Brain (1942) was a bestseller and was adapted for the cinema several times. Other notable films he wrote include Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, I Walked With a Zombie and The Beast With Five Fingers.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 30, 2017
I loaned this book from the library recently, as it appears no libraries nearby carry Donovan's Brain. Donovan's brain had been listed by Margaret Atwood as a foundational text for her writing. As a huge Atwood fan, I was very intrigued to read anything by Siodmak. To be fair, this book was a good read. I was entertained and interested. However, it's harsh delineation of right and wrong somewhat took me aback. It is good for its time but is definitely outshone by modern science fiction.
September 12, 2008
I kept thinking -- what's the point? Is there a point? Or is this a thriller masquerading as science fiction? I will admit that the science part was quite interesting, ESP induced by a physically discernible compound. But I'm afraid Siodmak didn't know what to do with it.
Still, I am eager to try some of his other work. He's a big name in older scifi.
Siodmak was also a screenwriter. I consider his Wolfman script the very best of the traditional werewolf films (Mike Nichols' Wolf is not exactly traditional).
Still, I am eager to try some of his other work. He's a big name in older scifi.
Siodmak was also a screenwriter. I consider his Wolfman script the very best of the traditional werewolf films (Mike Nichols' Wolf is not exactly traditional).
March 30, 2014
Not as good as Donovan's Brain, Siodmak's most remembered novel (really, the only anyone might know of), but not bad. Like Donovan's Brain, it has a philosophically conservative viewpoint, with the scientist concluding that his telepathy-inducing chemical is too dangerous for anyone and especially any organization--especially governments--to possess.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews