When the movie title Brainstorm arises, I suspect most people think of the 1983 flick Natalie Wood worked on when she died off the set in 1981. However, an unrelated Brainstorm preceded it via a thriller from 1965.

Jim Grayam {Jeffrey Hunter) discovers beautiful blonde Lorrie Benson (Anne Francis) unconscious in a car parked on railroad tracks. He manages to save her before a train crushes the vehicle, but after he returns her to wealthy and influential husband Cort Benson (Dana Andrews) – also Jim’s boss - she protests his intervention in her suicide attempt.

Eventually Jim and Lorrie embark on an illicit romance. They scheme to find ways to remove Cort from the equation and come up with a diabolic murder plan that relies on unusual theories if it will succeed.

Most people will remember Brainstorm director William Conrad from his acting career. In particular, Conrad gained fame as the lead in two TV series: Cannon (1971-1976) and Jake and the Fatman (1987-1992).

Most of Conrad’s directorial work also came on television, but he broadened into features via 1963’s The Man From Galveston. Conrad then cranked out three flicks in 1965, as in addition to Brainstorm, he helmed My Blood Runs Cold and Two on a Guillotine.

That last movie offers the only Conrad-directed effort I viewed prior to Brainstorm, and as a horror tale, it stands out from the rest of his filmography. Whether behind the camera or in front of it, Conrad leaned toward cop dramas or thrillers, not scarefests.

This means Brainstorm comes with a noir vibe. However, Conrad’s direction makes it relentlessly mediocre.

Perhaps thanks to all his experience in that medium, Conrad imparts a heavy TV feel here. Brainstorm never seems particularly cinematic, as everything about the production comes across like Conrad shot it for the small screen.

Brainstorm boasts a muddled but still reasonably evocative story. It packs more than enough twists to ensure that it keeps us moderately involved despite its flaws.

Unfortunately, Conrad really does let down the whole project, as he can’t stage any of this in a compelling manner. He creates a hamfisted – and often campy – tale that gets sillier and more overwrought as it goes.

Brainstorm also comes packed full of an awful lot of filler. We don’t find nearly enough useful content to take up its 106 minutes.

The basic story to Brainstorm deserved better than this, as it comes with enough cleverness to show promise. As executed, though, the final product flails too much of the time.

Brainstorm appears in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This became a highly satisfying presentation.

Overall sharpness worked well, with only a smidgen of softness in a few shots. Most of the film boasted fine delineation and accuracy.

Neither jaggies nor moiré effects impacted the proceedings, and the presence of light grain meant it seemed unlikely that digital noise reduction came into play. Edge haloes remained absent and I saw no print flaws.

Blacks seemed deep and rich, while contrast gave the movie a fine silvery sheen. Low-light shots brought us nice smoothness and clarity. This turned into a more than satisfactory image.

I felt the same about the relatively solid DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack, as it held up nicely for its age. Music and effects didn’t boast great range or punch, but both came across accurate enough and they lacked distortion or problems.

As usual for older recordings, speech came across as a little tinny, but the lines remained fairly concise and only a few spots of edginess occurred. The mix lacked hiss, noise or other problems. This turned into a more than acceptable mix for its era.

In addition to the film’s trailer, we find two circa 1965 classic cartoons. The disc provides The Hypo-Chondri-Cat (7:20) and Well Worn Daffy (6:40)

During Cat, Bertie and Hubie sneak into a home filled with cheese but a cat resides there who attempts to evict them. Fortunately for them, he’s a hypochondriac, so they torture him to get their own way.

This short works reasonably well, but it feels just a bit stale. Still, it has enough laughs to make it enjoyable.

Worn shows Speedy Gonzalez and his pals as they die of thirst while they cross a Middle Eastern desert. They stumble across a well owned by Daffy Duck and battle him when he refuses to allow them to share the watery wealth.

If you wonder why Mexican mice wander an Arab location, join the club. If you also wonder why Daffy acts like such a selfish jerk, also join the club.

Did Daffy ever act in such irrationally cruel ways via other shorts? Maybe, but it feels out of character and ensures this turns into a less than stellar short.

As a basic noir tale, Brainstorm occasionally shows potential. However, director William Conrad lacks style and makes this a plodding affair too much of the time. The Blu-ray delivers solid visuals and appropriate audio but it lacks substantial bonus features. While Brainstorm doesn’t bore, it seems too campy and clunky to succeed.