Since its Prelinger Archives release, the film has provoked much controversy. Ken Smith, author of Mental Hygiene: Classroom Films 1945 – 1970, believes the film is fake. He mentions, among other things, that the decapitated dog scene shown in the film could have been produced with simple special effects. Smith cites only his reaction to the film as evidence. Others are skeptical of J. B. S. Haldane’s ties to the Communist party; they propose that the film was produced as Soviet propaganda.
However, while the film could have been re-staged for the camera, it almost certainly depicts a series of real experiments. Bryukhonenko’s work with canine circulation seems obscure today, but at the time was well publicized; his decapitation experiment was even remarked upon by George Bernard Shaw. Bryukhonenko’s procedures are attested to in numerous books and medical papers, with some sources providing detailed technical information on the operations shown in the film. These texts also shed light on failures not mentioned in the film. For example, the severed heads survived only minutes in artificial circulation, while the resuscitated dogs often died after a few days while the film says the severed heads lived for hours and the resuscitated dogs lived for years.
here’s the wikipedia article.
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