WHO? (1974) (Film Reviews by Evelyn C. Leeper)
0 views
Skip to first unread message
Philip De Parto
Feb 6, 2026, 4:29:52 PMFeb 6
to SFABC (nj) Movie Group
The following commentary is reprinted with permission from:
THE MT VOID
02/06/26 -- Vol. 44, No. 32, Whole Number 2418
02/06/26 -- Vol. 44, No. 32, Whole Number 2418
- - - - - - - - - -
WHO? (1974):
WHO? is a real rarity; we taped it off Philadelphia's
independent Channel 17 back in the 1980s, and I don't think it has
shown up since. It was produced by Barry Levinson and starred
Eliott Gould and Trevor Howard, so it was not exactly made by
unknowns.
The plot is that a scientist who was in an accident near the East
German border was in an accident, rescued by the East Germans, and
rebuilt with an artificial face and an arm. Then they returned
him. The question is whether it is Martino who was returned, or a
construct designed and trained to resemble Martino.
The construct is not a robot or an android; it is basically human,
with mechanical parts--a bionic man.
This is a movie that has not aged well, science-wise. A decade
after the film, identification through DNA came into use. Retinal
scans had been in use, but Martino hadn't had any done before his
accident. (Isaac Asimov used a similar "loophole" in the last
story in SECOND FOUNDATION.) The artificial face looks very
fake--like someone whose face has been painted silver, and then a
silver helmet put over it, leaving the eyes, mouth, and chin
exposed. His larynx was rebuild, so voiceprints don't work. They
don't seem to have addressed dental records, and Gould seems to
think the remaining human arm (with fingerprints) may have been
grafted on to someone else.
I'm not sure the logic holds. I think that the viewer is supposed
to be left unsure whether the man is Martino. But since we see the
East German interrogator extracting personal information from who
we know is the real Martino, watching Elliott Gould trying to use
personal information to answer the question seems like something
he wouldn't expect to work.
I just wish they had had a more ambiguous ending, but I suppose
that is a much more recent approach (e.g., LIMBO (1999)).
Released theatrically August 1975.
Film Credits:
<https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072405/reference>
What others are saying:
<https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/who>
independent Channel 17 back in the 1980s, and I don't think it has
shown up since. It was produced by Barry Levinson and starred
Eliott Gould and Trevor Howard, so it was not exactly made by
unknowns.
The plot is that a scientist who was in an accident near the East
German border was in an accident, rescued by the East Germans, and
rebuilt with an artificial face and an arm. Then they returned
him. The question is whether it is Martino who was returned, or a
construct designed and trained to resemble Martino.
The construct is not a robot or an android; it is basically human,
with mechanical parts--a bionic man.
This is a movie that has not aged well, science-wise. A decade
after the film, identification through DNA came into use. Retinal
scans had been in use, but Martino hadn't had any done before his
accident. (Isaac Asimov used a similar "loophole" in the last
story in SECOND FOUNDATION.) The artificial face looks very
fake--like someone whose face has been painted silver, and then a
silver helmet put over it, leaving the eyes, mouth, and chin
exposed. His larynx was rebuild, so voiceprints don't work. They
don't seem to have addressed dental records, and Gould seems to
think the remaining human arm (with fingerprints) may have been
grafted on to someone else.
I'm not sure the logic holds. I think that the viewer is supposed
to be left unsure whether the man is Martino. But since we see the
East German interrogator extracting personal information from who
we know is the real Martino, watching Elliott Gould trying to use
personal information to answer the question seems like something
he wouldn't expect to work.
I just wish they had had a more ambiguous ending, but I suppose
that is a much more recent approach (e.g., LIMBO (1999)).
Released theatrically August 1975.
Film Credits:
<https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072405/reference>
What others are saying:
<https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/who>
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages