The true story of John Romulus Brinkley, a small-town Kansas doctor who discovers in 1917 that he can cure impotence by transplanting goat testicles into men. And that’s just the tipping point in this stranger-than-fiction tale. With the balls of a P.T. Barnum, the gonads of goats, and the wishful dreams of flaccid men, Brinkley amassed a fortune, was almost elected Governor of Kansas, invented junk mail and the infomercial, and built the world’s most powerful radio station. By the time all of the twists and turns of Brinkley’s story are revealed, Nuts! certainly earns its title.
Direction
Penny Lane's archival animation breathes wild life into dead photos
Editing
Twist structure that actively lies to you—brilliantly
Writing
Narrator's deadpan delivery sells the absurdity perfectly
Director
Penny Lane
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The film's structure mirrors Brinkley's own cons: it seduces you with charm, then pulls the rug. Lane deliberately chose animation to make audiences comfortable before the reveal.
Brinkley's radio station XER literally created the border blaster—Mexican stations so powerful they broadcast across America, birthing both Wolfman Jack and modern evangelical media.
