Released in 1935 and loosely based on H. Rider Haggard's novel, "She" stars Randolph Scott and Nigel Bruce as explorers leading an expedition to the Arctic to find a lost civilization. Helen Mack hooks up with them at some point. The journey leads to a quasi-immortal queen of some sort with Julius Adler playing her high priest. The hulking Noble Johnson is on hand as the Amahaggar chief.
I saw the original B&W version, but there's also a colorized version, which I'd rather see since I find B&W to be a flat presentation for cinema and a lavish adventure pic like this deserves color. With the exception of the directors, the production team is the same as 1933's "King Kong" with Merian C. Cooper producing, Ruth Rose scripting (along with Dudley Nichols' added dialogue) and scored by Max Steiner. Speaking of the latter, the music is outstanding, particularly for such an old flick. You can tell that the adventurous adult tone, the sets and the music were a big influence on Gene Roddenberry's original Star Trek.
In regards to "King Kong," this is sort of the feminine flip side to that hallmark adventure fantasy. The architectural sets were influenced by cubism, expressionism, and art deco. The tribal dance sequence in the third act is a highlight, combined with the excellent score for an entrancing experience, as potent as anything by Igor Stravinsky.
An aged yet youthful-appearing queen thinks that she has found her Shangri La, but something unexpected is in store. The flame of life can only last so long before it dies out due to ill-character of the power mad, vain, jealous and possessive queen. She's living in a fool's paradise and is as tragic as she is blessed. Her arrogance, acquired over hundreds of years of unchallenged rule, makes her view others' lives as paltry and transient. Vanity gets a real spanking with some remarkable F/X for the era. In the book, Ayesha was more stunningly imperious and not just a pasty control freak.
She, by the way, is played by Helen Gahagan, a stage actress and opera singer who only made this single film before going into politics and championing migrant workers in California as a Democrat before the party became the Demoncraps. She had a not-so-secret affair with Lyndon B. Johnson on Capitol Hill and coined Nixon's nickname "Tricky Dick." While she's actually rather plain-looking, she has an impressive mane and a powerful presence; She could be the prototype for the wicked queen in "Snow White" or the evil Maleficent.
The African setting of the book was obviously changed to the arctic so as not to compete with the popular Weissmuller Tarzan series that just released the hit "Tarzan and His Mate" the year before. There was also a great fascination with the arctic at the time dating back to the early 19th Century. They certainly did a good job with the studio-bound sets, giving the illusion of the arctic, except that you can't see the characters' breath.
If you have a taste for 1930's adventure epics like King Kong, Gunga Din (1939), and King Solomon's Mines (1937), you will probably appreciate "She." The Hammer version from 1965 isn't as lavish or compelling, despite the quality cast with Ursula Andress in the titular role; it's also straddled with a lousy score.
The film runs 101 minutes (original) and 95 minutes (reissue) and was shot entirely at Prudential Studios, Los Angeles, California. DIRECTORS: Lansing C. Holden & Irving Pichel.
GRADE: B
I saw the original B&W version, but there's also a colorized version, which I'd rather see since I find B&W to be a flat presentation for cinema and a lavish adventure pic like this deserves color. With the exception of the directors, the production team is the same as 1933's "King Kong" with Merian C. Cooper producing, Ruth Rose scripting (along with Dudley Nichols' added dialogue) and scored by Max Steiner. Speaking of the latter, the music is outstanding, particularly for such an old flick. You can tell that the adventurous adult tone, the sets and the music were a big influence on Gene Roddenberry's original Star Trek.
In regards to "King Kong," this is sort of the feminine flip side to that hallmark adventure fantasy. The architectural sets were influenced by cubism, expressionism, and art deco. The tribal dance sequence in the third act is a highlight, combined with the excellent score for an entrancing experience, as potent as anything by Igor Stravinsky.
An aged yet youthful-appearing queen thinks that she has found her Shangri La, but something unexpected is in store. The flame of life can only last so long before it dies out due to ill-character of the power mad, vain, jealous and possessive queen. She's living in a fool's paradise and is as tragic as she is blessed. Her arrogance, acquired over hundreds of years of unchallenged rule, makes her view others' lives as paltry and transient. Vanity gets a real spanking with some remarkable F/X for the era. In the book, Ayesha was more stunningly imperious and not just a pasty control freak.
She, by the way, is played by Helen Gahagan, a stage actress and opera singer who only made this single film before going into politics and championing migrant workers in California as a Democrat before the party became the Demoncraps. She had a not-so-secret affair with Lyndon B. Johnson on Capitol Hill and coined Nixon's nickname "Tricky Dick." While she's actually rather plain-looking, she has an impressive mane and a powerful presence; She could be the prototype for the wicked queen in "Snow White" or the evil Maleficent.
The African setting of the book was obviously changed to the arctic so as not to compete with the popular Weissmuller Tarzan series that just released the hit "Tarzan and His Mate" the year before. There was also a great fascination with the arctic at the time dating back to the early 19th Century. They certainly did a good job with the studio-bound sets, giving the illusion of the arctic, except that you can't see the characters' breath.
If you have a taste for 1930's adventure epics like King Kong, Gunga Din (1939), and King Solomon's Mines (1937), you will probably appreciate "She." The Hammer version from 1965 isn't as lavish or compelling, despite the quality cast with Ursula Andress in the titular role; it's also straddled with a lousy score.
The film runs 101 minutes (original) and 95 minutes (reissue) and was shot entirely at Prudential Studios, Los Angeles, California. DIRECTORS: Lansing C. Holden & Irving Pichel.
GRADE: B