She

 

 

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This 1935 production of Rider Haggard's fantasy
about an immortal queen of a land hidden in the
Himalayas is, like the original KING KONG, an
interesting historical specimen of the stories,
the characters, the acting, and the technology
of the interbellum Golden Age of Hollywood.

The First Act is getting into the queendom.
The queen falls in love with a handsome member of
a scientific expedition that stumbles into the
mountain fastness, and decides to keep him as
consort. The Third Act is getting out, as earthquake
destroys it all like another climactic escape of Jame Bond.

Shangri-La evokes the primal myth of Eden.
KING KONG has a subtext about the id oppressed by
polite society. If there is more to SHE than
a Saturday matinee action serial, I missed it.

I remember Ursula Andress in a subsequent remake
that I must buy when its price comes down to a
ticket and bag of popcorn.

(this is the colourised but still 1935 version of the film)this movie
is very stunning visually.there is a lot of spectacle involved.the
movie is very stylish,but for me lacks much substance or depth.it does
get cheesy at times,breaking into weird dances that to me look
ridiculous,even absurd.i thought the acting was very good,and i think
the movie had a good moral at the end.i won't reveal what that is
here,but i will say it is even more relevant today.anyway,i certainly
didn't hate the movie,but i didn't love it either.it has its merits,and
also its drawbacks.i think She deserves a 3/5

Legend Films and RKO Pictures present "SHE" (July 12, 1935) (95 mins) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) --- now in COLOR and Glorious Black and White --- "She," adapted from H. Rider Haggard's timeless tale, starring the imposing Helen Gahagan as She (Who-Must-Be-Obeyed), the eternally beautiful ruler of the lost kingdom of Kor --- Helen Gahagan, in her only film, is striking in her portrayal of She, a woman as tragic as she is blessed - to whom others' paltry, transient lives mean nothing --- Randolph Scott, as the direct descendent and physical embodiment of She's long dead lover, brings a believable good performance in a role that calls for top of his form energy. Nigel Bruce is very fine, as usual, this time playing the scholarly friend accompanying Scott on the search for The Flame --- Helen Mack is well cast as the young lady who finds herself caught up in the adventure --- The only film appearance of Gahagan, a noted stage and opera star who later entered the political arena as Helen Gahagan Douglas --- "She" represents Depression Era escapism at its very peak.

Under Lansing C. Holden (Director), Irving Pichel (Director), Merian C. Cooper (Producer), H. Rider Haggard (Book Author), Dudley Nichols (Screenwriter), Ruth Rose (Screenwriter), Roy Hunt (Cinematographer), Max Steiner (Composer (Music Score), Alfred Herman (Art Director), Van Nest Polglase (Art Director), Vernon Walker (Special Effects), Benjamin Zemach (Choreography) - - - - This film exists today only because silent film star Buster Keaton had a copy of the original print stored in his garage, which he gave to film historian Raymond Rohauer for preservation --- The sets, costumes, etc. were all prepared for a color film. At the last minute, RKO pulled Merian C. Cooper's budget, and so, he was forced to shoot the film in black and white. Friend Ray Harryhausen and Legend Films later colorized the film as a tribute to Cooper.

the cast includes:
Helen Gahagan ... She
Randolph Scott ... Leo Vincey
Helen Mack ... Tanya Dugmore
Nigel Bruce ... Horace Holly
Julius Adler ... High Priest
Ray Corrigan ... Guard
Jerry Frank ... Guard
Arnold Gray ... Priest
Lumsden Hare ... Dugmore
Samuel S. Hinds ... John Vincey
Noble Johnson ... Amahaggar Chief
Jim Thorpe ... Captain of the Guard
Gustav von Seyffertitz ... Prime Minister Billali
Bill Wolfe ... Priest

BIOS:
1. Randolph Scott (aka: George Randolph Scott)
Date of birth: 23 January 1898 - Orange County, Virginia
Date of death: 2 March 1987 - Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California

2. Helen Gahagan
Date of Birth: 25 November 1900 - Boonton, New Jersey
Date of Death: 28 June 1980 - New York, New York

3. Nigel Bruce
Date of Birth: 4 February 1895 - Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
Date of Death: 8 October 1953 - Santa Monica, California

4. Ray Harryhausen
Date of Birth: 29 June 1920 - Los Angeles, California
Date of Death: Still Living

BONUS FEATHERS:
1. Audio Commentary by Ray Harryhausen
2. Interview with Ray Harryhausen
3. Film Process with Ray Harryhausen
4. Additional Scenes
5. Legend Films Trailers
6. "She" Trailers

Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guideslines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc), Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") and Trevor Scott (Down Under Com) as they have rekindled my interest once again for Film Noir, B-Westerns and Serials --- looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s & '40s and B-Westerns ... order your copy now from Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on DVD --- stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out Legend Films where they are experts in releasing long forgotten films and treasures to the collector --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 95 mins on DVD ~ Legend Films Video. ~ (11/28/2006)

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4.0 out of 5 stars SHE Shines
This is a marvellous retelling of H. Rider Haggard's story of "Ayesha, or She Who Must Be Obeyed". The colourization is wonderful; and, the interviews with Ray Harryhausen are... Read more

Published on Oct 7 2009 by Cat

4.0 out of 5 stars Great movie...beats the other versions.
Saw this movie a long time ago...there was adventure...cannibals....creatures and
mysterious people living inside a mountain. Read more

Published on Sep 14 2009 by Andre Villemaire

3.0 out of 5 stars This is not the story I remember...
The actor who played She did not seem to portray the she I had in mind. I read this story as a little girl, or rather it was read to me. Read more

Published on July 2 2004 by L. J Nary

4.0 out of 5 stars The story was adjusted a bit
O.K. it was adjusted a lot.

Leo Vincey (Randolph Scott) all grown up is fresh back from the U.S. So he does not have to have an English accent. Read more

Published on May 26 2004 by bernie

4.0 out of 5 stars A flashy, campy fantasy-action classic
A goofy old-fashioned action film produced by Meriam C. Cooper, the brains behind the1931 smash "King Kong." Randolph Scott stars in this slightly tweaked adaptation of H. Read more

Published on April 4 2004 by DJ Joe Sixpack

4.0 out of 5 stars The Ice Queen cometh
After reading H. Rider Haggard's enthralling work, I had to see this movie to see how it stacked up--especially since it's regarded as the best of the 11(! Read more

Published on Jan 22 2002 by LazyLegs

4.0 out of 5 stars Exotic fantasy done in exhuberent 30's style
Strange, camp, and ornate. Most of the King Kong crew returns with some well-done special effects, great music, absurd dance numbers, and human sacrifice. Read more

Published on July 29 1999

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