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)
