This article is missing information about the film's theatrical/home media release, and legacy.(April 2018) |
The She Creature | |
---|---|
Directed by | Edward L. Cahn |
Written by | Lou Rusoff |
Produced by | Alex Gordon |
Starring | Chester Morris Marla English Tom Conway Cathy Downs Paul Blaisdell |
Cinematography | Frederick E. West |
Edited by | Ronald Sinclair |
Music by | Ronald Stein |
Production company | Golden State Productions |
Distributed by | American International Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 77 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $104,000 [1] |
The She-Creature, or The She Creature, is a 1956 American black-and-white science fiction horror film, released by American International Pictures from a script by Lou Rusoff (brother-in-law of AIP executive Samuel Z. Arkoff). It was produced by Alex Gordon, directed by Edward L. Cahn, and stars Chester Morris, Marla English and Tom Conway, and casting Frieda Inescort and El Brendel in smaller roles. The producers hired Marla English because they thought she bore a strong resemblance to Elizabeth Taylor.[ citation needed ]
The monster costume was created by master make-up artist Paul Blaisdell and is considered one of his best. Parts of the costume were re-used in three later AIP films. [2] Blaisdell nicknamed the monster "Cuddles". The costume was eventually destroyed in a flood that hit his Topanga Canyon home in 1979. [3]
The film was released by AIP as a double feature with It Conquered the World . [4]
This article needs an improved plot summary.(March 2018) |
Dr. Carlo Lombardi, an oleaginous carnival hypnotist, conducts experiments in hypnotic regression that take his unwitting female subject Andrea Talbott to a past life as a prehistoric humanoid form of sea life. He uses the physical manifestation of the prehistoric creature to commit murders.
The story was inspired by the success of the best-selling Morey Bernstein book The Search for Bridey Murphy , which concerned hypnotism and reincarnation. Exhibitor Jerry Zigmond suggested this subject might make a good film, and AIP commissioned Lou Rusoff to write a script. [1]
AIP did not have enough money to entirely finance the film, so the company asked producer Alex Gordon if he could contribute the remainder. Israel Berman, a colleague of Gordon's brother Richard, knew financier Jack Doppelt, who agreed to provide $40,000 of the film's $104,000 budget. [1]
Edward L. Cahn persuaded his old actor friend Edward Arnold to star [5] for $3,000 for one week's work, and also cast Peter Lorre as the hypnotist. Arnold died two days before production began, while Peter Lorre read the script after which he immediately pulled out of the film and fired his agent for committing him to the project without consulting him first. The producer had to find a substitute cast quickly, settling on Chester Morris and Tom Conway. [6] This was Ron Randell's first film in America in a number of years. [7]
As usual, Blaisdell played the monster in every scene. Blaisdell nearly got injured when the director instructed him to smash his way through a wooden door in one of the film's action sequences, without realizing the door had been reinforced with plywood. Also in the beach scenes where the creature had to be seen emerging from the surf, Blaisdell was told to wade in up to his waist instead of his knees. The costume got so waterlogged, Blaisdell could hardly propel himself out of the water, especially with the tide working against him. Amazingly, most of this scene was later excised from the finished film due to poor quality image.
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Gordon, who deferred his $2,500 producer's fee until the film returned its cost, said that the movie was profitable a year and half after its release. [1] Within a few days of finishing the film, AIP featured the She Creature costume in live appearances on several L.A. talk shows to promote the film's grand opening. Blaisdell had his best friend Bob Burns wear the suit on the TV programs, since he was too worn out himself.
Author and film critic Leonard Maltin awarded the film 2 out of 4 stars, calling it "slow and preposterous but effectively moody, with one of Paul Blaisdell's more memorable monsters". [8] On his website Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings, Dave Sindelar wrote, "There is a clever concept behind this attempt to combine the Bridey Murphy concept with a monster movie; unfortunately, a poor script and some ineffectual acting hamstring the attempt". [9] TV Guide awarded the film 1 out of 4 stars, writing, "Some interesting concepts were touched on, but quickly pushed to the background in the name of plot development, which in this case is one cliche after another". [10] Dennis Schwartz from Ozus' World Movie Reviews awarded the film a grade of C, calling it "Amusing hokum". [11]
In 1967, American International commissioned Larry Buchanan to remake the film in color for television, retitled as Creature of Destruction .
The original film was later featured in an episode of Cinema Insomnia , [12] as well as in the eighth season of movie-mocking television show Mystery Science Theater 3000 .
American International Pictures LLC is an American film production company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing films from 1955 until 1980, a year after its acquisition by Filmways in 1979.
It! The Terror from Beyond Space is an independently made 1958 American science fiction horror film, produced by Robert Kent, directed by Edward L. Cahn, that stars Marshall Thompson, Shawn Smith, and Kim Spalding. The film was distributed by United Artists as a double feature with Curse of the Faceless Man.
It Conquered the World is an independently made 1956 American black-and-white science fiction film, produced and directed by Roger Corman, starring Peter Graves, Lee Van Cleef, Beverly Garland, and Sally Fraser. It Conquered the World was released theatrically by American International Pictures as a double feature with The She-Creature.
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The Eye Creatures is a 1967 American made-for-television comedy horror science fiction film about an invasion by a flying saucer and its silent, shambling alien occupants.
How to Make a Monster is a 1958 American horror film drama that is notable for its inclusion of props and studios that created actual sci-fi horror movies.
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Invasion of the Saucer Men, is a 1957 black-and-white comic science fiction/comedy horror film produced by James H. Nicholson for release by American International Pictures. The film was directed by Edward L. Cahn and stars Stephen Terrell, Gloria Castillo, Raymond Hatton and Frank Gorshin.
Day the World Ended is a 1955 independently made black-and-white post-apocalyptic science fiction film, produced and directed by Roger Corman, that stars Richard Denning, Lori Nelson, Adele Jergens, Paul Birch (actor) and Mike Connors. Chet Huntley of NBC, later of The Huntley-Brinkley Report, served as the film's narrator. It was released by American Releasing Corporation as a double feature with The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues.
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Alex Gordon was a British film producer and screenwriter.
The Beast with a Million Eyes is a 1955 independently made American black-and-white science fiction film, produced and directed by David Kramarsky, that stars Paul Birch, Lorna Thayer, and Dona Cole. Some film sources have said that the film was co-directed by Lou Place. The film was co-produced by Roger Corman and Samuel Z. Arkoff. and was released by American Releasing Corporation, which later became American International Pictures.
Creature of Destruction is a 1967 American made-for-television film produced and directed by Larry Buchanan. It is an uncredited color remake of the 1956 movie The She Creature directed by Edward L. Cahn.
Lou Rusoff was a Canadian-born screenwriter and producer best known for his work with American International Pictures.
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Paul Blaisdell was an American painter, sculptor and visual effects creator, best remembered for his work in science fiction and horror B movies of the 1950s.