Sunday, September 21, 2008

SHE DEVIL / Regal Pictures - 1957 / Music by Paul Sawtell & Bert Shefter

This is probably Regal's second best effort, KRONOS being the winner, I think. Don't forget, Regal is responsible for the horrible, BACK FROM THE DEAD, which we've already posted... Really great cast here, Mari Blanchard, Jack Kelly and Albert Dekker. Oh, and, don't forget X. Brands!!

The totally classic music is by more Dungeon alumni, Sawtell & Shefter. Other posts of their's includes THE BLACK SCORPION, KRONOS, IT!, THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE, THE COSMIC MAN, CURSE OF THE FLY...

SOUNDCLIP NO LONGER AVAILABLE!!

The movie starts with Mari on her deathbed, she has an incurable form of TB. All she does is cough! Jack and Albert are developing a miracle drug and having decent success in animals. Mari agrees to be their Guinea pig, besides, what's she got to lose?! A few hours after the shot is given, Mari's up and feeling like she's never felt before... AWESOME!

Unfortunately, Mari's developed a few quirks from the injection, too! She wants what she wants... NOW!!! She goes shopping only to be barraged by the overwelming temptation to steal! Then, she discovers that she can change her looks by just 'wishing' it to happen!!! The fuzz is lookin' for a brunette, but, Mari's a blond! Something is definitely wrong here!..

Boy, are Al and Jack proud of their little experiment!! Mari pegs the theme's ultra sexy insinuations like nobody's business!!.. DAMN!!

Things turn really ugly when Mrs. Kendall catches her husband and Mari outside together at a party, kissing. He's rich. Things are making sense!.. Anyway, she slaps Mari good as a result. Bad mistake!..

Right before she murders Mrs. Kendall, Mari turns her hair dark again so that she can't be a suspect!!.. Clever.

She marries Kendall. Millionaire Barton Kendall is played by distinctive looking John Archer, who was also in the excellent unaired MEN INTO SPACE 1960 TV series pilot with John Agar!!

Of course, the honeymoon is over quite quickly and all she wants to do is fight, and, she taunts him into shooting her!! On the way to the hospital, she shows him that she has already 'healed' herself! She jerks the steering wheel and they go off a cliff! She gets out and walks away and all the money is hers, now!!

To make the story short, Mari gets changed back to normal at the end, and, she dies form the TB... A pretty sad end!

2 comments:

Greg Goodsell said...

I love this awful thing! My favorite scene is "I want that money!" Her idea of a superpower is being able to change her hair color from blonde to brunette! Mari Blanchard was a great movie baddie, who alas died of cancer far too young at the age of 46 ......

Anonymous said...

This is based on a short story by Golden Age sci-fi writer Stanley G. Weinbaum. The technique for the hair color transformation scene is the same used by Robert Mamoullian to turn Frederick march from Dr. J to Mr. H (i.e., apply make-up hair coloring in red, then run a red-fading-to-clear filter past the camera to cause the change in b+w).

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