THE
ASTOUNDING SHE MONSTER (1957)Director: Ronald V. Ashcroft
Image Entertainment
THE
ASTOUNDING SHE MONSTER (1957)Commencing with lame "Ed Wood" type narration, a heiress (Marilyn Harvey) is kidnapped by two wiseguy gangsters (Kenne Duncan, Ewing Miles Brown) and their alcoholic moll (Jeanne Tatum). They crash their car in the middle of the woods after Brown (the driver) witnesses a strange vision--a shapely blond woman in a skin-tight catsuit with bushy eyebrows. No one believes him, and they take refuge in the secluded cabin of a geologist loner (Robert Clarke) who they hold at gunpoint.
The strange woman (Shirley Kilpatrick) is actually an alien who kills anything that she touches. Most of the film takes place in the cabin as Clarke and Harvey try to plan an escape while facing the opposing invader outside. Whenever Kilpatrick is shown creeping around, there's a shaky fog over the camera that gives the effect of a mysterious aura--a cheap effect, but given the limitations of this flick--not too bad.
Clocking in at just a little over an hour, THE ASTOUNDING SHE MONSTER is definitely one of the cheapest, most laughable sci-fi films, but it's not without charm if you dig Grade Z stuff from that era. You get bad "day for night" photography, ludicrous stock music (that later graced THE BEAST OF YUCCA FLATS), unconvincingly blended-in stock footage, hammy acting (especially Duncan as the tough but somewhat likable hood), and really cheesy dialog. Watch Marilyn Harvey overdo it during the conclusion, as she ponders the situation when learning that the she monster was sent to Earth as an emissary of peace!--this after her and Clarke discover a message on a tiny piece of paper secured in her locket. It would have saved everybody a lot of aggravation if they knew that she was an "emissary of peace" before she killed three people, a bear, a dog and a snake!
The excellent liner notes by Tom Weaver only add more credence to the film's legendary "Z movie" status, and depict some truly incredible anecdotes, including the fact that it was made for only $18,000! Director Ashcroft (inspired to make a cheap sci-fi movie after his crew duties on Corman's THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED) was able to sell the film to AIP for $60,000, and cigar-chewing Sam Arkoff presumed he got a great deal (he thought the film cost $40,000 to make!).
Star Robert Clarke got a percentage of the payment ($3,000), inspiring him to make his own cheesy sci-fi epics--BEYOND THE TIME BARRIER and THE HIDEOUS SUN DEMON. Weaver also notes that Shirley Kilpatrick is rumored to have changed her name to Shirley Stoler and later starred as the chubby homicidal nurse in THE HONEYMOON KILLERS (1970)!
Unfortunately, the DVD is a real low point for the Wade Williams Collection. Their last few releases have been of outstanding quality, but here we get what appears to be a transfer culled from a beat-up 16mm print. The black & white film has a considerable amount of scratches, markings and lines throughout the presentation, and reel changes get especially messy. The image is also very bouncy, and the mono sound is mediocre. Perhaps MGM still "officially" owns the rights to this AIP title--until then, we'll have to settle for this OK disc which is somewhat redeemed by fine packaging and liner notes.
The only extra is an absurd trailer ("A woman so intriguing, that her face and figure fascinate every man") that's in much worse shape than the film itself. (George R. Reis)