She Devil

I too recall this picture when I saw it in a movie theater in Ashtabula, Ohio in the 50's. What I found fascinating about it was the Dr. who was in love with this patient and how difficult it was for him to finally make the decision to give her a shot of the anti-serum to stop the violence. I remember how she willed herself to change and become a blonde when she was in the changing room, how the Dr. stole some hair from her hair brush so he could have it analyzed and when she is given the final anti-serum and reverts back to the sweet brunette he loved. Even as a 8 year old,it touched me and made it quite memorable, even in these times. Would love to see it re-done as well. Also, does anyone know if there is any way to get a VHS of this picture?

This film begins with a biochemist named "Dr. Dan Scott" (Jack Kelly) feverishly working on a research project involving human adaptation to disease by using fruit flies. Although his experiments on various animals were a tremendous success he now wants to try it on an injured or sick human being. But complicating matters is the fact that his main sponsor, "Dr. Richard Bach" (Albert Dekker) vehemently disagrees with human research without further testing. He changes his mind, however, when he meets a patient named "Kyra Zelas" (Mari Blanchard) who is suffering from terminal tuberculosis and doesn't have long to live. To everyone's surprise, upon injecting the experimental formula, she fully recovers within hours. Unfortunately, both doctors soon learn that the serum has side effects they never reckoned with. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a fairly decent horror film which definitely benefited from the complete disdain Kyra had for any and all social norms that most people have to observe. She was totally without conscience and human feeling. Even so this movie was clearly a grade-B film and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Average.

Under-the-Radar Low-Budget Science Dabbler.

Familiar Story, from Noted Author Stanley G. Weinbaum ("The Adaptive Ultimate").

A "Miracle" Cure-All is Injected into Terminal Tubercular Mari Blanchard.

She Instantly Recovers but with Positive/Negative Side-Effects. Invulnerable with Chameleon Like Body Manipulative Powers (changing hair-color in a whim),

Complication Abound Including a Personality Change into a Socio-Pathic Narcissist.

The Movie Skirts Film-Noir in Tone and Style.

It is also one of those Misogynist Movies, Typical of the Era, with Pre-Determine Roles for Women. Rigid,Conservative Hive Mentality Machinations.

With Her New-Found Abilities She will have None of that. "Try and stop me."

Mari Blanchard's Angular Odd Beauty Enhances Her Role and She Dominates All Her Scenes.

She is Co-Starred a Pre-"Maverick" Jack Kelly and Albert Dekker who is Always a Presence On Screen.

The Sleek Black and White Cinematographer is by the Famous Karl Struss with a Career Dating Back to F. W. Murnau

The Film with All its Intriguing Ingredients Contributing to Make This...

Worth a Watch.

Dr. Scott has created a miracle serum. When he's given it to animals with horrible injuries or on the verge of death, they quickly recover and are healthy. So, they want to try it out on a human...but ethically the only way they could do this is to give it to a terminal patient with no hope for recovery. Kyra (Mari Blanchard) is dying of advanced tuberculosis and she very willingly agrees to be the guinea pig. Amazingly, she soon completely recovers. However, there are unforeseen complications--she is now virtually indestructible AND she's evil!

Soon, Kyra is off doing rotten things...and with seeming impunity. In a really, really neat scene for a 1950s film, she bashes some poor guy over the head while stealing something. When the police are searching for her, she hides out in a dressing room and wills her hair color to change...and it does on camera! Then, she just walks off...as they're looking for a brunette and she's now a platinum blonde! And, she seems to exude sex appeal that turn men into puppets in her hands! What's next for this budding sociopath with X-Men powers?!

Overall, this is a highly entertaining film that doesn't always make sense. Why didn't the doctors go to the police? This never made complete sense.

Although 1956's "She Devil" came from the same team that made its superior cofeature "Kronos," director Kurt Neumann must share the blame for a script that remains faithful to its source, Stanley G. Weinbaum's "The Adaptive Ultimate," but fails to capitalize on its possibilities as science fiction. For a change we have not one but two scientists conducting research on the 'most adaptive' insect of all, the fruit fly (foreshadowing Neumann's final film "The Fly"), trying to perfect a miraculous cure-all serum, which works on animals but has yet to be done on a human being. A terminally ill patient without any hope to live seems the best choice for a guinea pig, and that turns out to be Kyra Zelas (Mari Blanchard), receiving one injection of the wonder drug before making an incredibly rapid recovery. Not only does she radiate perfect health but she also proves immune to all disease, impervious to injury, and able to change hair color from brunette to blonde and back again during moments of crisis. Kyra also develops an amoral streak that sees her bash in a man's skull for his money, strangling another man's wife so she can wed his millions, then casually drive his car off the road to become a wealthy widow. More soap opera than horror, as the younger doctor (Jack Kelly) inevitably falls for his test subject while the elder (Albert Dekker) occasionally wonders if their achievement is against the laws of nature. One watches in the vain hope that something more than minor film noir will result, and sultry Mari Blanchard does deliver, in a role that would have been a perfect fit for Allison Hayes.