Seeing Ed Wood's name as screenwriter, I flapped my arms like a fly drawn to fly-paper. Expecting a whirl through 1950's cheeze land, for which Wood was infamous, I instead got something I wasn't expecting. Not that the flick's either good or cheezy in the conventional senses: it's not. But the 78-minutes does manage to be a little different.
Back in the mid-50's, a Colorado housewife (Bridey Murphy) claimed a regression through hypnosis to a former life as a 19th century Irish girl. It became a hot public story at the time. People liked to imagine, I suspect, what previous lives they too might have had. Anyhow, I expect Murphy's story inspired this episode of movie regression.
Overall, the flick's plot is oddly flatlined by too much African stock footage that pads rather than develops; plus a leading man (Fuller) whose face remains frozen regardless the level of danger. Too bad he couldn't get interested, but then this cheapo was a comedown for his rising career. Then too, the loose gorilla suits that badly need a fitting don't help. Together, these elements unfortunately drain rather than promote the story's unusual potential.
On the other hand, tbere's leading lady Austin's sterling performance, more worthy of an A-production than a cheapo. Catch her beautifully shaded expressions in a role that could easily have gone over the top. Too bad her career was so brief. Then too, the ending came as a big surprise to me. All in all, it's an exceptional climax for the conformist 1950's.
Anyway, the movie's an obscurity for good reason, unless, that is, you like a lot of big cats pointlessly running around stock footage jungles. Nonetheless, writer Wood does manage to come through in the end. So thanks Ed for the memorable last touch.
