She

Merian C. Cooper, co-creator of KING KONG (1935), turned his eyes to another long-lost civilization for this epic fantasy whose driving force, however, is not amazing special effects but rather the theme of reincarnation and love spanning several centuries (hence its affinity with THE MUMMY [1932]: screenwriter John L. Balderston had been assigned to adapt the H. Rider Haggard novel around this same time, before the property was sold to RKO). Still, despite every effort on the part of writers Ruth Rose and Dudley Nichols and an interesting cast - Randolph Scott, Helen Gahagan (wife of Melvyn Douglas and whose sole film this was!), Helen Mack, Nigel Bruce (thankfully playing his part straight) and Gustav von Seyffertitz - to wring every ounce of romance and adventure out of its plot, the film's single most impressive contribution is the awe-inspiring production design (courtesy of RKO's in-house genius of art direction during this time, Van Nest Polglase). Max Steiner's score is also notable, evoking both the mystery of an unknown land as well as the dangers and passions lurking within.

A word needs to be said about the DVD: I'm not sure how the film ended up at Kino since RKO titles are currently the property of Warner Bros., but picture quality is quite acceptable under the circumstances. However, the audio is a different matter entirely: it was so low that even when pushed to the limit, one can hardly discern what's being said (particularly during the climax)! I've had some discs whose audio was no more than discreet but never anything like this; it was a very frustrating experience, to be sure, and I wonder whether others who might have SHE on DVD feel the same way...

I have very happy memories of this movie, which I finally saw in a revival house in New York City in the early Nineties, after many years of its unavailability due to the Hammer remake. This much more idiosyncratic version from the Thirties owes a lot of its atmosphere and stylish elan to the extraordinary Bauhaus-inspired sets, the Max Steiner score, and Helen Gahagan's majestically mannered performance as She Who MUST Be Obeyed. It's a film very much of its time yet there is also a timeless, haunting quality to certain sequences. It has very little to do with Rider Haggard's novel (which is a great favorite of mine) but once I realized this was going to be a different story altogether I didn't care.

The theatre that showed this was packed for a mid afternoon screening, and the audience reacted with tremendous enthusiasm to this classic film. If you have a taste for such great 1930s epics as King Kong, Gunga Din, and King Solomon's Mines, you will enjoy it as well. The 1965 version with Ursula Andress, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee is fun as well but has even less to do with the themes of Haggard's original novel. It does however have a more up to date feel for those who care about glossy production values.

This once seemingly lost, or at least taken out of circulation, film is now back in a magnificent Kino colorized version with restored footage and sound, all of which will surely bring new fans to this unusual film.

The story has been filmed at least six times, with the Kino DVD showing excepts from the (poor) 1911 and (better) 1925 silent versions. The 1966 version may have had the best looking 'She', a regal Ursula Andress, but this one has great art deco sets (now even more amazing in color); bizarre Busby Berkeley like dance sequences (nominated for a 1935 Oscar, no less!); a stirring Max Steiner score; the cute as a button Helen Mack--also seen in the weak 'Son of Kong' (1933); and Nigel Bruce in a major role playing it straight.

Helen Gahagan plays 'She' in a passionate, mannered way with almost Shakespearian dialogue. Unfortunately she is poorly off set by a dull Randolph Scott as Leo, making her 500 year old love for him seem a little unconvincing.

Much better would have been RKO star Joel McCrea who had a more handsome profile, physique, energy and acting skill. McCrea does an outstanding job in 'The Silver Horde' (1930), 'Bird of Paradise' (1932), and 'The Most Dangerous Game' (1932). Why he wasn't in this one is a mystery, and a detriment to the film.

The only other really weak spot is that though they were in the Frozen North, you never see cold breath coming from the characters' mouths. Contrast this with the impressive 'Lost Horizon' (1937) or 'The Thing' (1982), where when it's cold, you can see their breath!

Other notes: The evil queen's purple costume in 'Snow White' (1938) is an exact copy of one of She's royal 'gowns' complete with spiked tiara! We also see the the Skull Island Kong Gate from 'King Kong' (1933).

High points: The final sequences beginning with 'The Hall of The Kings' elevate the quality of the film tremendously. The colorization really is the best here. Helen Gahagan gets several strong scenes about the burden of immortality. The love triangle focus of the film actually works because of Ruth Rose's dialog and the acting skills of both Helens.

Watching it in black and white (also included on the Kino DVD) gives the story a more nightmarish quality and is also recommended. For both, I give them a 7.

If the 1935 SHE reminds you vaguely of the 1933 KING KONG do not be too surprised: both films were produced by Meriam C. Cooper, who endowed them with similar visual styles--and who tweaked the 1887 novel by H. Rider Haggard to create a similar story line as well. Starring Broadway actress (and later two term Democratic congresswoman from California) Helen Gahagan in her only film role as The Eternal One, SHE did not, however, meet with the same financial success. It lost a tremendous amount of money for RKO, was withdrawn, and for many years was thought to be completely lost.

Although the film alters the Haggard novel in a great many ways, it retains the basic elements. Lured by a family legend, Leo Vincey (Randolph Scott) braves the frozen European north with family friend Horace Holly (Nigel Bruce, best known for his appearances in the Sherlock Holmes series) and innocent Tanya Dugmore (Helen Mack, popular 1930s ingenue.) When an avalanche exposes a cavern, the three find that the Vincey family legend is not quite so fanciful after all.

Most particularly, they find themselves at the mercy of She Who Must Be Obeyed, a woman who recalls talk of Jesus Christ in the Jerusalem market place, a woman two thousand years old who preserves her life by bathing in a radioactive flame that vents from the volcanic floor of her hidden kingdom. She (known here as Queen Hash-A-Mo-Tep) has been waiting for the reincarnation of her long-dead love, and Leo is his spitting image.

The acting styles are stiff even by 1935 standards and although Miss Gahagan is attractive in a 1930s way she lacks the stunning beauty attributed to She by the Haggard novel--but the great draw of the film was never intended to be great acting: like KING KONG, it is an action-adventure film with knockout sets (a few of them actually lifted from KING KONG), memorable special effects, and remarkable cinematographic set pieces. Even as it borrowed from earlier films such as the 1932 Boris Karloff THE MUMMY, it would also influence later films in turn; it is hard, for example, to imagine the 1937 Ronald Coleman LOST HORIZON without it, and even the look of the evil queen in Disney's 1938 SNOW WHITE is said to have been inspired by Gahagan's look and performance.

The film has been released in several editions to the home market, and fans may be tempted by less expensive editions. A word to the wise: Don't. The film shows its age and there is no significant bonus material, but the Kino Video release (be it on VHS or DVD) offers what is probably the best print short of a digital restoration. Recommended for fans of 1930s fantasy cinema.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

"She," adapted from H. Rider Haggard's timeless tale, has been produced multiple times, although never as entertainingly as the 1935 version, starring the imposing Helen Gahagan as She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed, the eternally beautiful ruler of the lost kingdom of Kor. This would be the only film appearance of Gahagan, a noted stage and opera star who later entered the political arena as Helen Gahagan Douglas. Reportedly, Gahagan was embarrassed by the movie and vowed never to heed Hollywood's call again. But perhaps she was her own severest critic, since "She" represents Depression Era escapism at its very peak.

The movie was produced by Merian C. Cooper, who'd struck it rich two years earlier with "King Kong." Those with sharp eyes will note that the enormous gate cutting Kor off from the outside world is the same one which served -- for awhile -- to hold Kong in his natural habitat on Skull Island. This outrageously opulent adventure tale stars the stoic Randolph Scott as American explorer John Vincey, who ventures into the Arctic to find the story behind a cryptic, 500-year-old letter. Accompanying him are the jolly Holly (Nigel Bruce, later to become a familiar face as Dr. Watson in the Nigel Rathbone "Sherlock Holmes" movies) and the feisty Tanya (Helen Mack), who's secretly attracted to John.

After surviving an avalanche and battling cave-dwelling cannibals, the intrepid trio comes face to face with a much greater danger, the imperious She, who has been bathing in a flame of eternal life and biding her time for centuries, looking for true love. "I am yesterday and today and tomorrow," She muses, shortly before deciding John is the man worth waiting half a millennium for. Tanya, however, has other ideas. Thrillingly scored by Max Steiner and featuring backdrops you won't believe (check out the patio of Holly and Tanya's apartment), the movie climaxes with a dazzling ceremony in the Hall of Kings, featuring hundreds of extras performing some of the most bizarre choreography ever filmed. That sequence alone would make the movie worthwhile, but it turns out to be only one of the many treasures of "She."