She (1935)

Leo Vincey, told by his dying uncle of a lost land visited 500 years ago by his ancestor, heads out with family friend Horace Holly to try to discover the land and its secret of immortality... See full summary »

Directors:

Lansing C. Holden, Irving Pichel

Writers:

Ruth Rose (adaptation), Dudley Nichols (additional dialogue)

Stars:

Helen Gahagan, Randolph Scott, Helen Mack

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Helen Gahagan	...	She
Randolph Scott	...	Leo Vincey
Helen Mack	...	Tanya Dugmore
Nigel Bruce	...	Horace Holly

Storyline

Leo Vincey, told by his dying uncle of a lost land visited 500 years ago by his ancestor, heads out with family friend Horace Holly to try to discover the land and its secret of immortality, said to be contained within a mystic fire. Picking up Tanya, a guide's daughter, in the frozen Russian arctic, they stumble upon Kor, revealed to be a hidden civilization ruled over by an immortal queen, called She, who believes Vincey is her long-lost lover John Vincey, Leo's ancestor.

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Plot Keywords:

living in a cave | psychotronic film | ancestor | fire | immortality | 

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Taglines:

From H. Rider Haggard's weird, wondrous story of the beautiful woman who bathed in flame and lived 500 years .. at last to find her first love at this very hour!

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Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 July 1935 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Deusa do Fogo

Filming Locations:

RKO-Pathé Studios - 9336 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min (original) 95 min (reissue)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The massive gate that they pass through to enter the city of Kor is the same gate that was first used in "King Kong". It was subsequently used in many other films, including " The King of Kings", " The Garden Of Allah", and "Gone With The Wind".

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Goofs

When the Amahaggar Chief (Noble Johnson) falls to his death by being shoved into a fiery pit, you can see his feet bounce up just before the cut as he lands on an off screen mattress.

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Quotes

Horace: But, who are you?
She, Queen Hash-A-Mo-Tep of Kor: I am yesterday, and today, and tomorrow. I am sorrow, and longing, and hope unfulfilled. I am Hash-A-Mo-Tep. She. She who must be obeyed! I am I.

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Crazy Credits

In the opening credits, each batch of credits is "wiped away" by smoke rising from the Flame of Life.

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Alternate Versions

2006 Ray Harryhausen colorized version, 94 minutes.

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Connections

Remade as She (2001)

User Reviews

Highly Influential, Largely Forgotten--And Lots of Fun

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