Cheap She (1935) (Video) (Lansing C. Holden, Irving Pichel) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of She (1935)

She who must be seen
A cursory glance at this film will yield a view of a rather creaky relic of early Hollywood mumbo jumbo. It is easy to dismiss this production as such until some very important aspects of the nature of this property are set forth. <
>First off, the story is taken from a turn of the century book written by H. Rider Haggard, a popular novelist whose works include a series of books that were enormously popular in their day and featured a hero named Alan Quartermaine, the character upon whom Indiana Jones was based in contemporary film works. <
>Haggard's works appealed mostly to boys, and "She" was unusual in that it's central character was a woman. Bringing this particular story to the screen insinuated a certain high brow panache, because of Haggard's established reputation as a "serious" writer/novelist. <
>Secondly, the woman selected to play the infamous She, Helen Gahagan (Douglas) was a serious actress and activist who soon after this movie, deserted Hollywood and it's gaudy trappings to pursue a successful career in politics on the West Coast throughout the 40's and 50's. In that respect, She herself was a precursor to the many celebrities that have gone on to similar pursuits in our day and age. <
>Lastly, because the kingdom over which She rules is mythical, the creative license the filmakers enjoyed in creating her realm of Kor, resulted in fabulous Art Deco fantasies of design, and believe you me, this movie is "designed" to the max. <
>Randolph Scott plays his part with the gee gosh gusto that would make him a cowboy star later in his career, but at this time, his physical beauty is striking, even if his acting isn't. (He WAS the model for the original Arrow Shirt man in the early 30's.) <
>There are really nifty special effects such as a giant avalanche and of course the morphing effects She experiences in the film's climax. The biggest scene is the strange rites conducted in the main Hall of Kor that HAS to rival anything ever thought up by Busby Berkeley with it's bizarre combination of Egyptian, Mayan and Copacabana nightclub sensibilities, choreography and all! <
>Add a dash of "The Mummy" and the always successful Boy meets Girl formula, and She emerges as a real icon of it's day and one that any spectacle lover will keep close to their heart. Pop the corn, turn off the lights and sit back and enjoy the movie.

Be Careful
Theres nothing wrong with this movie. Its typical 1930s escapist fun. The problem here is the transfer of the film itself. I've ordered the DVD twice, through two different vendors and both had the same problem. The bottom half of the picture flutters. This goes through about the first 10 minutes or so of the film and is extremely distracting. I can't say whether thats just how the copy of the print they used was (KINO is usually better than that) or if its just a batch of badly pressed DVDs. I guess I'll wait awhile and try ordering it again in a year or so. Too bad, as its really is a fun film.