Cast:
Helen Gahagan (She Who Must Be Obeyed), Randolph Scott (Leo Vincey), Nigel Bruce (Professor Horace Holly), Helen Mack (Tanya Dugmore), Gustav von Seyffertitz (Billali, She's mortal Governor), Lumsden Hare (Dugmore), Samuel S. Hinds (John Vincey), and Noble Johnson (Amahaggar Chief) Directed by Lansing C. Holden and Irving Pichel (#617 - Destination Moon, #709 - The Most Dangerous Game, and #1374 - Quicksand)
Review:
There are certainly a few weird distinctions that come with this film, if you think about it. For one, it was produced by Merian C. Cooper, who worked in film for over four decades in a variety of positions that ranged from director to producer; King Kong (1933) is undoubtedly the one he is remembered for and for good reason, so one isn't surprised to see Cooper involved with this film, which was meant to be an fantasy adventure epic (complete with a score by the same composer as Kong in Max Steiner). The movie is an adaptation of the 1886 novel of the same name by H. Rider Haggard (likely best known for King Solomon's Mines, which he wrote one year prior), with the screenplay written by Dudley Nichols and Ruth Rose; you may recognize the latter name as the co-writer of the screenplay for King Kong (she met Ernest B. Schoedsack, a collaborator with Cooper on numerous films on the production of Grass in 1925 and thus wrote a total of six scripts for Cooper's productions after Schoedsack and Rose married), and Nichols would win an Academy Award that year for another script with The Informer. The most unusual pairing of directors might be with this film, since it features a journeyman director in Pichel and Holden, with the latter being more known for his service in World War I for the 95th Aero Squadron, where he shot down seven enemy pilots. As it turns out, Cooper was also serving in the War as a pilot. For Holden, this was his first and only feature film while also serving as a production illustrator; he worked on two other films in the art department alongside one short directed before he died in a plane crash in 1938 at the age of 42.
Of course, the main thing to remember is that the film was meant to be shot in Technicolor, complete with sets and costumes ready for its lavish fantasy adventure, but RKO Radio Pictures at the last moment cut Cooper's budget (instead of $1 million for this film and another production with RKO, he now had just $1 million combined to make two films). However, a recent re-release by Legend Films presents the film in "colorized" form by screen legend Ray Harryhausen, who was a friend to Cooper, so one technically has the option to see the film as it might have been if it the film was shot in color (having seen what the color print looks like, I cannot actually agree with the idea, but folks will be folks). RKO wanted to have Joel McCrea and Frances Dee for the leads, while Cooper wanted to borrow Greta Garbo from MGM for the title role, but Randolph Scott (borrowed from Paramount) and Helen Gahagan make a fair compromise. The film failed at the box office, costing the studio over $180,000, although it did break even after it was re-released in 1949 when paired with The Last Days of Pompeii (the other RKO production Cooper produced in 1935), although twelve minutes of the 102 minute run-time were cut. It was feared that the film was lost because of a fire that wiped out a print from the studio vault. The original film only exists because of the efforts of Raymond Rohauer. He had invited filmmakers and stars to attend showing and discuss their contributions to film, and it was during one of these tributes that he was approached by Buster Keaton, who asked him if he would be interested in his "garage full of film", and one of the prints found was this film.
Haggard wrote three further novels involving the title character before his death at the age of 68 in 1925. Five adaptations of varying length were constructed before the making of this feature, with the 1925 version (the first feature-length adaptation) even having intertitles written by Haggard himself. Since the making of this film, three further adaptations have followed, with one occurring in 1965, a sequel to that film in 1968, and a post-apocalyptic version in 1984. The striking difference between the film and novel is that the book was set in the Artic rather than Africa, and the film reportedly takes elements from the previous She works. So, we have a pursuit for a fountain of youth-I mean a Flame of Life involving Art Deco decoration and one prominent prop utilized from King Kong that features a dance sequence with choreography that was nominated for an Academy Award. It results in a production that obviously deserved better from RKO that nevertheless makes for useful spectacle. It eventually turns from general pulp to useful curiosity in romance when Gahagan finally appears, but the general trio of Scott-Bruce-Mack do prove worthy in setting the movie up without falling prey to all of the wooden dialogue they sometimes have to say to get the adventure going. Scott walks through the role with the kind of "strong, silent type" of patience that makes one see why he would become an ideal man for the Western for years to come. Bruce had moved to Hollywood from Britian in 1934, and he cultivates a stuffy but always diverting piece of the puzzle, while Mack makes for an assertive romantic interest that serves a worthy spark with Scott. Speaking of which, there is Gahagan to consider. A stage actress before she became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, her icy demeanor in the face of immortality and diminishing humanity certainly jumps the movie's interest level when she shows up to engage with Scott; her appearance and cadence would inspire the look of the Evil Queen for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). While the sets and effects generally work out well for the movie, I would say that the lessened budget does affect the scope of certain scenes, where one wonders just what would have happened with the right amount of staging, but I do think there is still a worthy flair for adventure and allure present to push the film with enough conviction to make the eventual climax more than just someone deciding their future on a flame. In that sense, She (1935) is quite the fascination to hear about along with actually watch as a whole, serving as an interesting example of the quest feature with dutiful fascination fit for a hidden gem.
Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.
