She Creature, The
Entry updated 20 June 2022. Tagged: Film.
Film (1956; vt The She-Creature). Golden State Productions, American International Pictures. Produced by Alex Gordon. Directed by Edward L Cahn. Written by Lou Rusoff from a story by Rusoff based on an original idea by Jerry Zigmund. Cast includes Paul Blaisdell (uncredited), Tom Conway, Marla English, Lance Fuller, Chester Morris and Ron Randell. 77 minutes. Black and white.
Unscrupulous hypnotist Dr Carlo Lombardi (Morris) discovers during a performance one evening that Andrea Talbot (English) is an excellent subject for Hypnosis. He convinces the reluctant women to continue his "life regression" sessions, which result in her physical reversion to a large prehistoric amphibious ancestor (Blaisdell). Lombardi then has this Monster commit various murders, with no apparent motive save perhaps the thrill he gets from his control over Andrea in both human and monster form. Promoter Timothy Chappel (Conway) and his wife Dorothy (Cathy Downs) see the pair as an excellent attraction for their own company, and want to bring them into it. Andrea does not wish to continue, but is unable to break free of Lombardi. Dr Ted Erickson (Fuller) tries to expose the hypnotist as a fraud, but fails, and there are further murders.
Police Lieutenant Ed James (Randell) suspects that Lombardi must somehow be responsible for the deaths – since all take place near Lombardi's and Andrea's appearances – but is uncertain exactly how. James is also attracted to Andrea, and tries to help her break away from Lombardi, as does Erickson; both ultimately fail. But Andrea turns against Lombardi during her final regression into the creature, and kills him near the sea before being shot to death by police. [GSt]
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