She (1965)

Country of Origin: UK
Year of Production: 1965
Running Times: 105 mins
Format: Metrocolor     35mm
Ratio: Hammerscope     2.35:1
Sound: mono

PRODUCTION
Production Company: Hammer Film Productions / Associated British-Pathé Limited / Seven Arts Productions
Producer: Michael Carreras
Associate Producer: Aida Young

SCRIPT
Script: David T. Chantler
Novel: H. Rider Haggard

DIRECTION
Director: Robert Day
Assistant Director: Bruce Sharman

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Harry Waxman

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editor: Eric Boyd-Perkins

MUSIC
Music: James Bernard
Music Supervisor: Philip Martell

SOUND
Sound: Claude Hitchcock
Sound Effects Editors: Jim Groom, Vernon Messenger

SPECIAL MAKE UP EFFECTS
Special Make Up Effects: Roy Ashton

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects: George Blackwell
Special Processes: Bowie Films Ltd

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Art Director: Robert Jones

MISCELLANEOUS
Choreography: Christine Lawson

CAST
Ursula Andress (Ayesha)
Peter Cushing (Major Horace Holly)
Bernard Cribbins (Job)
John Richardson (Leo Vincey)
Rosenda Monteros (Ustane)
Christopher Lee (Billali)
André Morell (Haumeid)
Soraya, Julie Mendez, Lisa Peake (night club dancers)
Bula Coleman, Cherry Larman (handmaidens)
Oo-Bla-Da Dancers (native dancers)
John Maxim (bit part - uncredited)
Eddie Powell (thug - uncredited)
Monica Van der Syl (voice of Ayesha - uncredited)
George Pastell (voice of Haumeid - uncredited)

PLOT SUMMARY

In the wake of World War I, Major Holly, his valet Job and his colleague Vincey head off for some relaxation in Palestine. There, Vincey meets and falls for the beautiful but mysterious Ayesha who gives him a map and suggests that he follows the route marked on it. The men are enthusiastic about the possibility of discovering a lost civilisation and, after an arduous journey, arrive at the Mountains of the Moon where the immortal Ayesha bathes in a mystical fire and that she believes Vincey to be the reincarnation of her long dead lover.

After a string of low budget horrors, Hammer went all out for an epic in this lavish and hugely enjoyable adaptation of the Rider Haggard novel. It was Hammer's most expensive film to date and it shows in the oppulent sets, grand costumes and large scale action. Andress lets the acting side down a bit with her stiff performance, but Cushing, as ever, saves the day, ably assisted by John Richardson, André Morell and old sparring partner Christopher Lee.

UK
Theatrical Distributor: WPD

USA
Theatrical Distributor: MGM

Finland
Rating: K-16

Sweden
Rating: 15

UK
Rating: A

USA
Rating: unrated

1964
August
17: UK - shooting begins

October
17: UK - shooting ends

1965
April
18: UK - theatrical release

July
2: Finland - theatrical release

September
1: USA - theatrical release

1966
May
16: Sweden - theatrical release

SHE who must be obeyed! ...SHE who must be loved! ...SHE who must be possessed!

SEQUEL
The Vengeance of She (1968)

REMAKE OF
She (1908)
She (1911)
She (1916)
She (1917)
She (1925)
She (1935)

REMAKES
She (2001)

FOOTAGE INCLUDED IN
The She Story (1965)

FOOTAGE INCLUDED IN
The Many Faces of Christopher Lee (1996)
Peter Cushing: A One-Way Ticket to Hollywood (1989)

BOOKS

The Hammer Story pp.90-91; 186-187
illustrated production notes, review (by Marcus Hearn and Alan Barnes); credits

books into film, deserts, immortality, lost cities, reincarnation

Last Updated: 15 October, 2008