{{Short description|1956 film by Edward L. Cahn}} {{For|the 2001 film|She Creature}} {{Missing information|the film's theatrical/home media release, and legacy|date=April 2018}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox film |name = The She Creature |image = The_She_Creature_FilmPoster.jpeg |caption = Theatrical release poster |director = [[Edward L. Cahn]] |producer = [[Alex Gordon (writer-producer)|Alex Gordon]] |writer = [[Lou Rusoff]] |starring = [[Chester Morris]]<br>[[Marla English]]<br>[[Tom Conway]]<br>[[Cathy Downs]]<br>Paul Blaisdell |music = [[Ronald Stein]] |cinematography = Frederick E. West |editing = [[Ronald Sinclair]] |studio = Golden State Productions |distributor = [[American International Pictures]] |released = {{Film date|1956|8|1}} |runtime = 77 minutes |country = United States |language = English |budget = $104,000<ref name=gordon/> }} '''''The She-Creature''''', or '''''The She Creature''''', is a 1956 American [[black-and-white]] [[science fiction film|science fiction]] [[horror film]], released by [[American International Pictures]] from a script by [[Lou Rusoff]] (brother-in-law of AIP executive [[Samuel Z. Arkoff]]). It was produced by [[Alex Gordon (writer-producer)|Alex Gordon]], directed by [[Edward L. Cahn]], and stars [[Chester Morris]], [[Marla English]], and [[Tom Conway]], and casting [[Frieda Inescort]] and [[El Brendel]] in smaller roles. The producers hired Marla English because they thought she bore a strong resemblance to [[Elizabeth Taylor]].{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}
The film was released by AIP as a [[double feature]] with ''[[It Conquered the World]]''.<ref>McGee, Mark Thomas; Robertson, R.J. (2013). ''You Won't Believe Your Eyes''. Bear Manor Media. {{ISBN|978-1-59393-273-2}}. p. 254.</ref>
==Plot== {{more plot|date=March 2018}} Dr. Carlo Lombardi, an oleaginous carnival hypnotist, conducts experiments in [[past life regression|hypnotic regression]] that take his unwitting female subject Andrea Talbott to a past life as a prehistoric humanoid form of sea life. He uses the physical manifestation of the prehistoric creature to commit murders.
==Cast== * [[Chester Morris]] as hypnotist Dr. Carlo Lombardi, a mad scientist * [[Tom Conway]] as showman Timothy Chappel * [[Cathy Downs]] as Dorothy Chappel (Timothy's daughter) * [[Lance Fuller]] as Dr. Ted Erickson * [[Ron Randell]] as Police Lt. Ed James * [[Frieda Inescort]] as Mrs. Chappel * [[Marla English]] as Andrea Talbott * [[Frank Jenks]] as plainclothes sergeant * [[El Brendel]] as Olaf, the butler * [[Paul Dubov]] as Johnny * [[William Hudson (actor)|William Hudson]] (credited as Bill Hudson) as Bob * [[Flo Bert]] as Marta * [[Jeanne Evans]] as Mrs. Brown * [[Kenneth MacDonald (American actor)|Kenneth MacDonald]] as Police Doctor * [[Jack Mulhall]] as Dr. Lombardi's lawyer * [[Spike (dog actor)|Spike]] as King the family dog * [[Paul Blaisdell]] as The She-Creature * [[Luana Walters]] as a Party Guest (her last acting role)
==Production== [[File:Baseline Drive-in Ad - 28 August 1956, Highland, CA.jpg|thumb|[[Drive-in theater|Drive-in]] advertisement from 1956 featuring ''The She-Creature'' with companion feature, ''[[It Conquered the World]]''.]] The story was inspired by the success of the best-selling Morey Bernstein book ''[[The Search for Bridey Murphy]]'', which concerned hypnotism and reincarnation. Exhibitor Jerry Zigmond suggested this subject might make a good film, and AIP commissioned Lou Rusoff to write a script.<ref name=gordon>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nv8QNUySl2YC&pg=PA122|last=Weaver|first=Tom|title=Science Fiction Confidential: Interviews with 23 Monster Stars and Filmmakers|publisher=McFarland|date=January 1, 2002|pages=123–126|isbn=9780786411757 }}</ref>
AIP did not have enough money to entirely finance the film, so the company asked producer Alex Gordon if he could contribute the remainder. Israel Berman, a colleague of Gordon's brother Richard, knew financier Jack Doppelt, who agreed to provide $40,000 of the film's $104,000 budget.<ref name=gordon/>
Edward L. Cahn persuaded his old actor friend [[Edward Arnold (actor)|Edward Arnold]] to star<ref>{{cite news|title=Drama: Actor Arnold Signs for 'She Creature'|work=Los Angeles Times|date=Apr 25, 1956|page=34}}</ref> for $3,000 for one week's work, and also cast [[Peter Lorre]] as the hypnotist. Arnold died two days before production began, while Peter Lorre read the script after which he immediately pulled out of the film and fired his agent for committing him to the project without consulting him first. The producer had to find a substitute cast quickly, settling on Chester Morris and Tom Conway.<ref>Mark McGee, ''Faster and Furiouser: The Revised and Fattened Fable of American International Pictures'', McFarland, 1996 pp. 54-56.</ref> This was Ron Randell's first film in America in a number of years.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/unsung-aussie-actors-ron-randell-top-twenty/|title=Unsung Aussie Actors – Ron Randell: A Top Twenty|date=August 10, 2019}}</ref>
The monster costume was created by master make-up artist [[Paul Blaisdell]] and is considered one of his best.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} Parts of the costume were re-used in three later AIP films.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://allmovie.com/movie/the-she-creature-v109837|last=Brennan|first=Sandra|title=The She-Creature (1956)|publisher=[[AllMovie]]|accessdate=August 15, 2021}}</ref> Blaisdell nicknamed the monster "Cuddles". The costume was eventually destroyed in a flood that hit his [[Topanga Canyon]] home in 1979.<ref>Palmer, Randy (2009). Paul Blaisdell, ''Monster Maker: A Biography of the B Movie Makeup and Special Effects Artist''. McFarland & Company. {{ISBN|978-0786440993}}.</ref>
As usual, Blaisdell played the monster in every scene. Blaisdell nearly got injured when the director instructed him to smash his way through a wooden door in one of the film's action sequences, without realizing the door had been reinforced with plywood. Also in the beach scenes where the creature had to be seen emerging from the surf, Blaisdell was told to wade in up to his waist instead of his knees. The costume got so waterlogged, Blaisdell could hardly propel himself out of the water, especially with the tide working against him. Amazingly, most of this scene was later excised from the finished film due to poor quality image.
==Release== {{expand section|date=March 2018}} Gordon, who deferred his $2,500 producer's fee until the film returned its cost, said that the movie was profitable a year and half after its release.<ref name=gordon/> Within a few days of finishing the film, AIP featured the She Creature costume in live appearances on several L.A. talk shows to promote the film's grand opening. Blaisdell had his best friend Bob Burns wear the suit on the TV programs, since he was too worn out himself.
==Reception== ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote it had "a good quota of chills".<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|title=The She Creature|url=https://archive.org/details/variety204-1956-09/page/n5/mode/1up?|date=5 September 1956|page=6}}</ref>
Author and film critic [[Leonard Maltin]] awarded the film 2 out of 4 stars, calling it "slow and preposterous but effectively moody, with one of Paul Blaisdell's more memorable monsters".<ref>{{cite book|author1=[[Leonard Maltin]]|author2=Spencer Green|author3=Rob Edelman|title=Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hLtaAAAAYAAJ|date=January 2010|publisher=Plume|isbn=978-0-452-29577-3|pages=589–590}}</ref>
On his website ''Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings'', Dave Sindelar wrote, "There is a clever concept behind this attempt to combine the [[Bridey Murphy]] concept with a monster movie; unfortunately, a poor script and some ineffectual acting hamstring the attempt".<ref>{{cite web|last=Sindelar|first=Dave|title=The She-Creature (1956)|url=https://fantasticmoviemusings.com/2015/05/10/the-she-creature-1956/|website=FantasticMovieMusings.com|publisher=Dave Sindelar|date=May 10, 2015|accessdate=August 15, 2021}}</ref>
''[[TV Guide]]'' awarded the film 1 out of 4 stars, writing, "Some interesting concepts were touched on, but quickly pushed to the background in the name of plot development, which in this case is one cliche after another".<ref>{{cite web|title=The She-Creature – Movie Reviews and Movie Ratings|url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/the-she-creature/review/126550/|website=TV Guide.com|publisher=TV Guide|accessdate=August 15, 2021}} {{Dead link|date=February 2026}}</ref>
Dennis Schwartz from ''Ozus' World Movie Reviews'' awarded the film a grade of C, calling it "Amusing hokum".<ref>{{cite web|last=Schwartz|first=Dennis|title=She Creature|url=http://homepages.sover.net/%7Eozus/shecreature.htm|website=Sover.net|publisher=Dennis Schwartz|accessdate=May 23, 2018|archivedate=May 24, 2018|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180524004245/http://homepages.sover.net/~ozus/shecreature.htm}}</ref>
==Legacy== In 1967, American International commissioned [[Larry Buchanan]] to remake the film in color for television, retitled as ''[[Creature of Destruction]]''.
The original film is featured in an eighth season episode of movie-mocking television show ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' and an episode of ''[[Cinema Insomnia]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cinemainsomnia.com/show.php |title=Cinema Insomnia, with your Horror Host, Mister Lobo! – Show Information|accessdate=November 21, 2010|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100328140102/http://www.cinemainsomnia.com/show.php|archivedate=March 28, 2010}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category|The She-Creature}} {{wikiquote}} * {{IMDb title|0050957}} * {{TCMDb title|89841}} * [https://archive.org/details/variety204-1956–09/page/n5 Review of film] at Variety * {{AFI film|52002}}
{{Edward L. Cahn}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:She Creature, The}} [[Category:1950s monster movies]] [[Category:1956 American films]] [[Category:1956 English-language films]] [[Category:1956 horror films]] [[Category:American black-and-white films]] [[Category:American International Pictures films]] [[Category:American monster movies]] [[Category:English-language science fiction horror films]] [[Category:Films directed by Edward L. Cahn]] [[Category:Films scored by Ronald Stein]]