Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)

If Peter Cushing had starred in more “prestige” movies, he would easily be regarded as one of the finest film actors to ever grace the silver screen. Unfortunately, he spent most of his career starring in horror movies; a genre that is greatly frowned down by most film critics and historians.  Look no further than Dracula A.D. 1972 for proof of Cushing’s greatness, because his presence alone elevates it from being absolute garbage to a passable thriller.  Indeed, whenever Cushing is not onscreen the movie is absolutely dreadful, even laughable at times – check out the scene in which Caroline Munro’s wide eyed hippie, Laura, begs to be sacrificed to Dracula.  In fact, its modern setting (1972) makes the movie far more dated than the previous Dracula movies, which were all set in the Victorian Era.  What is truly amazing is that, despite the silly script, Cushing gives it his all; there is no condescension in his performance nor does he ever resort to histrionics. He gives an air of credibility to the movie and is fairly affecting at times, especially in the scenes that involve Van Helsing’s granddaughter, Jessica (Stephanie Beacham).  Cushing tended to play different variations on the same role – the authority figure. Whereas his Baron Frankenstein was a cold man who became increasingly more cynical as the series progressed, his Lorrimer Van Helsing is a beacon of light in a dark age. When Lorrimer finds out that Jessica took part in the black mass that awakened Dracula, rather than screaming at her, he tells her, in a calm voice, that he wants to help and then hugs her. 

Jessica has gotten herself involved with a group of hedonistic hippies; their ringleader is Johnny Alucard, who comes from a long line of Dracula disciples.  Johnny persuades his friends to attend a black mass ceremony at an abandoned church, and they all agree, though Jessica is reluctant, because it is something different.  Of course, this is a ruse by Johnny to resurrect Dracula from the dead, and his friends are merely sacrificial lambs in his pursuit to achieve immortality.  After Johnny dumps a cauldron of blood all over Laura’s body (she volunteers to take part in the mass), Jessica and friends flee in horror, abandoning the hysterical Laura. Dracula is successfully brought back to life and wastes no time in disposing of Laura; he drains all the blood from her body.  Dracula spends the rest of the movie offing Jessica’s friends, until he is stopped by Lorrimer.

I like Stephanie Beacham as Jessica Van Helsing, despite her sporting one of the most unfortunate mullets in film history.  Jessica is a young girl just looking to get some kicks, oblivious to the danger that is lurking around the corner.  It is extremely unfortunate that Jessica is never given a full character arc, because it might have smoothed over the movie’s more glaring flaws.  In the previous Dracula films, most notably Dracula Has Risen from the Grave and Taste of the Blood of Dracula, the main protagonist is a young, carefree lad (named Paul in both films) who reluctantly finds himself going head to head with Dracula at the movie’s climax; at stake is the souls of their girlfriends (Maria in Risen, Alice in Taste). At first, it seems that Jessica is going to be given a similar type of arc – she is a carefree soul and is very dismissive towards her grandfather.  When he tells her that the study of the occult has been his life’s work, she snaps back, “It’s not one of my hang ups.”  Like the protagonist in the earlier movies, she soon finds her life going to hell; she is being questioned by the police, while her friends are killed off one by one.  She seems destined to become Lorrimer’s successor, but, sadly, she is relegated to a typical damsel in distress role, and spends the last ten minutes staring in a hypnotic trance.   It’s a really a wasted opportunity by Hammer, but they were more interested in filming Beacham’s cleavage than developing an interesting heroine. In the following year's The Satanic Rites of Dracula, Jessica (now played by Joanna Lumley) is Lorrimer's assistant but, even then, she is still given very little to do. 

 Dracula A.D. 1972 was Hammer’s attempt at rebooting the Dracula series; it takes place in a different timeline than the previous movies. There is a prologue set in 1872 where Lorrimer’s ancestor, Lawrence, is battling Dracula on top of a runaway carriage. Lawrence impales Dracula with a broken wheel from the carriage. Dracula turns to ashes while Lawrence dies from the wounds he received in the battle.  Just then one of Dracula’s disciples walks into frame and gathers up the ashes.  There is a fairly creative transition from 1872 to 1972 - there is a close up of Lawrence Van Helsing’s headstone and then the camera pans up to a jet airplane flying in the sky. 

The first half of the movie is as bad as it can get, - it focuses primarily on Jessica and her hippie friends. When we first meet them, they are crashing a birthday party being held by a wealthy family; the dance around, make out, while a rock band, Stoneground, plays in the background. There is an argument between the ringleader, Johnny Alucard, and Joe, the odious comic relief, as to how much time they have before the cops show up. 

This is a big problem, because none of these characters are particularly likable nor, with the exception of their ghastly wardrobe, interesting to watch.  The cast tries their hardest to breathe life into the characters but the script lets them down. Are we supposed to like the characters? Is the audience supposed to find Joe funny? Jessica, despite being a modern woman, is very much a follower and easily gives into peer pressure. Her boyfriend, Bob, constantly makes idle threats to Johnny, but never backs them up. Laura willingly goes along with whatever Johnny suggest. Joe is an obnoxious pain in the ass, and the other two girls, Gaynor and Anna, are just there for the ride. Jessica at least feels guilty about abandoning Laura at the church; the rest of the group just shrugs it off.  Johnny Alucard, with his penchant for 1970s slang and wearing flamboyant outfits, comes across as more comical than menacing; his death scene is more befitting for a Home Alone movie than a Dracula sequel

Dracula A.D.1972 is filled with laughably bad moments; the black mass, where Johnny urges the group to “Dig the music, kids,” as percussion music plays in the background; Johnny Alucard’s death by shower; the way Jessica and her friends put the word, “man” at the end of every other sentence;  Dracula getting annoyed at Johnny for bringing him the wrong woman; etc.  These are script problems but the movie itself is competently made – it never falls to level of Ed Wood, or other legendary bad movie directors. 

While Dracula A.D. 1972 takes place in a different universe than the previous movies that didn’t stop the filmmakers from essentially lifting the plot to Taste the Blood of Dracula, albeit with a few revisions. Taste of the Blood of Dracula is a flawed, but interesting entry in the Dracula series, because it is, in essence, about the sins of the fathers being visited upon the children. The fathers, in this case, are three respected members of a small community, who in their spare time are looking for some new kicks; they usually go to brothels to indulge themselves.  At the brothel, they meet a young man named Lord Courtley, who is really a disciple of Dracula. Just like, Johnny Alucard, he convinces these men to partake in a black mass which results in the resurrection of Dracula.  Taste of the Blood of Dracula is a better movie than A.D. 1972, but it does lack a strong protagonist. Ralph Bates is fun in the early going as the flamboyant Courtley, but he is killed midway through.  Dracula A.D. 1972 is fairly dreadful up until the half way point, then comes to life once Peter Cushing takes over. I also like Michael Coles as Inspector Murray; it's extremely refreshing to see a horror film in which the police force not only believe Van Helsing, but are the ones who seek him out. 

Christopher Lee is given very little do; this was the case in practically all of Hammer’s Dracula movies.  He has less than ten minutes of total screen time, but he is genuinely menacing in his few scenes.  Though, it isn't until the very end that Lee and Cushing share a scene, and even then, they are rarely in the frame together.  They were much more effectively paired in the same year’s Horror Express, where they play rival scientists. 

Cast: Peter Cushing (Lorrimer Van Helsing/Lawrence Van Helsing), Stephanie Beacham (Jessica Van Helsing), Christopher Lee (Count Dracula), Christopher Neame (Johnny Alucard), Michael Coles (Inspector Murray), Caroline Munro (Laura), Philip Miller (Bob), Marsha Hunt (Gaynor), Janet Key (Anna Bryant), William Ellis (Joe Mitchum), Michael Kitchen (Greg), David Andrews (Detective Sergeant).

Director: Alan Gibson.
Screenplay: Don Houghton.
Running Time: 96 min. 

The Brides of Dracula (1960) .....An Over Analysis.

The Brides of Dracula is the best of the eight sequels to the 1958 Hammer film, Horror of Dracula, even though the legendary Count is nowhere in sight. Instead of a blood shot eyed Christopher Lee with blood dripping from his fangs, we are given a rather foppish villain in David Peel as he attempts to seduce French beauty, Yvonne Monlaur. It was rather a bold move by Hammer to make a sequel to Horror of  Dracula without Dracula, but it works surprisingly well.  This is largely due to the performance of Peter Cushing, reprising his role as Dr. Van Helsing from the previous film. Cushing's specialty was obsessive authority figures; during this time period he also played Baron Frankenstein.  Yet, despite their superficial similarities, his Frankenstein and Van Helsing are worlds apart.

Cushing's Frankenstein is an extremely cold and distant man, who believes that the end justifies the means (even if it involves murder). He is so detached from mankind that, in Frankenstein Created Woman, when an acquaintance of his is beheaded for a murder (that he didn't commit), the Baron is ecstatic that he finally has a corpse to test his latest hypothesis, the transference of the soul, on. He feels no remorse over the death of a friend, but rather just views it as an opportunity.  On the other hand, Cushing's Van Helsing, despite his obsessive behavior, is capable of warmth and compassion; in Horror of Dracula, he comforts a little girl (who was nearly a vampire victim) by wrapping his coat around her, putting a crucifix around her neck, and telling her that the sun will be be a couple of minutes. In Brides of Dracula, when it schoolmaster Herr Lang starts to berate Marianne (Yvonne Monlaur) for being late on the job, Van Helsing explains her predicament and, simultaneously, puts Herr Lang in his place.  It is also interesting to note that The Brides of Dracula may be the only film in which Peter Cushing gets the woman in the end (well, kind of), but more on that later.

It is important to stress just how vital Peter Cushing is to this film's success; he gives a sincere performance and delivers his lines with such conviction that the audience readily believes the dangers they are being told about. Cushing has never been given the recognition he deserves, largely because of his association with the horror genre. He probably would be considered one of the all time greats had he appeared in more "respectable" films.

What's interesting about The Brides of Dracula, especially for a Hammer film, is that it's central character is a woman, Marianne, a young school teacher traveling to her place of employment. Hammer films tended to a be a bit male centric and women tended be either relegated to supporting roles or attractive scenery (like Valerie Gaunt in Horror of Dracula). Therefore, it is interesting that the first half hour of The Brides of Dracula is told through Marianne's point of view; she is the one that sets the story in motion by releasing the Baron Meinster from his chains, unaware of the evil that she has just unleashed upon the earth. She serves as the audience surrogate as she is a rather ordinary person (albeit one with supermodel looks) that finds herself in an extraordinary situation.

 The Brides of Dracula slavishly copies the structure of Horror of Dracula; the first half hour of that film follows Jonathan Harker as he runs afoul the sinister Count. In both films, Van Helsing doesn't make his first appearance until nearly one third of the way in. Yet, the audience clearly identifies more with Marianne than they do with Harker, largely because he is student of Van Helsing and, therefore, is knowledgeable in the ways of the vampire. He is aware of the risks, therefore it's not too surprising when he comes to an untimely end. Marianne, on the other hand, just happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time; her main concern is getting to her school on time and is fairly ignorant when it comes to vampires. When the Baroness Meinster offers Marianne a place to say for the night, we as the audience are naturally shouting at her to stay put. We know this can only lead to bad things, therefore we slap our foreheads in disbelief when the sweet Marianne accepts the Baroness' hospitality. It's not necessarily a complex part, but Yvonne Monlaur gives a rather affecting performance as the beleaguered Marianne.

If there is a main flaw in The Brides of Dracula it is David Peel's Baron Meinster; he's not necessarily bad in the role, but he completely lacks the physicality and menace that Christopher Lee brought to the role of Dracula. In fact, the duel between Van Helsing and the Baron for Marianne's soul  is a complete mismatch in Van Helsing's favor, Cushing gives such a dynamic performance that he leaves David Peel standing in the dust. In the Dracula films that followed Christopher Lee was given very limited screen time, yet still managed to be intimidating despite having nothing to do (there are endless shots of him just standing in a corner, completely disconnected from the rest of the action).

However, The Brides of Dracula has not one, but two aces up its sleeve: Martita Hunt as the Baroness Meinster and Freda Jackson as her crazed servant, Greta. Hunt manages to make the Baroness actually sympathetic, despite her deplorable acts against humankind. The Baroness has lived a life of pure decadence, indulging in all sorts of carnal pleasures, including (heavily implied) incest with her son. She used to host parties on a frequent basis and Dracula just happened to show up at one of them; which eventually lead to her son being turned into a vampire. The Baroness had her son chained up in a hidden room and brought young women to castle for him to feast upon. Marianne was to be the Baron's next victim, but she unwittingly turned the tables on the Baroness. The Baroness is a terrible person, but it's amazing how Martita Hunt is able to make her sympathetic by allowing the guilt to come out in her performance. The Baroness is consumed by guilt; she knows she is largely at fault for the monster that her son has turned in to.  Freda Jackson's Greta is another memorable villain in the Hammer universe, with her crazed eyes and old crone laugh, she would give anyone the chills. There's a wonderfully chilling moment in which Greta, kneeling over a freshly filled cemetery plot, calmly starts giving birthing instructions to a vampire trying to claw out of her grave.

I mentioned earlier that Van Helsing (kind of) gets the girl in the end, and I stand by my statement, for in actuality The Brides of Dracula is really a love story between Van Helsing and Marianne Danielle. So let the over analysis begin.....

Van Helsing is an expert when it comes to the occult, but is completely clueless when it comes to worldly pleasures like love and sex. Therefore, when he first encounters Marianne, unconscious, in the woods, he is naturally taken aback by her great beauty, but is at a complete loss what to say. He is extremely inexperienced when it comes to romance, hence he doesn't  know where to begin. Also, his priorities are on ridding the world of pesky vampires, therefore he's not interested in being tied down to a long term relationship. He is so singled minded in his thinking that he is completely oblivious to the fact that Marianne fancies him. The signs are all there, she constantly smiles and flashes her eye lashes at him, but he can not take a hint. She misinterprets his timidness for indifference and therefore moves on to the next man that comes available to her: Baron Meinster.

I never bought that Marianne would so willingly consent to be the  Baron's wife, given the very little time she has known him and the extremely creepy circumstances that brought him together; him being chained up in a castle. Now, there are three possibilities as to why she would accept his proposal:

1) He has hypnotized her. In most movies and books, vampires possess hypnotic powers that can turn even the most strong willed individual into a complete putty. There are very few people that can resist their hypnotic stare; Van Helsing being one of them. However, since Marianne is oblivious to the ways of the vampire, she makes for easy pickings.

2) She figures, "Why the hell not?" Marianne is stuck at an all girls school, in the middle of nowhere, therefore her prospects at finding a husband are fairly slim. Now, if she were a lesbian, this wouldn't be a problem as her roommate Gina is fairly attractive, but Marianne does not swing that way; though is implied that Gina wants to be more than just friends with Marianne. Enter Baron Meinster, an extremely handsome and rich man who not only fancies Marianne, but wants her hand in marriage as well. How could she possibly refuse such a proposal? Sure, it makes her sound completely superficial, but remember The Brides of Dracula takes place in a time (1890s) when women were expected to get married and raise children. Marianne is in her twenties, hence, by the standards of that era, it is her obligation to find a husband and start having children.

3) The Baron is a rebound relationship. Marianne is really smitten with Van Helsing, but since he doesn't show any interest, she hooks up with the first man who comes in her sights, which just happens to be the Baron Meinster. Yet, despite his youthful looks and extreme wealth, there relationship is very passion less. This is surprising, especially in a Hammer, given how sexually charged the scenes between Christopher Lee and Melissa Stribling were in Horror of Dracula. There's definitely more sexual tension between Marianne and Van Helsing than there is with her and the Baron. If Van Helsing would have asked Marianne to drop her teaching career and come away with him, you get the impression that she would done so without any hesitation. Marianne evens seems to regret her decisions, especially when Gina is prattling on about how she wishes she could find true love. Marianne smiles and nods her head, but doesn't really have anything of substance to say, largely because she knows it's all a ruse. Hell, when Van Helsing finally spills the beans about the Baron's true identity, Marianne is only too willing to believe him; she is a complete disbelief for like TEN SECONDS!!!! She gets over it rather quickly!

It isn't until Marianne announces her engagement to the Baron that Van Helsing  realizes the true extent of his feelings towards her. He is absolutely shocked by Marianne's announcement. Sure, it probably worries him that she just got engaged to a vampire, but the expression in his face indicates his feelings for her run deeper than must mere friendship. His reaction reminds me of the time I was in high school and I found out that the girl I fancied was dating a guy that (I believed) to be a complete douche bag. I kept asking myself, "Are you serious? Is she really dating that asshole?" The same thought process seems to be going through the good ol' Professor's mind. In the case of Van Helsing, it is justified, because he's a far more interesting person than the handsome Meinster. Take away the Baron's vampirism and he's an extremely dull personality who over compensates by dressing in a flashy manner. It should be noted that, despite being considerable older than Yvonne Monlaur, Peter Cushing looks fairy youthful in this film, especially when compared to his other Hammer roles  at the time. Therefore, a romance between Van Helsing and Marianne isn't entirely unbelievable. The Baron even openly mocks Van Helsing's feeling when he proclaims, while hissing like a snake,"Beautiful, isn't she? What a pity such beauty must fade, unless we preserve it."

There is an interesting moment at very end of the film; after Van Helsing has successfully slewed the diabolical Baron, Marianne runs towards and they embrace. However, before they embrace there is a slight pause between the two of them and it almost looks as if they are going to kiss. However, even though Van Helsing has essentially won the fair Marianne's hand, he is still at loss as to what to do next, so Marianne has to settle for an embrace...for now. The three Dracula films that followed (Dracula - Prince of Darkness, Dracula Has Risen From the Grave, and Taste the Blood of Dracula) are all Van Helsing free; which indicates that after the events in Brides, Van Helsing settled down with Marianne and raised a family.
The next time Peter Cushing would appear in the series was Dracula A.D. 1972, in which he played a descendant of Van Helsing, Lorrimer. What more proof do you need?

Cast: Peter Cushing (Van Helsing), Yvonne Monlaur (Marianne Danielle), Martita Hunt (Baroness Meinster), Freda Jackson (Greta), David Peel (Baron Meinster), Miles Malleson (Dr.Tobler), Andree Melly (Gina), Henry Oscar (Herr Lang), Mona Washbourne (Frau Lang), Fred Johnson (Father Stepnik), Marie Devereux (Village Girl), Norman Pierce (Landlord), Vera Cook (Landlord's Wife), Michael Ripper (Coachman), Victor Brooks (Hans).

Director: Terence Fisher.
Screenplay: Jimmy Sangster, Peter Bryan, Edward Percy.
Running Time: 85 min.

She (1965)

When one thinks of Hammer Studios the image of a fanged, blood shot eyed Christopher Lee will probably be the first thing that comes to mind. In the 1950s and 60s, Hammer was king when it came to horror films, producing such titles like Curse of Frankenstein, Horror of Dracula, The Gorgon, and Curse of the Werewolf, to name a few. However, by the mid 60s Hammer began to broaden their output by producing a whole sub genre of Lost World films; these films were characterized by either setting the films in modern times and having an expedition stumble upon an ancient society hidden deep in the jungle/desert (She, Prehistoric Women), or setting the films in prehistoric times where cave people struggled to survive (One Millions Years B.C., When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth). The other common trope found in these movies was the sight of gorgeous women running around in fur bikinis; Raquel Welch's bikini clad performance in One Million Years B.C. made her an international sex symbol. Needless to say these movies aren't very good, though they are highly entertaining; the stop motions effects in One Million Years B.C. and When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth are especially good.
By default, She is probably the best film of  Hammer's Lost World sub genre and this is largely due to it's unusually strong supporting cast. One Millions Years B.C. and When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth are populated with lots of eye candy and bogus caveman slang, but completely lack any strong characterizations; whereas the only worthwhile thing to be found in Prehistoric Woman is Martine Beswick's commanding performance as the cruel Queen Kari.
She is an adaptation of H. Rider Haggard's 1887 novel "She: A History of Adventure." In fact, it was the seventh screen adaptation of Haggard's novel; it was adapted a few times in the silent era and then most famously in 1935 with Helen Gahagan in the title role. It must be said that the 1935 is an extremely enjoyable film with wonderful sets by Van Nese Polglase, a great musical score by Max Steiner, and a lively performance by Helen Mack as Tanya Dugmore. Unfortunately, Helen Gagahan is simply awful in title role and lacks the ethereal beauty that was key to Haggard's novel.

 In the 1935 version, Leo (Randolph Scott) is never tempted by Ayesha's offer of immortality and seems content to spend the rest of his remaining years with the far more likable Tanya. In 1965 version, it is completely believable that the bland Leo would easily give up everything to be with the cruel Ayesha, because she's played by the extremely gorgeous Ursula Andress; still riding the fame of her bikini clad appearance in Dr. No.  The less I say about the 1982 adaptation, starring Sandahl Bergman and set in the post apocalyptic future, the better.

Sorry, I just had to. 

The Leo Vincey/Ayesha romance in the 1965 version is extremely interesting in that it never comes across as true love, but rather an act of impulse on the part of Leo. Ayesha is convinced that Leo is a reincarnation of her lost love, Killikrates, whom she murdered 2,000 years ago in an act of jealous rage. Leo, for his part, is taken aback by her the first time they meet. Ayesha tells Leo that in order for them to be together he must make a dangerous trek across the desert and if he survives everything he ever wanted will be his. Leo impulsively takes on this challenge, never thinking about how difficult and dangerous it might be. Hell, it never occurs to Leo that Ayesha, a woman he JUST MET, might be lying. Leo is willing to risk his life (and that of his companions) based on Ayesha's promise he will be given everything he ever desired if he makes this journey.

He is convinced that his love for Ayesha is genuine, yet his constantly tempted by the beautiful and kindly handmaiden, Ustane (Rosenda Monteros).  Ustane, for some inexplicable reason, is in love with and extremely loyal to Leo; when Leo gets deathly ill in the desert, after being shot by a tribe of Bedouins, Ustane is by his side, nursing him back to health. When he is taken to the city of Kuma, Ustane follows even though it might prove deadly to her existence. Leo's attraction to Ayesha is superficial one, based on the glories of now rather than the consequences of later. He enjoys Ustane's company and likes her devotion of him, but he can't shake himself free of Ayesha's beauty.  Ayesha offers Leo the gift of immortality (provided by the Flame of Eternal Life) and Leo, in his limited thinking, doesn't believe anything can possibly go wrong. Towards the end of the film Leo has this conversation with his friend Major Holly (Peter Cushing):

Maj. Holly: I suppose there's a time in everyone's life when the idea of immortality seems very desirable. But now at my age I'd have to give it a great deal of thought. 

Leo Vincey: What's age got to do with it? You'd stay as you are. 

Maj. Holly: That's not what I meant, Leo. What one would accept eagerly at your age doesn't necessarily have the same appeal at mine. It's the age of the mind that's important, not the body. You see, you're young. Still on the threshold of life. The joy of living is not to be denied, but to know that it'll be there for all time, without change. Life at a standstill. It's not quite the same thing. 

Holly is the voice of reason throughout the film, often questioning Leo's motives. Like the audience, Holly is not convinced that Leo's love for Ayesha is genuine, but rather just a superficial fantasy.  Leo is so entranced by her beauty that he completely overlooks her flaws, like her extreme cruelty and jealousy. In the end, Leo enters the Flame of Eternal Life with Ayesha and watches in horror as she ages to nothingness right in front of his eyes; the Flame gives eternal life the first time around, but takes it away the second time. In the end, Leo is forced to live the next thousands years alone, waiting for the Flame to reappear so he can end his miserable existence.

I mentioned before that She has an unusually strong supporting cast for what is essentially a silly adventure film, but it's these performances that really help elevate it to being a decent, watchable movie as opposed to being a painful mess. This is pivotal as both of the leads, Ursula Andress and John Richardson, are rather dull to watch. They are both appropriately attractive  and make for wonderful eye candy, but that's about it. Granted, Ayesha is  meant to be a fairly one dimensional, tyrannical character, but Richardson's Leo lacks any really personality; his character is defined by his longing for Ayesha. He's also kind of a cad, he talks about his endless love for Ayesha, yet consistently puts the moves on Ustane.
 

Peter Cushing is great in practically everything he's in, but really delivers the goods in this movie as Major Holly. In previous Hammer films Cushing portrayed Dr. Van Helsing, Baron Frankenstein, and Sherlock Holmes; extremely stiff and humorless characters who constantly obsess over one thing. Major Holly is a nice change of pace for the great actor. It's true that Major Holly is an authority figure, but he's not obsessive like these other roles and more importantly seems to actually get a joy out of living; in the film's opening scene we are shown two of Major Holly's vices, women and alcohol. While Leo is chatting it up with Ustane, Major Holly and his butler, Job, get up and start dancing with belly dancers; this antic gets uproarious laughter from Ustane. At the beginning of the film the idea of finding the lost city of Kuma excites Holly, but at the end he is disenchanted with the place and says, "All my life I've dreamed of finding a city such as this. But now that I have, I'd like to see it destroyed and all that is stands for."

In many ways She is about the battle for Leo's soul with Ayesha as the devil and Holly as the angel, pleading for him to make the right decision. In the end, Holly loses the battle and admits as much to Job when he observes,"We've lost him." Major Holly is the moral center to the film, constantly questioning both Leo and the high priest Billali's blind obedience to Ayesha, hoping that he can sway one of them into making a stand against her tyranny.

Billali is played by Cushing's longtime co-star and good friend, Christopher Lee, who like Cushing, makes the most out of the material he is given. There's no sense of condescension coming from either actor and both do their best to elevate the silly material. The film does a huge piece of misdirection with the character of Billali, it makes the audience believe that he will have a change of heart and help the heroes at the end. There is a sense that he is completely unhappy serving Ayesha and he longs to be free. This gets confirmed later on when he has a conversation with Holly inside the city's temple:

Maj. Holly: Will you tell me something? This women Ayesha, why do you all do her bidding without question? 

Billali: It has always been so. 

Maj. Holly: Yes, but why? She's only a woman and alone. You are men and many. 

Billali: And like all men we are born, live a span and we die. But she has been here forever. She is like the mountains, like the desert. Changeless, ageless, deathless. 

Maj. Holly: That I cannot believe. In your fear you have accepted the impossible as truth. No-one lives forever. And no one was born to be the vessel of another. You know this too, I've seen it in your eyes. Your body does her bidding but your spirit cries out to be free. Is that not true? 

Billali: Each one of us has his own destiny to fulfill. 

Maj.Holly: And yours, I suppose, is to fill the next alcove. I can't believe you're such a fool, Billali. 

Billali: No, Mr Holly. I am not such a fool. 

In the end Billali doesn't directly betray Ayesha, rather he tries to kill Leo so he can enter the Flame of Eternal Life himself. During the brawl he gets speared in the back by Ayesha and tries to crawl into the flame, but dies just inches short of his goal. As Holly predicted, Billali becomes just another in the long line of high priests that lived and died during Ayesha's long dictatorship.

The most thankless role goes to Bernard Cribbins as Holly's faithful butler, Job; he's really giving very little to do but stand around in the background and on occasion offer up a few quips. Cribbins makes the most out the very little he has to do, but it's to his and the filmmakers credit that the character never becomes a distraction. The filmmakers could have easily made Job a bumbling, Jar Jar Binks type of character, killing practically every scene he is every time he opens his mouth. Instead, Job is a fairly competent character, who serves his master faithful and does all he can to help out. In the film's climax Ayesha's slaves revolt and Job is shown fighting along side them; at point even saving Holly from the thresholds of death.

His best scene comes early in the movie when a rowdy patron steps on Job's bowler hat, while him and Holly are dancing with the belly dancers. Job picks up his crushed hat, laughs for a few second, and then proceeds to punch the offender in the face, which in turn sparks a bar fight. It's a throwaway scene that's played for laughs, but it does effectively set up Job's fighting skills for the film's climax; without this small scene, the audience might wonder how a butler could hold his own against Ayesha's guards.

And finally, there's Rosenda Monteros as the handmaiden Ustane. If She were a teen comedy, Ayesha would be the hot, popular bitch that all the males lust after and Ustane would be the awkward, but pretty misfit who eventually wins the heart of the male hero. Ustane is defined by her warm and rebellious spirit; she constantly defies the orders of Ayesha so she can be with Leo. First, she saves Leo and his companions from certain death in the desert when she arrives just in the nick of time to give them water. This goes counter to Ayesha's original orders, which was for Leo and his friends to make the trek alone. If Leo survived the journey, then, in the eyes of Ayesha, he most definitely is Killikrates reincarnated. If he died, then he was obviously an impostor. Ustane showing up throws a wrench in the works.
Second, Ustane begs Billali to let her go with Leo to the city of Kuma and he reluctantly agrees. This makes Ayesha furious and she threatens to kill Ustane, but Billali intervenes and states, "To be rid of her would be simple, but unwise. If you are to prevail, it is the fair one who must banish her, who must turn against her. He is a man of soul and conscience. These you must destroy."

Ayesha acquiesces for the time being, but inevitably her jealously towards Ustane consumes her and she orders for Ustane to be executed, by lowering her into a pit of lava. Leo protests and Holly interjects that if Ayesha executes Ustane, then it is doubtful that Leo would ever agree to join her in the Flame of Eternal Life. Ayesha tests this out by holding out a dagger and giving the Leo the chance to avenge himself by stabbing her in the heart. If Leo can bring himself to kill her, then Ustane will go free. Leo grabs the knife and it looks like he's going to lunge it into Ayesha's heart, but he can't bring himself to do it, turns to the jelly and bows down to Ayesha. This seals Ustane's doom.

Ustane's death is probably one of the most disturbing moments on film, because it happens off screen  In fact, the audience is given a sense of false hope that maybe she will survive after all. Ustane is last seen standing in a golden cage, looking on as Leo and Ayesha leave the room. We are then given a short love scene between Leo and Ayesha, this is then followed by a scene of Leo saying goodbye to Holly and Job.  Neither Holly or Job make a mention of Ustane's death, which leads the audience to believe that it hasn't happened yet or that  it won't happen. However, in the next scene one of Ayesha's guards walks up to Haumeid, overseer of the slaves and Ustane's father, carrying an urn and says, "Ayesha returns your daughter." The guards throws the urn on the ground and it shatters, revealing Ustane's ashes. This enrages Haumeid that, without any hesitation, he orders the slaves to revolts.

Next to Holly, Ustane is probably the most likable character in the movie. Whereas Ayesha is completely cold and unable to comprehend the human condition, Ustane is warm and genuinely caring soul. She puts Leo in front of her own needs and ultimately ends up paying the ultimate price for her devotion. She's a tragic character; her love and devotion is wasted a man that could never offer her happiness. The audience realizes that Leo is not deserving of Ustane's love, which makes her blind loyalty to him all the more frustrating.

She is an extremely flawed movie; half of the film's running time is devoted to Leo's journey to Kuma, the effects often quite chintzy and laughable, and the lead characters are wet mops. However, compared to The Lost World films that would follow it is entertaining and worth seeing mainly due to the contributions by the supporting cast. Not to mention that any film that has a scene with Peter Cushing dancing is definitely worth a look.


Credits:
Cast: Peter Cushing (Maj. Holly), Ursula Andress (Ayesha - She Who Must Be Obeyed), John Richardson (Leo Vincey/Killikrates), Rosenda Monteros (Ustane), Bernard Cribbins (Job), Christopher Lee (Billali), Andre Morrell (Haumeid).
Director: Robert Day
Screenplay: David T. Chandler (based off the novel by H. Rider Haggard)
Running Time: 106 min.