View source for She (1935 film)

{{short description|1935 film by Irving Pichel}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = She
| image          = She (1935).jpg
| image_size     = 
| border         = 
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Lansing Colton Holden Jr.|Lansing C. Holden]]<br/>[[Irving Pichel]]
| producer       = [[Merian C. Cooper]]
| writer         = 
| screenplay     = [[Dudley Nichols]]<br/>[[Ruth Rose]]
| story          = 
| based_on       = {{based on|''[[She (novel)|She]]''|[[H. Rider Haggard]]}} 
| narrator       = 
| starring       = [[Helen Gahagan Douglas|Helen Gahagan]]<br/>[[Randolph Scott]]<br/>[[Helen Mack]]<br/>[[Nigel Bruce]]<br/>[[Gustav von Seyffertitz]]
| music          = [[Max Steiner]]
| cinematography = [[J. Roy Hunt]]
| editing        = 
| studio         = [[RKO Pictures|RKO Radio Pictures]]
| distributor    = RKO Radio Pictures
| released       = {{Film date|1935|07|12|United States}}
| runtime        = 102 min (original theatrical release)<br>94 min. (1949 re-release)
| country        = 
| language       = 
| budget         = 
| gross          =
}}

'''''She''''' is a 1935 American film produced by [[Merian C. Cooper]]. Based on [[She: A History of Adventure|the 1887 novel of the same name]] by [[H. Rider Haggard]], the screenplay draws on all the books in the series: the first aforementioned book, ''[[She and Allan]]'', ''[[Ayesha (novel)|The Return of She]]'' and ''[[Wisdom's Daughter]]''.

The ancient civilization of Kor is depicted in an [[Art Deco]] style with imaginative special effects. The setting is Arctic Siberia, rather than Africa, as in the first book. With music by [[Max Steiner]], the film stars [[Helen Gahagan Douglas|Helen Gahagan]], [[Randolph Scott]] and [[Nigel Bruce]].

It was hoped that ''She'' would follow Cooper's previous success, ''[[King Kong (1933)|King Kong]]''. Cooper had originally intended to shoot the film in color, but budget cuts by [[RKO Pictures|RKO]] forced him to shoot the film in black and white at the last minute.<ref name="Harryhausen"/> However, the black and white film had disappointing results at the box-office. It initially lost $180,000, although it later had a successful re-release.<ref name="Harryhausen">Harryhausen, Ray; Vaz, Mark. ''She'' [[DVD]], [[Legend Films]], 2006, [[audio commentary]]. {{ISBN|978-1-60673-060-7}}</ref><ref name="rko">Richard Jewell & Vernon Harbin, ''The RKO Story.'' New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982. p85</ref> The film is listed in [[Golden Raspberry Award]] founder [[John J. B. Wilson|John Wilson]]'s book ''[[The Official Razzie Movie Guide]]'' as one of the 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made. It was Nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Dance Direction]] at the [[8th Academy Awards]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Wilson|first=John|title=The Official Razzie Movie Guide: Enjoying the Best of Hollywood's Worst |year=2005|publisher=Grand Central Publishing|isbn=0-446-69334-0}}</ref>

==Plot==
[[File:She evil queen.JPG|thumb|left|[[Helen Gahagan]] in costume as the title character.]]
Leo Vincey (Scott) is called from America to the family's ancestral estate in England where his dying uncle John Vincey (Samuel Hinds) and Horace Holly convince him that their ancestor, also named John Vincey, found the [[fountain of youth]] 500 years ago, but only his wife returned on the expedition.

Following the route outlined in an old journal, Leo and Holly travel through frozen wastes, as a guide named Tugmore and his daughter Tanya join them on their quest, but Tugmore perishes when he can't resist digging for gold that is frozen near a mountain privy to avalanche. They stumble upon the ancient city of Kor, where they are attacked by cannibals but are saved by She Who Must Be Obeyed and her Minister Billali.

She believes that Leo is the reincarnation of John Vincey — her lover many years ago — and vows to make him immortal like herself to rule this [[Shangri-La]] in eternal youth, as she had killed John in a fit of jealousy 500 years ago. Tanya warns Leo that nothing human can live forever. At the end, She asks Leo to step into the Flame of Life with her, so that they can become immortal, complete with trying to trick him into not noticing Tanya being used for a sacrificial ceremony, but he notices and decides to run away with her. After Leo, Holly, and Tanya find the chamber with the flame on their escape attempt, She offers to step in first in the flame. Rather than renewing her youth, She ages hundreds of years, becoming a withered mummy-like creature that dies. Leo, Holly, and Tanya then safely make their escape.

==Cast==
*[[Helen Gahagan Douglas|Helen Gahagan]] as She (Who Must Be Obeyed)
*[[Randolph Scott]] as Leo Vincey
*[[Nigel Bruce]] as Professor Horace Holly
*[[Helen Mack]] as Tanya Dugmore
*[[Gustav von Seyffertitz]] as Billali, She's mortal Governor
*[[Lumsden Hare]] as Dugmore
*[[Samuel S. Hinds]] as John Vincey, scientist
*[[Noble Johnson]] as Amahaggar Chief

==Production==
In July 1932, Universal Studios announced they had bought the rights to the story.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Hall, C. |date=Jul 24, 1932|title=NOTES FROM HOLLYWOOD'S STUDIOS|work=New York Times|id={{ProQuest|99559141}}}}</ref>

In July 1934, RKO announced they would make the film the following year as one of the studio's big productions.<ref>{{Cite news|title=R.-K.-O. plans "family" films. |date=Jul 14, 1934|work=Wall Street Journal|id={{ProQuest|131173858}}}}</ref> [[Helen Gahagan]]'s and [[Nigel Bruce]]'s casting was announced in January 1935.<ref>{{Cite news|title=SCREEN NOTES. |date=Jan 11, 1935|work=New York Times|id={{ProQuest|101609935}}}}</ref> It was Gahagan's first movie after a long theatre career.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Helen gahagan adds films to A busy career |date=Jun 30, 1935|work=The Washington Post|id={{ProQuest|150682898}}}}</ref> This film, along with ''[[The Last Days of Pompeii (1935 film)|The Last Days of Pompeii]]'', were part of a two-picture agreement with Cooper, with the initial agreement stating that each film would be made for $1 million each. However, in pre-production, RKO informed him of their slashing of the budget, as he would now have to shoot the two films for a combined $1 million rather than $1 million each. He would later refer to the film as the "worst picture I ever made."<ref name="living dangerously">{{cite book|last1=Vaz|first1=Mark Cotta|title=Living dangerously The adventures of Merian C. Cooper, creator of King Kong|date=August 2005|publisher=Villard|isbn=978-1-4000-6276-8|url=https://archive.org/details/livingdangerousl00vazm}}</ref>{{rp|259,263}}

Athlete [[Jim Thorpe]] had a small role in the film.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Shaffer, G.|date=Apr 11, 1935|title=Penny matching piles up $3,000 charity fund|work=Chicago Daily Tribune|id={{ProQuest|181569593}}}}</ref>

Gahagan's depiction of the "ageless ice goddess"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.disney.com/insider/articles/2012/09/03/the-wonderful-world-of-walt-walt-disney-and-the-villain/ |title=The Wonderful World of WALT: Walt Disney and the Villain &#124; Disney Insider |publisher=Blogs.disney.com |access-date=May 4, 2014}}</ref> inspired the [[Evil Queen (Disney)|Evil Queen]] in [[Walt Disney]]'s ''[[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://disney.go.com/vault/archives/villains/queen/queen.html |title=Disney Villains: Queen |publisher=Disney.go.com |access-date=November 6, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110227222743/http://disney.go.com/vault/archives/villains/queen/queen.html|archive-date=February 27, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://d23.disney.go.com/news/2012/12/d23s-dateline-disney-1935-evil-queen/ |title=D23′s Dateline Disney: 1935 (Evil Queen) « Disney D23 |publisher=D23.disney.go.com |date=December 10, 2012 |access-date=July 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121216032701/http://d23.disney.go.com/news/2012/12/d23s-dateline-disney-1935-evil-queen/|archive-date=December 16, 2012}}</ref>

==Reception==
Writing for ''[[The Spectator]]'' in 1935, [[Graham Greene]] reviewed the film positively, but gave a disclaimer that as "an unrepentant [[Rider Haggard|Haggard]] fan" he could not write reasonably about it. Describing the film as showcasing "earnestly manly [[Boy Scout]] virtues", Greene did acknowledge that it "bore its symbolism a little heavily", and ultimately characterized it as both thrilling and childish.<ref>{{cite journal |last= Greene|first= Graham|author-link= Graham Greene|date= 25 October 1935|title= Joan of Arc/Turn of the Tide/Top Hat/She|url=http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/25th-october-1935/15/-joan-of-arc-the-curzon----turn-of-the-tide |journal= [[The Spectator]] |access-date=10 October 2018}} (reprinted in: {{cite book|editor-last= Taylor|editor-first= John Russell|editor-link= John Russell Taylor|date= 1980|title= The Pleasure Dome|url= https://archive.org/details/pleasuredomegrah00gree/page/32|page= [https://archive.org/details/pleasuredomegrah00gree/page/32 32]|isbn= 0192812866|url-access= registration}})</ref>

==Later releases==
''She'' originally had a running time of 102 minutes, but was edited to 94 minutes for its 1949 re-release to better fit on a double bill with Cooper's ''[[The Last Days of Pompeii (1935 film)|The Last Days of Pompeii]]''.

''She'' was among the films believed [[lost film|lost]] in a fire at the RKO archives,<ref>{{Cite web|date=2012-05-19|title=Empire of the Imagination: Rediscovering She (1935) by matthew c. hoffman|url=https://screendeco.wordpress.com/2012/05/19/empire-of-the-imagination-rediscovering-she-1935-by-matthew-c-hoffman/|access-date=2020-07-24|website=Screen Deco|language=en}}</ref> but an original print was discovered in the garage of the silent film star [[Buster Keaton]] and was turned over to film distributor [[Raymond Rohauer]] for preservation.<ref name="Keaton">{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/shenrharper_a09ea8.htm |title='She' (NR) |access-date=2007-03-07 |author=Harper, Marla |date=August 27, 1989 |work=[[Washington Post]] }}</ref>

In 2006, [[Legend Films]] and [[Ray Harryhausen]] [[colorized]] the film as a tribute to Cooper. The colorized trailer for ''She'' premiered at the 2006 [[Comic-Con International|Comic-Con]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Comic-Con 2006 :: Programming for Friday, July 21|url=http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci06_prog_fri.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224092203/http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci06_prog_fri.php <!-- Bot retrieved archive -->|archive-date=2007-02-24|access-date=2007-03-07}}</ref>

In 2007, [[Kino International (company)|Kino]] Video produced a version that reinstated the eight minutes of scenes deleted in the 1949 re-release,<ref>[http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=12779 DVDCompare] Retrieved: 7 May 2012</ref> drawing from a lower-quality 16mm print.<ref>[http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuku.com/topic/15753 Monster Kid Classic Horror Forum] Retrieved: 7 May 2012</ref><ref>[http://www.nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=10538 Nitrateville classic film forum] Retrieved: 7 May 2012</ref>

==Home media==
[[File:She (colorized).jpg|thumb|right|The 1935 [[fantasy film]] ''She'', [[colorized]].]]
[[Legend Films]] release:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Ray-Harryhausen-Double-Feature-Blu-ray/29214/#Review|title=The Ray Harryhausen Double Feature Blu-ray}}</ref>
*Picture Format: 1.33:1 (1080p 24fps) [AVC MPEG-4]
*Soundtrack(s): English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Dual Mono)
*Extras (Blu-ray):
**''[[Things to Come]]'' (1936) in colorized and black & white versions
**Commentary by [[Ray Harryhausen]] and Mark Vaz on ''She''
**Interviews with Ray Harryhausen [She (1080i; 4:32)] [Things to Come (1080i; 3:47)]
**Colorization Process with Ray Harryhausen [She (1080i; 8:58)] [Things to Come (1080i; 8:51)]
*Extras (DVD):
**''[[The Most Dangerous Game (film)|The Most Dangerous Game]]'' (1932) in colorized and black & white versions
**Ray Harryhausen on the Importance of a Movie Score (2:31)
**James V. D'Arc, Curator of the [[Merian C. Cooper]] Papers, BYU (4:30) 
**John Morgan, Composer, on [[Max Steiner]] (7:15)

==See also==
*''[[She: A History of Adventure]]''
*[[She (1965 film)|''She'' (1965 film)]]
*[[She (1982 film)|''She'' (1982 film)]]

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0026983}}
* {{AllMovie title|109763}}
*{{Rotten Tomatoes|1061177-she}}
*[https://archive.org/download/Escape_page1/Escape_480711_046_She_96-44_29m21s_20643.mp3 ''She''] on [[Escape (radio program)|Escape]]: July 11, 1948
* [http://www.legendfilms.com/retailProductPage.php?item_num=LF00420 ''She'' at Legend Films]

{{Irving Pichel}}
{{She: A History of Adventure}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:1935 films]]
[[Category:1930s fantasy adventure films]]
[[Category:1930s English-language films]]
[[Category:American films]]
[[Category:American fantasy adventure films]]
[[Category:English-language films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Films based on multiple works]]
[[Category:Films based on She]]
[[Category:Films set in the Arctic]]
[[Category:Films directed by Irving Pichel]]
[[Category:Films scored by Max Steiner]]
[[Category:RKO Pictures films]]