Despite changing the setting from the Arctic to Egypt, this version of the H Rider Haggard story appears to definitely have taken a lot of inspiration from the 1935 version with Randolph Scott, Helen Gahagan and Helen Mack.
Although Ursula Andress probably generated a lot of interest in this version, the big stand out is John Richardson.
Rosenda Monteros from "The Magnificent Seven" takes the place of Helen Mack as the less-exotic "other girl" of the triangle. It was probably an ethnic miscast (along with Christopher Lee playing an Egyptian priest) but she did well.
The difference between this version and the 1935 version was that Helen Gahagan depicted a much colder and much less desirable "she who must be obeyed", it wasn't that I didn't like Helen Gahagan's version of this woman, she actually pulled it off fairly well. But Ursula Andress was born to play this role, reflecting a stark contrast between her external beauty and her internal ugliness.
Between the two films the philosophy of "she" is identical: to rule by fear and terror.
And while the 1935 version shows some of this evil, being a Merian C Cooper production it reflected a lot of similarities to King Kong in actuality, but that film doesn't reflect the very dark streak that runs through the city ruled by this woman.
This 1965 hammer films version does great homage to the 1935 version, including some incredible and very large sets, not as large as the sets they built for the 1935 version, but still fairly large.
The ending of this version is a lot darker but it is not disappointing, except for the feet of one of the characters that you start becoming attached to. A lot of the dialogue toward the end of the film appears to have been lifted directly from the 1935 version.
But the thing that draws you into this version of the film is the incredible music written by James Bernard, which includes strains that are very reminiscent of the 1935 version.
Overall this is one of the very best hammer films I have ever seen, and this film was of course intended to be shown in cinemascope, I would love to be able to see it on a curved screen, there are some panoramic shots that reveal Cinemascopic photography.
Although Ursula Andress probably generated a lot of interest in this version, the big stand out is John Richardson.
Rosenda Monteros from "The Magnificent Seven" takes the place of Helen Mack as the less-exotic "other girl" of the triangle. It was probably an ethnic miscast (along with Christopher Lee playing an Egyptian priest) but she did well.
The difference between this version and the 1935 version was that Helen Gahagan depicted a much colder and much less desirable "she who must be obeyed", it wasn't that I didn't like Helen Gahagan's version of this woman, she actually pulled it off fairly well. But Ursula Andress was born to play this role, reflecting a stark contrast between her external beauty and her internal ugliness.
Between the two films the philosophy of "she" is identical: to rule by fear and terror.
And while the 1935 version shows some of this evil, being a Merian C Cooper production it reflected a lot of similarities to King Kong in actuality, but that film doesn't reflect the very dark streak that runs through the city ruled by this woman.
This 1965 hammer films version does great homage to the 1935 version, including some incredible and very large sets, not as large as the sets they built for the 1935 version, but still fairly large.
The ending of this version is a lot darker but it is not disappointing, except for the feet of one of the characters that you start becoming attached to. A lot of the dialogue toward the end of the film appears to have been lifted directly from the 1935 version.
But the thing that draws you into this version of the film is the incredible music written by James Bernard, which includes strains that are very reminiscent of the 1935 version.
Overall this is one of the very best hammer films I have ever seen, and this film was of course intended to be shown in cinemascope, I would love to be able to see it on a curved screen, there are some panoramic shots that reveal Cinemascopic photography.