ALL SCI-FI

[The Spike]

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Old women always give me the creeps!

What do you expect from a film called The Leech Woman? It is by definition one of those sci-fi "B" movies strung together as a support feature that played whilst theatre patrons were still necking, chatting and eating etc.

Plot follows in the tradition of something like The Wasp Woman (1959), that plays on the theme of a woman striving to stay young as the advent of time catches up with her. Cue bonkers science, where here it involves a trek to the jungles of Africa to unearth the secret of eternal youth. Naturally things get very bent out of shape and pain and misery are sure to follow.

Thematically it has mixed messages, on one hand it dares to say, unappealingly so, that a woman is only viable for love and happiness by being young and beautiful. On the other hand it is possibly having caustic observations on the dangers of vanity? The makers intentions are not clear so really the viewers are left to their own devices on that one.

It's never scary and some of the latex effects work is poor and befitting the minuscule budget. While the first half hour feels awfully padded out. But all things considered it's not a bottom feeder of the genre, and actually would make a nice companion piece with The Wasp Woman. 5/10
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The quality of mercy is not strnen.

[Bud Brewster]

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Oh, right! THIS is the movie I remembered, with the woman that goes to Africa and gets the Youth Juice from a witch doctor!

After reading your review of The Wasp Woman and getting in the mood to watch it from Stagevu, I spent the first quarter of the movie expecting Susan Cabot to go to the Dark Continent for her Magic Maybelline Elixir.

Well, I guess I'll just have to rewatch this one now. Unfortunately Stagevu doesn't have it, but YouTube has the trailer.

Jeez, if I don't quit letting myself get talked into watching all these movie, I'll never get ANYTHING done around the house — like my taxes. Is it close to April 15th yet? I loose all track of time while fiddling around on here.


________________ The Leech Woman - Trailer


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Krel.]

I haven't seen the movie in decades. But as I recall it had a surprisingly downbeat ending for the time.

David.

[Bud Brewster]

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I like this funky little movie, despite its low budget. IMDB has a few interesting trivia items, shown below in blue text.
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Universal (then Universal-International) made this low budget horror film because they needed a second feature to play with their U.S. release of the Hammer production The Brides of Dracula (1960).

Note from me: Not being a fan of horror, I've never seen Brides of Dracula, so I'm amused by the fact that a sci-fi movie which I like was only made because the studio needed a 2nd feature for a horror movie which I'm not interested in.

Stars Coleen Gray and Phillip Terry were so into their performances as a feuding couple that they didn't even get along off-camera either.

Note from me: That's just plain funny. I'll remember this aspect of the movie the next time I watch it.

~ The film's working title was The Leech. According to contemporary reviews, the filmmakers mixed stock footage of African wildlife and tribal dances with scenes shot in the studio.

Note from me: Mixing stock footage of tribal dances with extras on studio sets must be might hard!

~ The producer was Joseph Gershenson, who was the head of Universal's Music Department. This would be his last film as a producer but he would continue on as the head of the Music Department until1969.

Note from me: Just how does one go about getting promoted from the head of the music department to a "producer"?

~ Universal Studios Home Entertainment released The Leech Woman on DVD in a boxed set called The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection Vol. 2, which features 4 other classics as well (Dr. Cyclops, The Land Unknown, The Deadly Mantis, and Cult of the Cobra).

Note from me: The box set called The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection Vol. 1 and 2 is even better! It includes The Mole People, Monster On Campus, Tarantula, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and The Monolith Monsters!

~ The exterior wide shots of the Talbots' "jungle safari" following a "river in Africa" were filmed on the Universal Studio's backlot, and the hills visible in the background actually border on the Hollywood freeway.

Note from me: Well now, there nothing like the convenience of having your jungle safari on a river in Africa having easy access to the Hollywood freeway — especially in the rainy season!

~ This film was parodied on the television show Mystery Science Theater 3000, and was featured on the hosted horror movie program Svengoolie.

Note from me: By a strange coincidence, All Sci-Fi's Saturday Live Chat (<— link) on 1/2/2021 watched Svengoolie's recent presentation of this cheesy classic!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)