She (Kino International DVD)

Helen Gahagan (1900-80) is largely forgotten in Hollywood circles. A huge star on the Broadway stage of the 1920s, Douglas retired from acting after making only one film. But she had a second career as a politician, and is fondly recalled as a trailblazer for women holding elected office.

In 1944, nine years after starring in the grand adventure She, Helen Gahagan Douglas, wife of film star Melvin Douglas, was elected to the 14th Congressional District in California. A staunch liberal, she served three consecutive terms. In 1950, she ran for Senate against future disgraced President Richard Nixon. The ever-unscrupulous "Tricky Dicky" launched a smear campaign against his opponent, brandishing her a "commie." Gahagan lost, and never ran for office again.

In 1995, Gahagan made a second, posthumous film appearance. Footage of her 1950 televised debate with Nixon appeared in Oliver Stone's acclaimed biopic Nixon. She remained politically active for the rest of her life. In 1979, one year before her death, Barnard College awarded her its Medal of Distinction.

Now, decades after it was last seen, Gahagan's almost forgotten debut/swan song has been issued on DVD in a deluxe, two-disc edition. Based on H. Rider Haggard's classic 19th-century novel, She (1935) is the kind of grand fantasy adventure that thrilled pulp fans of yesteryear. The film came with a pedigree: it was produced by the great showman/adventurer Merian C. Cooper (1893-1973), the real-life inspiration for the Indiana Jones character. Cooper traveled the world, visiting ancient, unseen lands and cultures. His films, often shot on location in the African jungle or on South Sea Islands, were reflections on his own discoveries. Two years before She, Cooper produced the greatest adventure in screen history, King Kong (1933).

As a young boy, Ray Harryhausen was inspired by Kong to pursue a career in stop-motion animation. Harryhausen made his film debut on 1949's Mighty Joe Young, working with his idol, Kong effects pioneer Willis O'Brien. Until his semi-retirement in the 1980s, Harryhausen provided effects for many classic films: The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, Jason and the Argonauts, One Million Years BC, First Men in the Moon. Now 87, the Oscar winner continues to produce, and has supervised the DVD restoration of She, a personal favorite of his.

She can easily be compared to the Indiana Jones films. The epic follows Leo Vincey (gay actor Randolph Scott) on a trek across the Antarctic. Within a mammoth glacier cave, he discovers an ancient civilization where death does not exist. This city beneath the ice is ruled by "She Who Must Be Obeyed" (Gahagan), a beautiful woman whose age is anyone's guess. Vincey bears a striking resemblance to John Vincey, an ancestor of 12 generations back. She recognizes Leo as John Vincey, the lover who left her in the 15th century. She has her love back, or so She thinks.

They don't make films like the exquisite-looking She anymore. The gargantuan Art Deco sets, which effectively convey the otherworldliness needed for a tale of this type, are amazing. Scott was never a strong actor, but he was classically handsome. His chiseled good looks make him a believable love object. Though Gahagan's acting may seem a bit over-the-top today, her highly stylized, theatrical line readings are just what the film needs. The stunningly beautiful Gahagan must have been a strong presence on stage.

Cooper originally planned to shoot She in color. But RKO Studios was in trouble financially, and cut the producer's budget in half. When She hit screens, it was in black-and-white. This Harryhausen-produced disc offers two versions of the film: the original black-and-white release and a newly colorized print. The b&w version is the better of the two. Cooper may have meant She to be shot in color, but it wasn't. The added-on colors have a cartoonish look that doesn't quite work. It's the pristine, restored b&w print that will transport viewers to the haunting domain of She.

The She box set is a film historian's delight. There are separate on-camera interviews with Harryhausen and James V. D'Arc, curator of the Merian C. Cooper papers at Brigham Young University. Harryhausen and Cooper biographer Mark Cotta Vaz provide a lively commentary track for the film's color version.

Select scenes from the 1911 and 1925 versions of the story are also included. These silent clips underscore how grand Cooper's film is. Original 1930s storyboards and promotional materials are included in a stills gallery. There's also a bio and complete filmography for Harryhausen. As an added bonus, original TV commercials for sci-fi toys of the 1950s and 60s cap the extras menu.