By today's standards The Wasp Woman is quite dated, but for those of us who are old enough to remember this type of film in the theaters, it is interesting and more than a little nostalgic.
The plot is the standard formula of the day. Cosmetic queen Janice Starling's company has lost business since she quit appearing in the company's advertising. She admits to her senior executives the reason for this is her advancing age. Just about this time, a mysterious Dr. Zinthrop (Michael Mark) shows up, promising to reverse the aging process with his experimental formula taken from wasp extracts. As you may guess, she becomes impatient with the process and starts administering the drug to herself, unknown to Dr. Zinthrop. The heavy dosage of wasp extract affects Janice mentally and physically, causing her to become, for short periods of time, the deadly Wasp Woman. To further complicate matters, Dr. Zinthrop is involved an accident, causing a temporary coma and loss of memory. When Janice Starling needs his help the most, he is unable to provide it.
I won't provide spoilers here. Find the film and view it to see how things turn out in the end.
Filmed in 1959, which I consider to be the golden year of B-horror in film, and released in 1960, The Wasp Woman was the initial offering of Roger Corman's Filmgroup production company. Mr. Corman could do more with less than anyone in the business, but his casting of Susan Cabot as the wasp woman didn't quite hit the mark. Ms. Cabot, who reminds somewhat of the lovely Swedish actress Viveca Lindfors, was better suited for the action and western roles which make up the biggest part of the body of her work. As usual, I was impressed with Roger Corman's restraint. We didn't see the wasp woman until well into the picture; typical A-film behavior from the king of B-film. However, when we do finally see the wasp woman, it is a bit of a letdown. She is always shown in partial shadow for brief periods of time, and it is obvious this is to conceal the fact that the costume was not overly impressive or believable, even by the standards of the time. But, remember, Roger Corman always cut corners whenever and wherever he could.
An unauthorized remake of sorts was made in 1987 titled Evil Spawn. There was also a TV remake of The Wasp Woman in 1995. (AKA Roger Corman Presents "The Wasp Woman").
The Wasp Woman runs a little over an hour and is filmed in somewhat darkish black and white. (How I miss black and white in today's films! Today's movie makers seem to have no clue as to how black and white filming assists in establishing mood and atmosphere). The last scene of the film is in color, something that filmmakers established for a short time as a fad of sorts for films like these in the late 1950s. Happily, it is available for purchase. I have a Sinister Cinema VHS tape purchased many years ago which was copied from a very good master print. It is also available on DVD.
If you have made it this far into the review, I assume you are fan of horror and science fiction films of this era. So, enjoy this late on Saturday night with the lights turned down -- and recall fondly the good old days of 1950s and 60s B-cinema.
The plot is the standard formula of the day. Cosmetic queen Janice Starling's company has lost business since she quit appearing in the company's advertising. She admits to her senior executives the reason for this is her advancing age. Just about this time, a mysterious Dr. Zinthrop (Michael Mark) shows up, promising to reverse the aging process with his experimental formula taken from wasp extracts. As you may guess, she becomes impatient with the process and starts administering the drug to herself, unknown to Dr. Zinthrop. The heavy dosage of wasp extract affects Janice mentally and physically, causing her to become, for short periods of time, the deadly Wasp Woman. To further complicate matters, Dr. Zinthrop is involved an accident, causing a temporary coma and loss of memory. When Janice Starling needs his help the most, he is unable to provide it.
I won't provide spoilers here. Find the film and view it to see how things turn out in the end.
Filmed in 1959, which I consider to be the golden year of B-horror in film, and released in 1960, The Wasp Woman was the initial offering of Roger Corman's Filmgroup production company. Mr. Corman could do more with less than anyone in the business, but his casting of Susan Cabot as the wasp woman didn't quite hit the mark. Ms. Cabot, who reminds somewhat of the lovely Swedish actress Viveca Lindfors, was better suited for the action and western roles which make up the biggest part of the body of her work. As usual, I was impressed with Roger Corman's restraint. We didn't see the wasp woman until well into the picture; typical A-film behavior from the king of B-film. However, when we do finally see the wasp woman, it is a bit of a letdown. She is always shown in partial shadow for brief periods of time, and it is obvious this is to conceal the fact that the costume was not overly impressive or believable, even by the standards of the time. But, remember, Roger Corman always cut corners whenever and wherever he could.
An unauthorized remake of sorts was made in 1987 titled Evil Spawn. There was also a TV remake of The Wasp Woman in 1995. (AKA Roger Corman Presents "The Wasp Woman").
The Wasp Woman runs a little over an hour and is filmed in somewhat darkish black and white. (How I miss black and white in today's films! Today's movie makers seem to have no clue as to how black and white filming assists in establishing mood and atmosphere). The last scene of the film is in color, something that filmmakers established for a short time as a fad of sorts for films like these in the late 1950s. Happily, it is available for purchase. I have a Sinister Cinema VHS tape purchased many years ago which was copied from a very good master print. It is also available on DVD.
If you have made it this far into the review, I assume you are fan of horror and science fiction films of this era. So, enjoy this late on Saturday night with the lights turned down -- and recall fondly the good old days of 1950s and 60s B-cinema.