Only four reviews for 1957's "The Disembodied," while its cofeature, the deadly dull "From Hell It Came," has 35? Both films were prominent fixtures on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater back in the 1960s, airing 5 times apiece, each running just over an hour, probably shot on the same studio jungle sets, etc. Guess the Tabonga from Hell gets more love than the sultry Allison Hayes, who practically oozes sensuality every moment she's on screen in "The Disembodied." "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman" may be more famous than this Allied Artists potboiler, but you must admit she was certainly the right actress to heighten the temperature of any self respecting male viewer. The bored wife of an older jungle doctor (John E. Wengraf) moonlighting (literally) as a voodoo priestess, captivating every man she comes across, except for the one she wants most (played by a game Paul Burke); her easy seduction of a native servant proves to be her undoing however. The main drawback is hazy character motivation, though the actors carry far more conviction than the somnambulists walking through "From Hell It Came" (the native girls are younger and prettier too). Director Walter Grauman later became a pioneer of the network TV movie, with a pair of early titles featuring John Carradine, 1969's "Daughter of the Mind" and 1970's "Crowhaven Farm." While she got to play her share of good girls ("The Unearthly"), Allison Hayes shows why she truly excels as a baddie, and like Barbara Shelley in "Cat Girl" demonstrates real star quality by maintaining interest whenever she's on screen, her finest showcase with no giant aliens to distract us from her feminine wiles (shake that thang!).
Review of The Disembodied
