The Leech Woman

I sat down to watch this movie expecting to see a woman with a big rubber leech head chasing people around but it turns out Leech Woman offers something slightly more sophisticated. The story is that a scientist and his estranged wife head off to Africa to search for the fabled elixir of hokum which turns women young again. Obviously these days it would be a waste of time because every second advert I see for toothpaste or shampoo offers time renewal, time protection and suchlike whatever that means.

One thing I liked about this movie was the way that every single character is awful in some way. There's a good story though it is a bit slow to start with. Some viewers have moaned about the rather obvious stock footage but anyone who is a fan of movies of this era will recognise it as just par for the course on a quick cheapie like this.

Give it a try, despite the tacky name it's quite a good story and worth a watch.

Unlike a lot of movies given a good workover by the fine folks on Mystery Science Theater 3000, "The Leech Woman" is fairly watchable. The idea is that an aging woman who wants to restore her beauty finds a magic that will allow her to become young again- but only for a day at a time. The spell, unfortunately, also requires her to kill men.

Of course, she doesn't particularly care about the lives of men, which is where the main plot starts. I won't spoil it for you, because this is a film I think you might actually enjoy.

The movie suffers, unfortunately, from some drab performances by members of the cast. The main stars, however, play their roles pretty well, and the elderly priestess featured in the beginning of the film is particularly creepy.

Also, the plot, though good in theory, seems to get bogged down at times. The movie crawls along and can get very boring. But there are some excellent sequences in there that really bring the movie back from the gutter.

In any case, I recommend at least trying to find the MST3k version of the film...during the more boring sequences you'll appreciate the boys' humor, and even the good parts certainly aren't hurt by a little good-natured jesting.

Enjoyable low-budget horror schlock from Universal-International has Colleen Gray giving a juicy performance as the hard-drinking wife of doctor Phillip Terry, an endocrinologist who is turned on to a youth potion by an ancient African woman that utilizes orchid pollen and the secretions of the male pineal gland. Unfortunately, the male has to be killed to get the chemical from the gland--plus, the youthful effect is only temporary. First-half of the movie--wherein Gray, Terry and John van Dreelen travel through the jungles of Africa, learning the secret of the potion before being told they will be killed in the morning--looks and sounds like a reel from a Tarzan adventure. Second portion with Gray using the youth serum on herself and pretending to be her own niece is far more entertaining (it's rather like a straight-faced precursor to "Death Becomes Her"). Pulled together quickly by the studio, "The Leech Woman" is better than it has any right to be, with a good cast and fine make-up effects helping to bolster its shaky structure. ** from ****

This movie has gotten a bad rap, I think mainly because of the inane title. It conjures up a ridiculous image of a giant leech with a purse and high heels on. This movie is actually pretty good, given it's low budget.

Coleen Gray, a very pretty and capable actress in her day, gives a great performance as June Talbot, the alcoholic, middle aged woman married to Dr. Paul Talbott (portrayed as a total heel by Phillip Terry, better known as Joan Crawford's 4th husband). Dr. Talbott is a scientist who is trying to find a serum to counter aging and is willing to sacrifice his wife in order to find the answer.

The performances by Gray and Terry are solid, as is Gloria Talbott who plays Dr. Talbott's assistant and Grant Williams, Dr. Talbott's lawyer and Gloria's boyfriend who falls under the spell of "The Leech Woman". Estelle Hemsley is also good as an old African woman who looks like a human prune and offers to show the good doctor the secret to turn back the effects of aging, for a very steep price, of course.

I thought the make up of the Leech Woman was very affective, pretty scary stuff for it's day. Don't let the title of this movie keep you from watching...it's very entertaining, from start to finish.

Leech Woman was a great flick,regardless of what anybody says about it.Colleen grays acting was powerful and convincing as the bitter alcoholic wife of an opportunistic rat who wants to use her as a guinea pig for his youth serum experiments.If you ask me colleen should have gotten a face lift instead.And dig that estelle helmsley,she looked like a human prune.Gloria Talbott also added interest to the film as the jealous rival.As for grant williams,he was just a cad,typical easily tempted weak male.To constantly have to kill people with a ring to stay beautiful,what,s wrong with makeup and hair dye? As for colleens killing it was a toss up,some of the people deserved it and some did,nt.