The whole question of man tampering with genetics and life support gets a superficial and at times idiotic treatment in this sci-fi yarn. Hudson plays a research scientist who's mourning the loss of his partner and wife who died in an accident years before. One rainy night, while tipsy and distraught, he runs down a pregnant Doberman. He brings it to his mansion/laboratory and tries to revive it, while also trying to save the lives of it's three unborn pups. He decides to utilize theories he and his wife had been working on (but were shelved after her death.) When this approach is partially successful, he tries it out on a human fetus, but the results go haywire. He winds up (within days) with the fetus transformed into long-haired Carrera! He then attempts to acclimate this ready-made person into society, but it isn't as easy as he had hoped it would be. He is soon in over his head and pays dearly for his tampering. The entire first section of the movie has a sort of detached, clinical viewpoint with a rather monotone Hudson dictating endless data into a recorder so that the audience can figure out (if it wants to!) what all he's doing to the dog and then to the fetus. This gets tiresome to say the least and it isn't helped by the dull surroundings of his lab. It all seems like a forced, pay-your-dues prelude to justify having the luscious, naked Carrera pop out later and seduce Hudson. (And wouldn't Hudson be more likely to have Jack Scalia slide out of the incubator?) For some inexplicable reason, Hudson's deceased wife's sister (Ladd) lives in the house as well. Their relationship is very fuzzily detailed and her character rarely makes sense. Fortunately, despite the lame scripting, Ladd brings enough presence and authority to the role that she manages to get a few good lines and icy stares out of her thankless part. (She has one ludicrous extended scene involving the search for the planet's ugliest lamp in the attic while a fierce, threatening dog growls at her.) Hudson actually looks pretty good in many of the scenes, especially the outdoor ones where the lighting is more flattering. He does an admirable enough job with his role in spite of the complete lunacy of the subject matter and the nonsensical actions of his character. (WHY is it necessary for the unborn fetus to know how to multiply a couple of numbers before it can even talk?!) Carrera has been given an impossible role to play. Nothing about her character makes any sense at all, yet she somehow brings conviction, believability and sympathy to the role. (It is never explained, however, why she has a heavy Nicaraguan accent. The poor lady was always playing oddities at this stage of her career. See "The Island of Dr. Moreau" as well...) She has one great sequence opposite McDowall at a party. (This hilarious party full of doctors and scientists even includes Dr. Joyce Brothers as herself!!!!!) Other roles go to Elerick as Hudson's son, Baggetta as a sly wolf with designs on Carrera and Schedeen as Hudson's pregnant daughter-in-law. Schedeen capped her place in sci-fi cultdom when she went on to play the surrogate mom of "ALF". The film is moderately entertaining if one doesn't think about any of the science involved. Even so, it could have been a lot better with a higher budget, stronger script and better direction. One potentially disturbing moment involving a dogfight is rendered fall-down hilarious due to the usage of a preposterous stuffed terrier as a stunt double.
