‘Female witch doctor… fiendish tigress of the jungle!’
The Disembodied is a 1957 US horror film directed by Walter Grauman (Crowhaven Farm; Are You in the House Alone?; Nightmare on the 13th Floor) from a screenplay by Jack Townley and produced by Ben Schwalb (Spook Chasers; Queen of Outer Space; The Hypnotic Eye).
The film stars Paul Burke (TV series: The Wide World of Mystery; Psychic Killer), Allison Hayes (The Undead; The Unearthly; The Crawling Hand), John Wengraf (Gog; The Return of Dracula), Eugenia Paul, Joel Marston (Point of Terror), Robert Christopher (Poor Albert and Little Annie; Frankenstein Island), Dean Fredericks, Dean Fredericks (The Phantom Planet), Paul Thompson (The Leech Woman), Otis Greene (Voodoo Woman; Pretty Maids All in a Row).
Reviews:
‘Let’s face it, the reason to see this is Allison Hayes in all her seductive glory. Every move she makes is cat-like and sexualized. Every glance contains a multitude of suggestive innuendos, and her voice is as smooth as velvet. Plus, she looks terrific in a leopard print sarong and a halter top! She’s so much fun, she makes up for any plot holes and slow spots in the film.’ Cinema Knife Fight
‘The production is a fall-down hoot. The interior-exterior jungle sets aren’t all that bad, although an exit door from the Voodoo altar set might really be the actual stage door. This is one jungle movie without any exotic animals, not even in stock shots. No man-in-a-gorilla-suit, either. The filmmakers seem almost unsure of what Africa might be like. We accept the fact that Allison Hayes’ Tonda wears makeup appropriate for a nightclub entertainer, but what sort of tropical gal is she supposed to be? She wears a tight-fitting Chinese dress with a leather belt; a dagger is conspicuously positioned over her navel, like the hourglass on a black widow spider. It’s a comic book outfit suitable for Steve Canyon’s Dragon Lady.’ Glenn Erickson, DVD Talk
‘In The Disembodied, Hayes runs the gamut from feline seductress to frightened innocent to enraged she-cat. Her astute playing makes what was written as a rather schizophrenic character into a believably “bad woman” (as the doomed Suba labels her) who uses whatever whiles the situation calls for to get what she wants — be it sultry seduction, timid vulnerability, or murderous voodoo. Thanks to her conviction and intensity, Hayes is a joy to watch (and not just for the obvious reasons).’ Bryan Senn, Drums of Terror: Voodoo in the Cinema
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IMDb | Image thanks: Wrong Side of the Art!
