Mari Blanchard

 

 (imdb)

SHE-DEVIL-1957-Workaholic genius bio-chemist Dr. Scott (Jack Kelly; CULT OF THE COBRA (1952)) is working and experimenting on the theory that with a little help humans may be able to cure themselves of disease. He creates a serum from fruit flies that cures some animals. Now he wants to try it on humans. His mentor Dr. Bock (Albert Dekker; DR. CYCLOPS (1940)) warns him. But later against his better judgment he lets Scott inject Kyra (Mari Blanchard), a woman dying of TB with his serum. It works and she gets better but seems to have a strange new personality. 

While in a dress shop, she attacks a man for his money. When she's trapped in a dressing room by the police she somehow transforms from black haired woman to a blonde beauty. She stays at Bock's house where his maid (Blossom Rock) is leery but Scott seems mesmerized by her. At a party thrown by Bock she dallies with a rich jerk named Kendall (John Archer) whose wife slaps Kyra. She turns back to her black-haired self and kills Mrs. K (Fay Baker). Later Kendall and Kyra marry and he complains how cold she is. He shoots her in the shoulder and on the way to the hospital she crashes the car and he dies. She escapes unscathed. Now a wealthy widow, she returns to Scott to convince him to get rid of Bock. He seems to agree but really doesn't and he and Bock plan to reverse the operation. It doesn't turn out the way they planned. 

Nice little but obscure black and white horror directed by Kurt Neumann who made the most out of low budget assignments (ROCKETSHIP X-M, KRONOS). He'd have his greatest success the following year in 1958 when he directed THE FLY. Unfortunately, he would pass away shortly after completing it. 

Star Mari Blanchard had been in ABBOTT AND COSTELLO GO TO MARS IN 1953 and other films like DESTRY (1954) with Audie Murphy and THE SON OF SINBAD (1955) with Dale Robertson. She made more movies after this (DON'T KNOCK THE TWIST (1962), TWICE-TOLD TALES (1963)) but worked mainly in TV. She died of cancer at 47 in 1970.

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