After receiving honourable discharges from the British Army in Palestine in 1918, Professor Holly, young Leo Vincey and their orderly Job embark on an expedition into a previously unexplored region of north-east Africa. They discover the lost city of Kuma after Leo receives a mysterious map revealing the city's whereabouts. This lost realm is ruled by Ayesha, who is also known as "She-Who-Waits" and "She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed." Ayesha is an immortal queen and high priestess who believes Leo is the reincarnation of her former lover, the priest Kallikrates. Ayesha tries to convince Leo to walk into a ceremonial fire after it has turned blue, which happens once certain astronomical events coincide. These conditions are met for only a short period and only occur rarely. By entering the fire, Leo himself will become immortal. As this is happening, Ayesha's army is attacked by her enslaved tribesmen, the Amahagger. Although Ayesha had oppressed the Amahagger for 2,000 years, the uprising was triggered by the queen, in a fit of jealousy, executing Ustane, an Amahagger woman who had developed a relationship with Leo. Ustane's father, Haumeid, who like his daughter had befriended Leo, Holly and Job, is outraged at his daughter's execution and incites the Amahagger into the uprising. Ayesha's army is overwhelmed during the fierce battle against the poorly equipped yet numerous Amahagger. Whilst the uprising is taking place, Leo battles Billali, Ayesha's fanatical priest, who wants immortality for himself, believing it is his due after his years of selfless service. After dueling with Leo and finally gaining the upper hand, Billali, giving Leo up for dead, attempts to enter the blue flames himself and become immortal but is killed by Ayesha before he can enter the fire. Ayesha takes Leo's hand and leads him into the fire. Upon entering, Leo becomes immortal, but Ayesha's second exposure to the fire destroys her immortality and she dies almost instantly as the centuries catch up with her and she ages millennia in a few seconds. The film ends with a despondent Leo stating that he doesn't care when the fire will next burn blue but it will find him waiting for it.
The re-filming of the H. Rider Haggard novel - which had been filmed previously in 1908, 1911, 1916, 1917, 1925 and 1935 - was the idea of Kenneth Hyman of Seven Arts Productions, who had a long-running relationship with Hammer Film Productions. Anthony Hinds commissioned a script from John Temple-Smith, and the lead role was assigned to Ursula Andress - known at that time for her role in the James Bond filmDr. No - who signed a two-picture deal with Seven Arts as a guarantee for her husband John Derek. She would thus become the first Hammer film to be built around a female star. Hammer pitched the project to Universal, who turned it down. Hinds then arranged for Berkley Mather to write a script, but the project was turned down again by Universal, and then by Joseph E. Levine and American International Pictures. Hinds passed it over to Michael Carreras who got David T. Chantler to rewrite the script. Carreras succeeded in getting the film financed through MGM, with triple the usual budget for a Hammer film. The film was announced in May 1964. Although Seven Arts had helped finance several Hammer films, this was the first one they had produced together. John Richardson was cast after being spotted by Ray Stark of Seven Arts. Principal photography commenced in southern Israel's Negev Desert on 24 August 1964, with scenes also shot at MGM's Elstree Studios in London when Hammer's Bray Studios proved to be too small for the project. It was the most expensive film Hammer had made up until that time, but on release it was a hit both in North America and in Europe. Although the studio was pleased with the look of Ursula Andress in the film - as lit by Harry Waxman and costumed by Carl Toms and Roy Ashton - they found her Swiss German accent to be offputting, and had her entire part re-dubbed by actress Nikki van der Zyl, who had dubbed her in Dr. No.
Critical reception
The New York Times wrote of the film "It lacks style, sophistication, humor, sense, and above all, a reason for being, since it isn't even as good as the last remake of "She" done with Helen Gahagan in 1935"; while more recently, the Radio Times gave the film three out of a possible five stars, writing that Ursula Andress "acquits herself better than you might expect", and concluding that "The African backdrops are easily matched by Swiss-born Andress's own brand of exotic beauty and, while there's plenty to criticise, there's also much to enjoy."
