The second in a series of three DVD-R's sent to me by Bill Shute (the third, CATALINA CAPER, will be reviewed next week!), this 'un's an Eyetalian production starring none other'n Jeanne Crain and Vincent Price as the fertile Sun Goddess herself and the High Priest of Pain respectively. A cheap yet interesting enough endeavor, this is one of those films Eddie Haskell would watch if only to check it out for historical inaccuracies.
Not being a student of ancient history I can't tell ya if there is any playing around with the fax footloose and fancy free-like, but this historical dramatization's spiffy enough I guess. Not that it didn't do a bitta the ol' drag here 'n there, but the melodrama mixed with the action and typical stab and slash violence sure hearkened back to the days when cheap fodder like this made up the bulk of syndicated moom pitcher fare that ended up on your local UHF outlet more sooner 'n later. It does have that kinda Sunday afternoon post-flea market 1975 feel to it, and of course Price makes the pic worth watching in his typical slime way (he being the two-facing conniving head of the Priests of Thebes who violently oppose the arrival of the new sun god that'll put 'em all outta biz). The usual romantic plot seems par for the course yet nothing to get hubba hubba about, and although Crain ain't anything you'd wanna exactly toss out with the garbage I just can't get the idea outta my mind that during the time and place this movie was set people sure smelled bad! And since those feminine hygiene products that come in so handy these days weren't even invented yet all I gotta say is no wonder the world's population only stood at about three million (at the very most I think...could be getting my dynasties mixed up!).
All stenching aside, QUEEN OF THE NILE's a good 'nuff affair that stands the test of time as it sure went down OK as a post-lawn mowing way of cooling off. AIP fans will undoubtedly get a big jolt outta it, and as for the rest of you well,,,there's always your CITIZEN KANE Dee-Vee-Dee you can watch in order to make yourself feel all toasty warm inside and superior to the rest of us wretches!
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