THE WASP WOMAN (1959)

Roger Corman found his infamous niche in re-cycled teenage drive-in horror movies. This self-directed and produced film is another bad representation. Roger's brother, Gene, produced a superior project, Beast From Haunted Cave which was double-billed with this film. For an estimated fifty grand, I suspect most of the money for this film went to hiring the top-billed actors. Both of them. It should be no surprise then, that the film has some banal or awkward scenes. The production quality is lifeless with a waste of about twelve minutes at the opening as we follow a “Doctor of Waspology,” Michael Mark, through the woods looking for a wasp’s nest. He is also ostracized by the local beekeeper union because he is not a team player. Bees, dude, not wasps! But he has made an incredible discovery. There is a wasp enzyme serum that can turn back the aging process. Generally, the only thing that degrades this film is a poorly done horror prop at the end. Without it, though, this would not be a "horror" movie.

The opening score by Fred Katz is mesmerizing. A very dissonant and chaotic arrangement that supports the background image of bees making honey. Never mind the movie is about wasps. The film score was used several times for Corman's science fiction movies. The score of percussion instruments with a dominant xylophone, particularly during an in-car camera scene, is a sensory experience of bargain-basement filming. The silly night Watchmen scene nearer the end has no precedent for comedic xylophone.

Susan Cabot, in her embarrassing final film, is the CEO of a major cosmetic company. Her initial appearance gives the impression of a dowdy, middle-aged female with no social life. Ever. Yet wasps are very social. But then, so are bees. Product advertisements have featured her image and since then sales have tanked. A suggestion comes from a board member, Anthony Eisley, to replace Cabot’s image with someone younger. His blunt assessment is applauded by the entire board. An extremely vague bar graph chart, made by a middle school art class, helps the viewer understand the seriousness of the plummeting sales, clarified by Eisley's use of a pointer.

“Dr. Waspy” re-enters the picture and shares his research with Cabot. Vanity, thy name is wasp. Of course, she is interested in looking younger and after numerous injections, violá, she reveals her new self. From a wasp’s perspective, she could not look more vibrant. Then the headaches start. A silly, cheap wasp-head mask is attached to Cabot’s head (probably her stunt double), turning her into a blood-sucking vampire wasp. Much easier than what the poster suggests, a wasp's body with Cabot's face. Needless to say, the board members immediately vote on a new CEO.

Note: Barboura Morris, with her attention-getting first name, plays Cabot’s assistant and a flirting target for Eisley. She was well versed in low-budget movies and may have recognized the film score since it was used for her first Corman outing, “A Bucket of Blood.” Always on cue is character actor, Frank Gerstle, naturally playing a police detective. In an uncredited role, Corman plays a hospital doctor. A filler to pad the film's length, are two attractive office tarts, one of which may answer the phone when not manicuring her nails.