The lost city of Kuma is ruled by the cruel, arrogant, beautiful queen, Ayesha, gifted with eternal life. She lures Leo Vincey into her world, seeing in him the reincarnation of the lover she long ago murdered in a fit of violent jealousy. Against all advice Leo is determined to stay and Ayesha persuades him to bathe in the flame of eternal youth... with disastrous consequences.
Production
Ludicrously lavish sets for pure B-movie nonsense
Costume
Ayesha's gold bikini redefined 'eternal queen' fashion
Acting
Peter Cushing plays it straight while everything burns around him
Director
Robert Day
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Hammer's most expensive film at $1.6 million, and they blew half the budget on Ursula Andress's gold body paint and the flame effects.
H. Rider Haggard's 1887 novel invented the 'lost civilization' genre and the femme fatale 'She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed' archetype that still haunts adventure fiction.
GB
