Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year – Universal – 1944: WEIRD WOMAN & COBRA WOMAN

There's Sometimes a Buggy

We weren't sure what to expect with our Universal 1944 "scary woman"-themed episode, but Cobra Woman, starring the riveting Maria Montez, delivered, and the completely unknown Weird Woman, starring the less-than-riveting Lon Chaney Jr., was a surprise gem that seems to be nodding to Val Lewton's work at RKO. This episode causes us to ask such questions as: what is acting? Can anyone in these movies "act"? Does it matter? When are B-movies inherently sophisticated, and when are they deliberately sophisticated? Does that difference matter? To hear the answers to these questions (or, let's face it, probably just more questions), just press play and enter the Inner Sanctum of our pulsating flesh! (Our mind, what did you think I meant?)

Time Codes:

0h 00m 45s: WEIRD WOMAN [dir. Reginald Le Borg]

0h 40m 20s: COBRA WOMAN [dir. Robert Siodmak]

Studio Film Capsules provided by The Universal Story by Clive Hirschhorn

Additional studio information from: The Hollywood Story by Joel W. Finler

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* Marvel at our meticulously ridiculous Complete Viewing Schedule for the 2020s

* Intro Song: “Sunday” by Jean Goldkette Orchestra with the Keller Sisters (courtesy of The Internet Archive)

* Read Elise’s latest film piece on Preston Sturges, Unfaithfully Yours, and the Narrative role of comedic scapegoating.

* Check out Dave’s new Robert Benchley blog – an attempt to annotate and reflect upon as many of the master humorist’s 2000+ pieces as he can locate – Benchley Data: A Wayward Annotation Project!

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