The Living Idol (1957)

Set in Mexico, after a young girl (Liliane Montevecchi) enters an ancient Mayan tomb along with an archaeologist (James Robertson Justice) and a reporter (Steve Forrest), she becomes unhinged when she sees a stone statue of a Jaguar "god". The archaeologist suspects she may have roots to the ancient Mayans, perhaps even reincarnated. Written and directed by Albert Lewin, this is one cockamamie movie and not in a good way. In his best known films like THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY or PANDORA AND THE FLYING DUTCHMAN, there's a distinct layer of mysticism and the supernatural. It's here too but it's poorly constructed and comes across as a poor imitation of THE CAT PEOPLE. The film stops cold when Justice gives a classroom lecture on the history of human sacrifice that seems endless. Montevecchi, a French dancer, didn't have much luck during her brief Hollywood career (did Hollywood need another French ballerina when Leslie Caron was still working?). After working with Marlon Brando (THE YOUNG LIONS) and Elvis Presley (KING CREOLE), Montevecchi went to Broadway where she had better luck, winning a Tony for NINE. The film is fortunate in having Jack Hildyard (BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI) as its cinematographer and he takes full advantage of the Mexican locations which look quite handsome in CinemaScope. With Sara Garcia and Eduardo Noriega.