The Woman Eater (1957)
Also known as Womaneater, this British horror film directed by Charles Saunders is a campy, low-budget entry in the mad scientist subgenre, blending jungle mysticism, pseudo-science, and a carnivorous plant with a taste for women. It stars George Coulouris, Vera Day, and Joy Webster, and was released in the U.S. by Columbia Pictures under the more sensational title The Woman Eater.
Plot Summary
Dr. James Moran (George Coulouris), a scientist obsessed with reviving the dead, travels to the Amazon jungle where he witnesses a tribal ceremony involving a man-eating tree. Entranced by its powers, he brings the tree—and a tribal drummer named Tanga—back to England. At his secluded manor, Moran begins abducting women and feeding them to the tree, hoping to extract a life-restoring serum from its roots.
As the bodies pile up, Moran becomes increasingly unstable, especially when he falls for his new assistant Sally Norton (Vera Day). But the experiment fails, and the tree’s appetite grows uncontrollable. The film builds toward a grim climax as the police close in and the jungle horror turns on its master.
Cast Highlights
- George Coulouris as Dr. Moran
- Vera Day as Sally Norton
- Joy Webster as Susan Curtis
- Jimmy Vaughan as Jack Venner
- Marpessa Dawn in her only English-language film role
Behind-the-Scenes Trivia
- Filmed at Twickenham Studios in Sussex, with some scenes shot on the streets of London
- The plant monster was widely mocked for its cheap design, featuring multiple chomping mouths and minimal movement
- The jungle scenes are riddled with cultural inaccuracies, portraying Inca-like tribes with voodoo rituals and pidgin English
- The film was released the same year as The Curse of Frankenstein, making its black-and-white visuals and modest production seem outdated by comparison
- Promotional materials emphasized the film’s racy title, though the actual content is more tame than the name suggests
