Fun With Flicks: The Wasp Woman
Roger Corman’s THE WASP WOMAN tells the oh-so-progressive story of Janice Starlin (Susan Cabot), a successful-but-aging cosmetics executive who is destroyed by her own obsession with youth and beauty (SPOILER, by the way).
When a crazy, vaguely ethnic beekeeper (Michael Mark) offers to share his secret research on royal wasp jelly with her, Starlin embarks on a dark, twisted, and clumsily plotted journey into horror. Winner of the 1959 Academy Award for “Best Science Montage Featuring Footage Already Seen In The Movie,” WASP WOMAN will sting you with terror. Or not. The cast also features Paul Gordon, Lynn Cartwright, and Corman favorite Bruno VeSota (Big Dave from Giant Leeches!). Bzzzzz! Here’s the full, un-riffed movie on Archive.org