70s Rewind: Rock Hudson's EMBRYO In Posters And Pics

Directed by journeyman Ralph Nelson (Lillies of the Field, Charly), Embryo features Hudson in downbeat mode as a scientist who conducts an amazingly successful experiment on a canine fetus -- resulting in accelerated growth -- and then tries it on a human fetus.

He's a modern-day Frankenstein, without any hunchbacked assistant, and what he produces is a beautiful creature he names Victoria (Barbara Carrera). Not only does she grow physically at an alarming rate, once she gains the power of speech she also learns at an astounding rate.

But, though she is physically mature, her emotions lag behind, and that leads to mortal problems for her and the good doctor. Embryo is a middling thriller that's not as imaginative as its science-fiction leanings might suggest, nor as terrifying as its horror elements demand. (Species is but one example of a later picture that made much better use of a similar premise.)

Still, Embryo is worth tracking down for hardcore 70s movie fans; somehow, though, it fell into the public domain, and the copy I saw via the Amazon Prime streaming service looked terrible.