Nancy Archer

Nancy Archer is a fictional character and the main figure from the 1958 sci-fi creature film Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. She was played by actress Allison Hayes.

Biography
Nancy Archer was a wealthy heiress and alcoholic who lived in California with her husband, Harry. In 1958, Nancy, frustrated over her failing marriage, was speeding along Route 66 through the desert when something caught her eye. She swerved off to the side of the road when she saw a giant sphere hovering before her. An over-sized hand emerges from the sphere and she got out of the car and ran away screaming. She went back to town to the police station to report what she had just seen.

After hearing her story, Sheriff Dubbitt and Deputy Charlie took Nancy back to her car. There was no sign of the giant or the large satellite that Nancy claimed to have seen. Nancy believed that the giant wanted her diamond necklace - the fabled Star of India - the most expensive diamond in the world. Unable to find anything to corroborate her story, they brought her back to her lavish home.

As soon as she walks into the house she poured herself a drink. Her husband Harry was home and told their butler, Jess Stout, to leave the room. Nancy knew that Harry was at the bar with his mistress, Honey Parker, and began yelling at him. She borke down into tears and confessed that despite his infidelity, she was still in love with him and just wanted him to remain faithful to her. She told him her story about a giant reaching out to her and trying to snatch her diamond. Harry humored her for a bit then took her upstairs to put her to bed. He removed the necklace from her and pocketed it as she drifted off. His intent was to sell the diamond so that Honey and he would have enough liquidated cash to run away together. The following morning, Doctor Cushing came over to the house to examine Nancy. He saw that she was suffering from severe mental exhaustion. He gave Jess instructions on how to distribute her medication and told Harry that his wife needed lots of rest and that he would check back on her in the morning. After he left, Nancy came downstairs seemingly healthy and sober. She gave Harry an earful about how he had been spending his evenings with Honey. Harry gave her the diamond back and left. After he waled out, Nancy turned on the television and saw a news report about her fantastic claims of a 30 foot giant roaming the desert. The newscaster was merciless in his editorial, making Nancy appear as if she were a complete lunatic. Enraged, she threw her wine glass at the TV set.

Nancy insisted on going back out to the site to prove that she was not crazy. Harry agreed to take her out and they drove all day and night, but found nothing. As they turned around to head back home however, they saw the giant satellite sphere. Nancy got out of the car and ran towards it. She touched it and the giant leaned out of the sphere and tried to grab her. Harry shot at it withi his pistol, but bullets didn't seem to faze it. Horrified, he left her and drove off back to the house. Nancy eventually made her way back to the house and passed out on top of the pool enclosure.

Doctor Cushing met Sheriff Dubbitt at the Archer house. Harry returned home and Cushing warned him that there was evidence of some kind of radiation and that Nancy might be contaminated. The Sheriff questioned him about what took place the previous evening.

Later that evening, Harry decided to sabotage the dosage on Nancy's medication. He sneaked into her room to administer a lethal dose, but when he turned on the light, he was shocked to find that his wife had now grown fifty feet tall.

The next morning, Doctor Cushing called his colleague, Doctor Heinrich Von Loeb, to consult on the situation. They ordered 40 lengths of chain and a surplus of medical equipment and elephant syringes. They restrained her to the bed and did their best to keep her sedated until they could determine how this could have happened. Von Loeb had no idea what to make of Nancy's condition.

Nancy awakened and began shouting for Harry. The doctors ran upstairs and tried to calm her down, but she, in hysterics, demanded to see her husband. Harry was nowhere to be found. Doctor Cushing told the attending nurse to call the Sheriff. Nancy broke loose from her chains, burst through the roof of the house and stalked off into the night, calling out for Harry. The fifty foot woman came upon a power transformer and began shaking it. All across the town, lights started to flicker as the power went down.

Nancy stalked over to the hotel where she knew Harry has been staying. She scared a young couple making out in a car and they ran off. She looked into one of the hotel windows, but didn't see any trace of her wayward husband. She then lumbered over to Tony's Bar & Grill - Harry and Honey's favorite night spot - and began shaking the building. She tore away at the roof of the bar and a pile of timber and debris rained down on top of the patrons. Honey was crushed by the fallout. She saw Harry and grabbed him, pulling him out of the building and began stalking off again towards the power lines. Sheriff Dubbitt arrived on the scene and fired his riot shotgun at her, but the bullets did nothing to slow her down. One shot however hit the transformer and the ensuing explosion killed both Nancy and Harry. As they collapsed to the ground, Doctor Cushing and the others arrived to examine the body. Cushing solemnly remarked, "She finally got Harry all to herself".

Notes & Trivia

 * The character of Nancy Archer was created by director Nathan Juran and screenwriter Mark Hanna.


 * Actress Allison Hayes is also known for playing the role of Grace Thomas in Boris Petroff's The Unearthly. She also appeared in "The Pool" episode of the TV series World of Giants which was directed by Nathan Juran, who also directed Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman. Her only other appearance in sci-fi was playing Mandy Holcomb in the "Moon Cloud" episode of Men Into Space.