A look at the 50 Foot Woman: Star Allison Hayes' early Hollywood years

From humble beginnings to gargantuan stature!

Allied Artists Pictures Corporation

A few years before she was the title star in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, Allison Hayes was just another actress in Los Angeles. She was featured in pictures like Sign of the Pagan, Francis Joins the WAC's, and the musical So This is Paris

What set her apart from her competition was her ambition. Hayes wasn't content with being a contracted starlet fighting for billing in each new movie. So, she obtained her release from Universal-International, and freelanced as an actress not assigned to any studio.

While she was free from her restless and unrewarding shackles at Universal, Hayes struggled for a few years to find meaningful work that paid well. In a 1955 interview with Omaha World-Herald Magazine, Hayes spoke at length about her routine, and how it might not line up with what moviegoers would expect from a Hollywood poster image.

Watch Svengoolie on MeTV!

Saturdays at 8 PM

*available in most MeTV markets

"When I'm working," she said, "the job takes up to about 17 hours of the day. Actual shooting on the set won't start until around 9:30 in the morning, but to be ready by that time, I have to get up at 4 o'clock.

"After getting breakfast, I drive to the studio, and the rest of the time is taken up in make-up, dressing for the role, and being ready to speak my lines. Often, I'm not back home until 9:30 in the evening, and this routine goes on six days a week."

While movies like Attack of the 50 Foot Woman would bring Hayes some recognizability, at the time, she lived modestly.

"I live in a guest house over the garage on a beautiful private estate in Laurel Canyon near North Hollywood," said Hayes. "I don't have a maid, so I have Sunday chores which keep me busy on my day off. 

"I scrub my own floors, and I get down on hands and knees to do it. Then there's the rest of the housecleaning, generally some personal sewing to do, some laundering and meals to get for myself. It's the only time I have to do these things."

While Allison Hayes lived just near enough to the epicenter of American show business, she chose to forgo the party lifestyle enjoyed by many of her peers.

"I live alone," she said. "I don't like to go out much. I don't like nightclubs, and on a date, I much prefer a quiet dinner in a good restaurant. I want to buy a small house when I'm able to."

The article reports that Hayes was spotted by Mrs. Earl Warren, wife of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, at a party in Washington D.C. Her date introduced the actress to a Universal talent scout, and before long, she was bound for Hollywood.

"Girls who want to get into the movies can use all the acting experience they can get," she said. "And it helps to have a boyfriend who knows a studio talent scout."

Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
Close

12 Comments

Bapa1 15 hours ago
This is a fun movie. When I was a kid I had a crush on the other actress who was having an affair with the husband.
edcrumpacker 19 hours ago
OMG! I really enjoyed this article on Miss Allison Hayes. I had no idea what these actors had to endure. No wonder they all smoked and drank. Anyway, I did see "Attack of the 50Ft. Woman" and loved it! I love all those campy B&W horror movies from the 50's and 60's.
Tresix 1 day ago
For some reason, I keep confusing Allison with Hazel Court.
MrsPhilHarris 1 day ago
She died relatively young at age 46.
That's too bad. She seemed like a decent person, not trash like the Khardashians
who got famous when the mother "released" a porn tape of her daughter and her
boyfriend to make money and reap publicity.
In Allison's time the Khardashians would have been shunned, not celebrated.
I never understood the whole thing with the Khardashians. I’ve never watched the show or followed them yet I know so much about them. It’s weird.
I had no idea why they were suddenly famous either till I read how Kim's porn
tape made them popular, her mother manipulating all behind the scenes.
Yes the daughters are surface attractive but as human beings not so much.
It staggers me that so many people think they have import or that their TV show
is anything but the banal, insipid crap that it is.
Don’t hold back Mike. Tell it like it is! 😉
Good on ya, Mrs. H.
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
Sign up for the Yikesgeist updates