The word "matriarchy" has been defined as "a family, group or government controlled by a woman or a group of women." TCM presents a night of fantastic films celebrating the power of the feminine spirit in fanciful, time-tripping terms on locations ranging from the wilds of the African jungle to the reaches of outer space.

She (1965), based on the much-filmed H. Rider Haggard novel and produced by Britain's Hammer Film Productions, stars Ursula Andress as Ayesha, the immortal high priestess discovered by Edwardian archeologists in the lost African city of Kuma. John Richardson plays the young man Ayesha believes to be the reincarnation of her long-dead lover, with Hammer regulars Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee in other important roles. She was the first Hammer Film to be built around a female star and the most expensively movie produced in the company's history at that point.

Prehistoric Women (1967), another Hammer production, tells the story of a jungle guide (Michael Latimer) who is kidnapped by natives, then travels backward in time to a kingdom of brunette Amazons who enslave blondes! Martine Beswick plays the beautiful, all-powerful (and, of course, dark-haired) Queen Kari. Hammer used sets and costumes left over from another film featuring Beswick, One Million Years B.C. (1966), which starred Raquel Welch.

Tarzan and the Amazons (1945) has Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan and Johnny Sheffield as Boy falling into the clutches of a tribe of Amazon women who enslave men for their labor. Brenda Joyce plays Jane, Tarzan's mate, and the formidable Maria Ouspenskaya is the matriarch of the Amazons.

Queen of Outer Space (1958) is set on Venus, which is discovered by visiting spacemen who find the planet to be inhabited by beautiful women who have taken control and subjugated men. The masked Queen Yllana (Laurie Mitchell) has plans to destroy Earth but faces opposition from a beautiful Venusian scientist (Zsa Zsa Gabor, of all people). This minor camp classic is based on an original story by, believe it or not, the esteemed Ben Hecht.

by Roger Fristoe