White Zombie (1932)

Director:

Victor Halperin

Writers:

Garnett Weston (dialogue)
Garnett Weston (story)

Release Date:

4 August 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

The Dead Walk Among Us!

Plot:

A young man turns to a witch doctor to lure the woman he loves away from her fiance, but instead turns her into a zombie slave.

Plot Keywords:

Plantation | Living Dead | Haiti | Voodoo | West Indies

Cast

Bela Lugosi	...	'Murder' Legendre
Madge Bellamy	...	Madeleine Short Parker
Joseph Cawthorn	...	Dr. Bruner (missionary)
Robert Frazer	...	Charles Beaumont
John Harron	...	Neil Parker
Brandon Hurst	...	Silver (the butler)
George Burr Macannan	...	Von Gelder (a zombie) (as George Burr MacAnnan)
Frederick Peters	...	Chauvin (a zombie)
Annette Stone	...	Maid
John Printz	...	Ledot (the witch doctor zombie)
Dan Crimmins	...	Pierre (witch doctor)
Claude Morgan	...	Zombie
John Fergusson	...	Zombie
Velma Gresham	...	Maid
Hans Joby	...	Chauvin (a zombie) (as John S. Peters)

Runtime:

69 min | Canada:85 min (Ontario) | USA:67 min (Roan restoration)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Australia:PG | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1991) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

RKO-Pathé Studios - 9336 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Edward Halperin Productions

Trivia:

The film was thought lost until its rediscovery in the 1960s. A court battle was fought between film distributor Frank Storace and the estate of Stanley Krellberg, the copyright owner of the film. Storace had wished to produce a restored version of the film but the estate refused him access to original footage in their possession. Storace gave up the court battle and did not win his access to his original footage.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Madeline sees Legendre's face in her wine, she begins to set the glass down with both hands, mostly using her left. In the next shot, her right hand holds the cup and her left is on the table. Also, the position of her head changes between shots, from looking slightly up to looking directly ahead.

Quotes:

Dr. Bruner: Before we get through with this thing we may uncover sins that even the devil would be ashamed of.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Lugosi: The Forgotten King (1985) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Liebestraum

This is one of those good news/bad news situations

The good news is that the Roan Group's restoration of White Zombie is marvelous, improving the picture quality markedly and also cutting down on the noise on the soundtrack. There are still a couple of jumps in the film, but we can live with it. The bad news? Well, White Zombie is only marginally less creaky than it used to be. The pace is appropriately funereal, but the acting is generally poor and compared to other horrors of the period (Frankenstein, Island of Lost Souls, Doctor X, etc.) it's really not much cop. The main reason to watch White Zombie is the cinematography, which is frequently outstanding. Just get a snack during those scenes where Madge Bellamy is staring into the mirror.