White Zombie (1932)

Calificación de los usuarios:

6.5/10   

Director:

Victor Halperin

Escritores:

Garnett Weston (dialogue)
Garnett Weston (story)

Fecha de Lanzamiento:

4 agosto 1932 (USA)

Género:

Horror | Romance

Frase comercial:

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:

Zombie | Wedding | Plantation | Potion | Zombie Slave

Comentarios de los usuarios:

It's all about the atmosphere in this one!

Reparto

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)

También conocida como:

La legión de los hombres sin alma (Spain) [es]

Duración:

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

País:

USA

Idioma:

Inglés

Color:

Negro y Blanco

Relación de Aspecto:

1.37 : 1

Sonido:

Mono (RCA Photophone Noiseless Recording)

Clasificación:

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

Locaciones de Filmación:

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

Compañía:

Edward Halperin Productions

Trivialidades:

The play "Zombie" opened in New York in February, 1932, and the author, Kenneth S. Webb, sued Edward Halperin and Victor Halperin, the film's producers, for the movie rights. The Halperins won the case.

Errores:

Continuidad: When Madeline is removed from the crypt, the pallbearer zombies carry her open casket head first. Cut to the procession going up the hill outside the crypt, she is now feet first.

Citas:

[On pitching woo to a zombie]
Charles Beaumont: Just give me a month. One little month!

Conexiones de Película:

Referenced in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004) (VG)

Banda de Sonido:

Bridal Chorus (Here Comes the Bride)

It's all about the atmosphere in this one!

Zombie movies from the '30's and '40's are quite different from the zombie movies most people know from the '70's till present time. In the '30's and '40's, zombies and voodoo kind of rituals always walked hand in hand. As a result of this zombie movies from the '30's and '40's have a certain creepy atmosphere and scary voodoo sound effects.

"White Zombie" is the very first (still excising) zombie movie ever made. The zombies look extremely good and creepy thanks to the charismatic actors that perform them. Don't underestimate this people, acting with just your body and mostly face is also a form of tough acting. I think that it is thanks to the fine casting of the zombies that most of the scene's with them in it, work really well.

Bela Lugosi is totally fantastic as sort of witch doctor and 'king of the zombies'. He plays one scary monsieur. I even tend to say that this is his best villain role he has ever portrayed, yes even better as Count Dracula. Lugosi was always at his best in roles like these and just like in "Dracula" he is once more acting very well with also both his hands and face, especially his typical horror-like-eyes make him one legendary villain. For the Lugosi fans this is an absolute must see!

The story is very intriguing and sad and its told in a beautiful way. Especially the ending was fantastic and actually also quite tense.

Unfortunately time has not been kind on this movie. The movie had been lost for many years until the '60's after acquiring the rights to distribute the movie, the quality was already beyond restoration, so now days we can never watch this movie in its full glory. The movie has the grainy and visual look of movies from the 1920's and at times small chunks of sound and music are missing.

The cinematography is absolutely fantastic and the experimental editing provides some unique and extremely well looking sequences. It reminded me of some of Brian De Palma's early work. There is one unique and brilliant scene that I can't even describe. It features a split screen but the scene is constructed more complex than I make it sound. Really something you have to see for yourself.

OK maybe the beginning of the movie isn't that good and memorable and quite standard and typical for the horror genre in the '30's but the last half hour or so is really unique, excellent, tense and just a shear delight to watch, mainly thanks to Bela Lugosi's his character 'Murder' Legendre (what a brilliant name by the way) and the story in which once more love conquers all.

By the way this is the movie Ed Wood and Bela Lugosi were watching together in the movie "Ed Wood". Most people think that it was a Dracula movie with Lugosi but it in fact is this movie they're watching.

A really unique little forgotten horror masterpiece, that's worth seeing already alone for its movie historical value and Lugosi's fantastic, passioned villain role.

8/10