White Zombie (1932)

Director:

Victor Halperin

Writers:

Garnett Weston (dialogue)
Garnett Weston (story)

Release Date:

4 agosto 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

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:

Plantation | Living Dead | Haiti | Voodoo | West Indies

Comentarios de los usuarios:

Voodoo & Zombies & Lugosi, Too

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)

También conocida como:

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

Duración:

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

País:

USA

Idioma:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

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

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Edward Halperin Productions

Trivialidades:

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

Voodoo & Zombies & Lugosi, Too

A diabolical voodoo master plots to turn a beautiful young American into a WHITE ZOMBIE, a slave of his perverted passions...

Here is one of the great unheralded horror classics of the 1930's. Almost forgotten today, it is an excellent example of what can be accomplished by an obscure film company (in this case Halperin Productions) working with a tiny budget, but using enormous flair & imagination. Some of the visuals - the opening scene of the burial on the road, the sugar mill worked by zombies - remain in the imagination for an uncomfortable amount of time, one sure sign of true success for a horror film. Certain of the settings - the hillside graveyard, the villain's towering fortress - are as good as you'll find anywhere. Additionally, the moody music of Xavier Cugat & the make-up wizardry of Jack Pierce help tremendously.

But it's the performance of Bela Lugosi, looking utterly satanic, which is truly memorable. Released the year following his celebrated Dracula, WHITE ZOMBIE gives him another character which, in measures of pure menace, is easily the equal of the Count. With his mesmeric eyes, expressive, spider-like hands & wonderfully eerie voice, Lugosi radiates absolute evil. This talented Austro-Hungarian actor (born Béla Ferenc Dezsõ Blaskó, 1882-1956) would fritter away much of his career in low-budget dregs, but here he must have realized he was in competent hands and he is obviously having a wonderful time. To see his imposing, cloaked figure stalk about the screen, closely followed by his Living Dead slaves, is to enjoy one of cinema's most deliciously spooky moments.

Madge Bellamy & John Harron are both impressive as Lugosi's victims. Robert Frazer is very good indeed as the plantation owner whose obsession for Miss Bellamy throws him right into Lugosi's clutches. Elderly Joseph Cawthorn scores as the aged missionary who may be the only person wise enough to thwart the zombie master. Movie mavens will recognize an uncredited Clarence Muse as the frightened coach driver in the opening sequence.