White Zombie (1932)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Victor Halperin

Writers:

Garnett Weston (dialogue)
Garnett Weston (story)

Release Date:

4 August 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Romance

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:

Zombie | Wedding | Plantation | Potion | Zombie Slave

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

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:

According to friends of Bela Lugosi, the actor always regretted that he had taken the role of "Murder" Legendre for only $800 while the film was quite successful at the box office for the Halperin brothers.

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:

Charles Beaumont: You must bring her back!
Legendre: Aren't you a trifle afraid, monsieur? How do you suppose those eyes will regard you when the brain is able to understand?
Charles Beaumont: Better to see hatred in them than that dreadful emptiness.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 'Weird Al' Yankovic: The Videos (1996) (V)

Soundtrack:

Bridal Chorus (Here Comes the Bride)

Angels of death creep and groan.

This is a horror classic. A wealthy traveler(Robert Frazer)is smitten by a lovely young woman(Madge Bellamy)on a cruise ship and invites her and her fiancé(John Harron)to hold their nuptials at his plantation home on the island of Haiti. Harron is promised a high paying job to insure a visit. Frazer's darkest intentions are to lure Bellamy away from her fiancé; and enters an alliance with an island zombie master(Bela Lugosi) to win the possession of the young woman...alive or dead. Bellamy suddenly falls ill and dies only to be resurrected as...yes, a zombie...and Frazer's love slave. A strange and bizarre finale determines the captivating, but mesmerized beauty's fate. Incredible otherworldly atmosphere and the eerie, haunting Lugosi insures a high quality black and white thriller.