Revolt of the Zombies (1936)

Director:

Victor Halperin

Writers:

Release Date:

4 June 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Zombies--- Not dead, not alive!

Plot:

An international expedition is sent into Cambodia to destroy an ancient formula that turns men into zombies.

Plot Keywords:

Servant | Priest | Expedition | Bronze | Colonel

Cast

Dorothy Stone	...	Claire Duval
Dean Jagger	...	Armand Louque
Roy D'Arcy	...	Col. Mazovia
Robert Noland	...	Clifford Grayson
George Cleveland	...	Gen. Duval
E. Alyn Warren	...	Dr. Trevissant (as E. Alyn 'Fred' Warren)
Carl Stockdale	...	Ignacio MacDonald
William Crowell	...	Priest Tsiang
Teru Shimada	...	Buna
Adolph Milar	...	Gen. von Schelling (as Adolph Millard)
Sana Rayya	...	Dancer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bela Lugosi	...	The Eyes (archive footage)

Runtime:

65 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #2161) | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (2005)

Company:

Edward Halperin Productions

Trivia:

The eyes that are frequently superimposed on the screen are those of Bela Lugosi. They were taken from Victor Halperin's earlier film White Zombie (1932).

Quotes:

Ignacio MacDonald: You've done a terrible thing to her.
Armand Louque: Is it so terrible to fight for and to get the one thing in this world that you want?
Ignacio MacDonald: Not if you played a gentleman's game.
Armand Louque: I don't like sermons.
Ignacio MacDonald: Nor, perhaps, the truth?

Movie Connections:

Edited into Zombie Evolution (2008)

Plod Plod Plod...

"This might mean the end of the white race!" gasps a general as a dozen Native Zombies wander around the battlefields of Europe during the "Great War". An expedition sets out tor the long-lost, back-projected city of Kennif-Angor to stop this sort of thing and keep the battlefields clear for decent honest white people to slaughter each other by the tens of thousands.

It is a bit hard to tell when people are zombies or not in this film as the acting is so wooden. Even by 1936 standards the acting in this film is bad. From a previous decade. It looks like it came out of a correspondence school text book on 'How to Act'

------------- Chapter Three: Emotions -------------

"How to express fear and loathing (Female) Clench both fists. Place fist of one hand on heart. Open mouth as it to scream. Place other fist, palm out, against mouth. Hold pose for 10 seconds longer than is comfortable then quickly turn head 90 degrees away from direction of loathed object and sob".

"How to have difficult, heavily emotionally charged scene with ex-fiancé explaining your love for someone else. Do NOT make eye contact. Do not move. Do not show any emotion. Do not move your eyes too much as you read your lines off the studio wall."

To give us a respite from the leaden acting the director cunningly cuts in long pauses where nothing much happens except that film keeps running through the projectors. Thus 35 minute's worth of story is padded out to 60ish minutes.

The revolt of the zombies when it comes is so slow! Released from mental bondage the armies of ex-zombiefied minions turn on their former master by ambling slowly up hill and then sort of stabbing a door a bit and smashing a window. "Yea... let's... oh, I dunnno yeah. Let's get him grrr. Frankenstein must be destroyed - manana." (though I have just found a bit of hidden symbolism. Jagger is shot by a Native as some sort of ironic counterpoint to all the Natives being shot by the Germans at the start of the flick. see, even downtrodden Natives don't want the end of the White Race!) The chase (it you can call it that) through the back-projected swamp is hilarious and worth the admission price alone. Roy D'Arcy has a hell of a time camping it up, but is totally wasted, as Col. Mazovia.

There is one interesting moment in this film. A nice little montage of the zombied natives and white cast members falling under the evil eyes spell. face after face, cross-fade into one another. It works, though there is a strange little blip in the middle of each close up like a frame has been cut. I guess these must be Neg Cutters' frames between the fades.

Best watched with friends and in a silly mood.