Revolt of the Zombies (1936)

User Rating:

2.8/10   

Director:

Victor Halperin

Writers:

Release Date:

4 June 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Romance | War

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)

Keep It In Context... This Was Probably Cool Stuff in 1936!

REVOLT OF THE ZOMBIES (2 outta 5 stars) No, this is not a long-lost ancestor to the classic George A. Romero zombie flicks. This is a low-budget potboiler from 1936 that probably seemed very cool to audiences of the time... but seems awfully routine these days. There is actually a pretty good scene at the start of a soldier firing off his pistol into a horde of approaching zombie soldiers... and a close-up of bullets entering the bare chest of one of them. The effect looks hopelessly fake these days but in 1936 I'm sure it had audiences gasping. The story concerns the search for the secret of mind control... ostensibly to create an unstoppable zombie army... but later as a means for one character to win the woman he loves. The movie is barely an hour long but moves at a snail's pace so it seems feature-length, believe me! There really isn't much to recommend it... you may get some amusement from the faked studio shots of the star "wading" through a "swamp". The ending is interesting... so I'd say the movie is worth seeing at least once. More than likely you will see it as an extra feature on some cheap "4 movies on 1 DVD" compilation at Wal-Mart for five bucks. Hey, it's well worth the money...