Revolt of the Zombies (1936)

Director:

Victor Halperin

Writers:

(more)

Release Date:

4 June 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | 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:

Priest | Servant | Expedition | Gong | Colonel

Cast

Dorothy Stone	...	Claire Duval
Dean Jagger	...	Armand Louque
Roy D'Arcy	...	Gen. Mazovia
Robert Noland	...	Clifford Grayson
George Cleveland	...	Gen. Duval
E. Alyn Warren	...	Dr. Trevissant (as E. Alyn 'Fred' Warren)
Carl Stockdale	...	Ignacio / Max 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)
Selmer Jackson	...	Officer (uncredited)
Hans Schumm	...	German Soldier (uncredited)

Directed by
Victor Halperin

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Victor Halperin		uncredited
Howard Higgin		uncredited
Rollo Lloyd		uncredited

Produced by
Edward Halperin	....	producer

Cinematography by
Jockey Arthur Feindel		(as J. Arthur Feindel)
Arthur Martinelli

Film Editing by
Douglass Biggs		(as Douglas Biggs)

Art Direction by
Leigh Smith

Makeup Department
Phillip Scheer	....	hair stylist

Production Management
John M. Hicks	....	production manager (as John Hicks)

Sound Department
George P. Costello	....	sound technician (as G.P. Costello)

Special Effects by
Ray Mercer	....	special effects

Music Department
Abe Meyer	....	musical director
William Axt	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Charles Dunworth	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Erno Rapee	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Hugo Riesenfeld	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
Leon D'Usseau	....	studio executive
Leigh Smith	....	technical director

Production Companies

• Edward Halperin Productions
• Victor Halperin Productions

Distributors

• Academy Pictures Distributing Corporation (1936) (USA) (theatrical) (states rights system)
• Favorite Films (1947) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Madacy Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Roan Group, The (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Navarre Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Roan Group, The (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (VHS)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• LS Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• PC Treasures (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Vintage Home Entertainment (2005) (worldwide) (DVD)

Also Known As:

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)

Better than what everyone says!

No, not in any way a masterpiece, but in no way deserving of a 2.6 on the IMDb poll, this film is better than its' reputation!

I have avoided this film directly for 10 years because of its' reputation. 10 years ago I first saw White Zombie, the Halperin brothers first zombie film, and a horror classic, and was impressed. However, I didn't get this one mostly because Lugosi wasn't in it.

Finally, after skipping this title nearly a hundred times, year after year, I finally decided to shell out the eight bucks and sit in horror of pure nonsense, and honestly it wasn't that bad. In fact, there are some redeeming qualities in this. It reminds me a bit of another good independent effort from the year before, Condemned to Live. And the acting is certainly not any worse than in White Zombie, minus, of course, the huge Lugosi charisma.

Needless to say, the Halperin brothers employed many of the same cinematic styles from their previous zombie hit. Gone, though, is the heavy music; this time less influential stock music is used. Gone also, are the split screen wipes that made some of the imagery in the previous film so memorable. But, this is still a typical-looking low budget horror from 1936. No better, but no worse.

What the problem must be is reputation. This film seems to have some undeserving bullseye on its' head because it is the follow-up to White Zombie. The truth is, another soon-to-be bankrupt studio produced this film and did as good a job on it as any other poverty row horror production up to that time.

If you look up other, EXTREMELY SIMILAR low budget horrors from the 30s, many of which I have suffered through, this one has by far the worst IMDb rating. It only proves that the weighted average is no safety against ballot stuffers - it is equally damaging when only 25% of the people vote below the weighted average and 75% is above. It feels like Bush- Gore all over again. :-) 6/10 - 2 1/2 stars.