Zombies on Broadway (1945)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Gordon Douglas

Writers:

Robert Faber (story) and
Charles Newman (story) ...

Release Date:

1 May 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy | Horror

Tagline:

Hee! Hee! What ghoulish glee!

Plot:

Two inept press agents are ordered to the island of San Sebastian to get a zombie for an opening night publicity stunt of a nightclub...

Plot Keywords:

Island | Publicity Stunt | Press Agent | Zombie | Nightclub

Cast

Wally Brown	...	Jerry Miles
Alan Carney	...	Mike Streger
Bela Lugosi	...	Dr. Paul Renault
Anne Jeffreys	...	Jean LaDance
Sheldon Leonard	...	Ace Miller
Frank Jenks	...	Gus
Russell Hopton	...	Benny
Joseph Vitale	...	Joseph
Ian Wolfe	...	Prof. Hopkins
Louis Jean Heydt	...	Douglas Walker
Darby Jones	...	Kolaga (the zombie)

Also Known As:

Loonies on Broadway (UK)

Runtime:

69 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Spain:7

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Quotes:

Prof. Hopkins: His name was Dr. Renault, Dr. Paul Renault. Over twenty-five years ago, he went to the only place where zombies were know to exist - on the island of San Sebastian, one of the smaller Virgin Islands, but I haven't heard from him since.
Mike Streger: Oh, we don't want to disturb him, do we Jerry?
Prof. Hopkins: I don't know if he's alive or dead, but if he's alive, he can tell you what you want to know. Go to San Sebastian - Paul can help you.
Jerry Miles: What's this Paul like... if he's alive?
Prof. Hopkins: A great scientist. Yes, some people say he is crazy. I don't think he is crazy... well, ah, not very crazy, anyway.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs I Walked with a Zombie (1943)

Do Do That Voodoo That You Do So Well...

Paramont had Bing Crosby and Bob Hope; Universal had Abbott and Costello. RKO responded with Alan Carney and Wally Brown--and although they never challenged Crosby and Hope or Abbott and Costello, they were popular enough to justify a dozen or so "B" pictures during the mid-1940s. The best of these is ZOMBIES ON Broadway, a weird little parody similar to Crosby and Hope's ghost-busting flicks and Abbott and Costello's meetings with every classic monster from Dracula to the Werewolf.

What makes ZOMBIES ON Broadway fun is the absolute absurdity of its plot. Carney and Brown are publicity agents hired by gangster Sheldon Leonard to promote a nightclub called "The Zombie Hut"--and much against their will find themselves sent to the island of San Sebastiane with instructions to bring back a real Zombie for the club's opening. Once on the island, they encounter none other than Bela Lugosi, who can still do that voodoo that he did so well in such 1930s classics as WHITE ZOMBIE. This isn't a classic by any stretch of the imagination, and it certainly won't make any critic's short list--but it is just strange and weird enough to hold your attention through its fairly short running time. The entire cast plays very broadly, and the script is about as subtle as a wrecking ball, but its all in good fun. Recommended as ultra-light entertainment.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer