Zombies on Broadway (1945)

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:

Jerry Miles: Professor, I don't understand it. Professor Hopkins said you made a great study of zombies.
Dr. Paul Renault: Professor Hopkins always was strange. Some people say he was crazy, but I don't think he was crazy... not very crazy, anyway.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs I Walked with a Zombie (1943)

For what it is, it isn't so bad after all,...

It's very obvious when you watch this film that RKO was trying to rip off the Abbott and Costello formula. This was due to the incredible success of Abbott and Costello and because RKO's BEST comedy team at the time was the Ritz Brothers--who were about as funny as listening to dial tone on a telephone. While the two leads (Wally Brown and Alan Carney) are NOT all that reminiscent of Bud and Lou in acting and talent, the writing is often dead on the mark (a bad pun, I know). Many times during the movie, I found myself remembering very, very similar dialog and situations in several Abbott and Costello films. And, of all those films, I think this one is closest in style (but certainly not in quality) to ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN.

The duo is assisted in their attempt to overcome mediocrity by teaming them with Bela Lugosi as a mad scientist (I know this role must have really been a major stretch for Bela's talents). While Lugosi is fun in the film, he really doesn't have all that much to do--a bit of a waste of his talents. Also, Anne Jeffreys is the female lead in the film. Oddly, BOTH Jeffreys AND Lugosi were re-teamed just a year later with Brown and Carney in GENIUS AT WORK--you'd have thought that given the very limited success of THIS film they would have tried something different.

So did the attempt to copy the originals succeed? Well, yes and no. Yes, because the film was a diverting and mildly entertaining film--just like a real Abbott and Costello movie. But, a resounding NO because the duo did very few films together and now in the 21st century they are all but forgotten--just an odd little footnote in history. I guess this just goes to show you that "there ain't nothing like the real thing, baby".