White Zombie (1932)

A young man turns to a witch doctor to lure the woman he loves away from her fiancé, but instead turns her into a zombie slave.

Director:

Victor Halperin

Writers:

Garnett Weston (story by), Garnett Weston (dialogue by)

Stars:

Bela Lugosi, Madge Bellamy, Joseph Cawthorn

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bela Lugosi	...	'Murder' Legendre
Madge Bellamy	...	Madeline Short Parker
Joseph Cawthorn	...	Dr. Bruner
Robert Frazer	...	Charles Beaumont
John Harron	...	Neil Parker
Brandon Hurst	...	Silver
George Burr MacAnnan	...	Von Gelder - Zombie
Frederick Peters	...	Chauvin - Zombie
Annette Stone	...	Maid
John T. Prince	...	Ledot - Zombie (as John Printz)
Dan Crimmins	...	Pierre - Witch Doctor
Claude Morgan	...	Zombie
John Fergusson	...	Zombie
Velma Gresham	...	Tall Maid

Storyline

Young couple Madeleine and Neil are coaxed by acquaintance Monsieur Beaumont to get married on his Haitian plantation. Beaumont's motives are purely selfish as he makes every attempt to convince the beautiful young girl to run away with him. For help Beaumont turns to the devious Legendre, a man who runs his mill by mind controlling people he has turned into zombies. After Beaumont uses Legendre's zombie potion on Madeleine, he is dissatisfied with her emotionless being and wants her to be changed back. Legendre has no intention of doing this and he drugs Beaumont as well to add to his zombie collection. Meanwhile, grieving 'widower' Neil is convinced by a local priest that Madeleine may still be alive and he seeks her out.

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Plot Keywords:

zombie | voodoo | haiti | voodoo zombie | plantation | 

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Taglines:

She was not dead... not alive.

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rob Zombie named his first heavy metal band, White Zombie, after this movie.

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Goofs

Minute 46: the vulture manages to scream, loudly and repeatedly, with its beak shut.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Neil Parker: Looks like a burial.
Madeline: In the road?

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Crazy Credits

"White Zombie starring Bela (Dracula) Lugosi."

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Alternate Versions

The scene in which Madelene is prepared for her wedding by her two maids was censored from some prints because Madelene is shown in her underwear.

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Connections

Referenced in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

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Soundtracks

Incidental Symphony
(uncredited)
Music by Leo Kempinski

User Reviews

Classic Zombie movie

You have to change your way of looking at movies to really enjoy old horror movies like this one. Don't be in a rush to see action, violence and don't expect to see any bloodshed at all. Most of the grisly part is implied and you have to fill in the details. Instead, watch it for the scenery, the acting and the plot.

I prefer the older horror films to the newer, slash-fest movies because they allow me to think and they generally have a good, moral theme. You never have a good guy as a demon or a fiend, for instance.

White Zombie has the older, traditional zombie characters that are not evil in themselves. Instead, they are mindless and controlled by a shaman, who is generally evil and must be destroyed to set the zombies, who are victims, free. In the newer Zombie movies like Night of the Living Dead, the Zombies are either not controlled or are evil themselves and must be destroyed.

I think the acting by the zombies is very good and so is their make-up (i.e. they have very frightening faces.) Their master, played by Bela Lugosi, is also played masterfully. The missionary is also good, but most of the rest of the cast is only average.

It's a fun movie to watch and I gave it a score of 7 out of 10. If you love early horror movies, buy it. Don't pay more than $10 unless it's packaged with other movies because the picture and the sound quality are weak. If not, you might catch it on a Friday night horror fest on TV. It's worth the time watching it if for Bela Lugosi alone.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 August 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

White Zombie

Filming Locations:

RKO-Pathé Studios - 9336 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Victor & Edward Halperin Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

69 min 67 min (Roan restoration) 85 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1