6.7/10
2,297
52 user 38 critic

The Walking Dead (1936)

Approved | | Crime, Horror, Sci-Fi | 14 March 1936 (USA)
The Walking Dead Poster
After hapless pianist and ex-con John Elman is framed for murder, he is resurrected by a scientist after his execution.

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Ewart Adamson (screen play), Peter Milne (screen play) | 4 more credits »

Stars:

Boris Karloff, Ricardo Cortez, Edmund Gwenn | See full cast & crew »
Reviews

Photos

See all 19 photos »
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Boris Karloff ... John Ellman
Ricardo Cortez ... Nolan
Edmund Gwenn ... Dr. Evan Beaumont
Marguerite Churchill ... Nancy
Warren Hull ... Jimmy
Barton MacLane ... Loder
Henry O'Neill ... District Attorney Werner
Joe King ... Judge Roger Shaw (as Joseph King)
Addison Richards ... Prison Warden
Paul Harvey ... Blackstone
Robert Strange ... Merritt
Joe Sawyer ... Trigger Smith (as Joseph Sawyer)
Eddie Acuff ... Betcha
Kenneth Harlan ... Stephen Martin
Miki Morita Miki Morita ... Sako
See full cast »
Learn more

More Like This 













◄ Prev 6 Next 6 ►

Next »
The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
Crime | Horror | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

When Dr. Savaard's experiment in cryonics is interrupted by the short-sighted authorities, his volunteer dies, and he is condemned to death. He vows vengeance if he can survive his own hanging.

Director: Nick Grinde
Stars: Boris Karloff, Lorna Gray, Robert Wilcox
Next »
The Black Room (1935)
Crime | Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

Ignoring an ancient prophecy, evil brother Gregor seeks to maintain his feudal power on his his Tyrolean estate by murdering and impersonating his benevolent younger twin.

Director: Roy William Neill
Stars: Boris Karloff, Marian Marsh, Robert Allen
Next »
Before I Hang (1940)
Certificate: Passed Crime | Horror | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.1/10 X  

A physician on death row for a mercy killing is allowed to experiment on a serum using a criminals' blood, but secretly tests it on himself. He gets a pardon, but finds out he's become a Jekyll-&-Hyde.

Director: Nick Grinde
Stars: Boris Karloff, Evelyn Keyes, Bruce Bennett
Next »
The Man Who Lived Again (1936)
Horror | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

Dr. Laurience, a brilliant but unstable scientist experimenting with transferring minds, becomes vengeful when his magnate patron withdraws his support.

Director: Robert Stevenson
Stars: Boris Karloff, Anna Lee, John Loder
Next »
The Invisible Ray (1936)
Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.6/10 X  

A scientist becomes murderous after discovering, and being exposed to the radiation of, a powerful new element called Radium X.

Director: Lambert Hillyer
Stars: Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Frances Drake
Next »
Doctor X (1932)
Comedy | Crime | Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.4/10 X  

A wisecracking New York reporter intrudes on a research scientist's quest to unmask The Moon Killer.

Director: Michael Curtiz
Stars: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Lee Tracy
Next »
The Devil Commands (1941)
Horror | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.3/10 X  

Scientist becomes obsessed with the idea of communicating with his dead wife.

Director: Edward Dmytryk
Stars: Boris Karloff, Anne Revere, Amanda Duff
Next »
Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)
Certificate: Passed Horror | Mystery | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

The disappearance of people and corpses leads a reporter to a wax museum and a sinister sculptor.

Director: Michael Curtiz
Stars: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Glenda Farrell
Next »
Mark of the Vampire (1935)
Certificate: Passed Horror | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.3/10 X  

When a nobleman is murdered, a professor of the occult blames vampires; but not all is what it seems.

Director: Tod Browning
Stars: Lionel Barrymore, Elizabeth Allan, Bela Lugosi
Next »
The Boogie Man Will Get You (1942)
Certificate: Passed Comedy | Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.9/10 X  

A young divorcee tries to convert a historic house into a hotel despite its oddball inhabitants and dead bodies in the cellar.

Director: Lew Landers
Stars: Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, Maxie Rosenbloom
Next »
Black Friday (1940)
Crime | Drama | Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.3/10 X  

Dr. Sovac transplants the brain of a gangster into his professor friend's body to save his life, but there is a side effect that causes a dangerous split personality.

Director: Arthur Lubin
Stars: Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Stanley Ridges
Next »
The Ghoul (1933)
Action | Drama | Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.9/10 X  

An Egyptologist returns from the dead to take revenge on those who have violated his tomb.

Director: T. Hayes Hunter
Stars: Boris Karloff, Cedric Hardwicke, Ernest Thesiger
Edit

Storyline

A gang of racketeers frames down-on-his-luck John Ellman for murder. After a trial finds him guilty, evidence is brought forth proving his innocence, but it is too late and he is executed anyway. A doctor sees an opportunity to use an experimental procedure to restore him to life but is that entirely possible? Desirable? Written by Ken Yousten <kyousten@bev.net>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

back from the dead | downed electrical power line | psychotronic film | monster movie | zombie | See All (59) »

Taglines:

BACK FROM THE DEAD! (original print ad - all caps) See more »

Genres:

Crime | Horror | Sci-Fi

Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

The "glass heart" machine used to revive Karloff's dead character was said to be "nearly a prefect replica" of an actual perfusion pump--a device designed to keep organs alive outside an organism's body--which had been built by Charles Lindbergh, when the legendary pilot and engineer was working with a Nobel-winning scientist at New York's Rockefeller Institute research labs in the mid-1930s. See more »

Goofs

Nancy phones Dr. Beaumont to tell him that John Ellman had been shot but she does not tell him where she is. Nevertheless, Dr. Beaumont shows up moments later in the graveyard. See more »

Quotes

John Ellman: But you can't kill me for something I didn't do! You can't!
See more »

Connections

Featured in Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Film (2008) See more »

Soundtracks

Kamennoi Ostrow
Performed by Rubinstein
See more »

User Reviews

King Karloff
23 October 2000 | by ErasmicLather – See all my reviews

Eerie, creepy, beautifully shot oddity, the kind of stuff they just wouldn't know how to make any more (not that they would want to). Karloff gives a fine performance as the gaunt, haunted patsy in a murder rap. Stand-out scene is definitely the fantastic build up to Karloff's undeserved execution, as sad cello music plays and prison guards banter about baseball while a man's life hangs in the balance. The ideas dry up a bit as King Karloff haunts his killers, but his sinister solemnity captivates the interest, and it's all crammed into little more than an hour.
33 of 35 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
Review this title | See all 52 user reviews »

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is 'The Walking Dead' about?
Q: How many people does Ellman kill?
Q: How does the movie end?
See more »
Edit

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 March 1936 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

The Walking Dead See more »

Filming Locations:

Inglewood, California, USA See more »
Edit

Box Office

Budget:

$217,000 (estimated)
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros. See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See full technical specs »
Getting Started | Contributor Zone »

Contribute to This Page

Free Movies and TV Shows You Can Watch Now

On IMDb TV, you can catch Hollywood hits and popular TV series at no cost. Select any poster below to play the movie, totally free!

The Karate Kid
Star Trek Beyond
Catch Me If You Can
Lawrence of Arabia
Sherlock Holmes

Browse free movies and TV series


Clear your history

Recently Viewed