King of the Zombies (1941)

On a spooky island, three stranded travelers find an evil doctor working with foreign spies and in control of zombies.

Director:

Jean Yarbrough

Writer:

Edmond Kelso (original story and screenplay)

Stars:

Dick Purcell, Joan Woodbury, Mantan Moreland

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dick Purcell	...	James McCarthy
Joan Woodbury	...	Barbara Winslow
Mantan Moreland	...	Jeff
Henry Victor	...	Dr. Miklos Sangre
John Archer	...	Bill Summers
Patricia Stacey	...	Alyce Sangre
Guy Usher	...	Adm. Wainwright
Marguerite Whitten	...	Samantha
Leigh Whipper	...	Momba
Madame Sul-Te-Wan	...	Tahama
James Davis	...	Lazarus (as Jimmy Davis)
Laurence Criner	...	Dr. Couillie (as Lawrence Criner)

Storyline

During World War 2, a small plane off the south coast of America is low on fuel and blown off course by a storm. Guided by a faint radio signal, they crashland on an island. The passenger, his manservant and the pilot take refuge in a mansion owned by a doctor. The easily-spooked manservant soon becomes convinced the mansion is haunted by zombies and ghosts. Exploring, the 3 find a voodoo ritual in the cellar, where the doctor is trying to acquire war intelligence by transferring personalities into his zombies. But the interruption causes the zombies to turn on their creator.

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Plot Keywords:

airplane | pilot | island | fear | woman in jeopardy | 

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Taglines:

HUMAN SACRIFICES! SAVAGE TORTURE! VOODOO RITES! (original poster - all caps)

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Horror

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 May 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

El rey de los zombies

Company Credits

Production Co:

Monogram Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

67 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This supposedly started out as a straight horror film and would be advertised as such. When the thrill comedy "The Ghost Breakers" (1940) with Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard became a big hit for Paramount, some changes were made. The original director was replaced with Jean Yarbrough, who had prior experience directing comedies. The film would be edited by Richard Currier who had edited many comedies at the Hal Roach Studios. An additional character, Jeff, was added and would be played by Monogram's premier comedy relief, Mantan Moreland.

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Goofs

When Jeff is going to sleep and the clock strikes midnight, it chimes only six times.

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Quotes

Jefferson 'Jeff' Jackson: [hearing voodoo drums] It ain't Gene Krupa!

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Connections

Featured in Film Breaks: Zombies (1999)

User Reviews

Whitten ...

This movie was as much Whitten's as it was Morelands. She was beautiful. Had she been active during the 90s, with her talent and beauty, she could have ruled Hollywood. Moreland, given his delivery and timing, would give Murphy a run for his money. This movie is a comedy classic. Being dated as it is, and altogether politically incorrect by todays standards, it actually gave Whitten and Moreland a lot of space to show off their talents. It may seem backwards NOW but for that day and time it was really very progressive. The other actors, well ... The Doctor was cool, and I think was trying to play off Lugousi. The rest? Hey, some one has to play "third through the door".And they did OK. If nothing else they made Whitten and Moreland look even better. But they didn't really need that kinda help. ;-)