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 (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	...	Admiral 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:

Don't miss this shock-crammed punch-packed double thriller-chiller terror program!

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Horror

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the presskit for this film, Monogram blatantly advised exhibitors to sell "it along the same lines as [Paramount's] The Ghost Breakers (1940)." The Bob Hope horror/comedy was a runaway hit at the time.

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Goofs

When Dr. Sangre is showing Bill and Mac their quarters, the boom mic shadow is often visible on the wall with the entry door.

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Quotes

[first lines]
James McCarthy: Hello? McCarthy calling. McCarthy calling. Hello?
Bill Summers: Any luck, Mac?
James McCarthy: Nah, I can't even scare up a news broadcast.
Bill Summers: Where do you think we are?
James McCarthy: Search me. We lost the beam hours ago. Probably somewhere between Cuba nad Puerto Rico.
Jeff: Is it that bad?
James McCarthy: It ain't good.
Jeff: Uh-oh. I knowed I wasn't cut out to be no blackbird.

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Connections

Featured in Terror! Theatre: King of the Zombies (1957)

User Reviews

Fun cheeziness

I agree with what was said of Mantan Moreland, because this really is his show. He was really good at what he did and could have been in many, many better movies. With that aside, this movie is a schlocky laugh riot, combining Moreland's intentional humor with everyone else's unintentional humor to make a horror-comedy classic. One of the greatest laughs is an unintentionally hilarious moment where the "Irish" guy gets into a fight with some less-than-alive assailants. The oh-so-diabolical Henry Victor character blames the attack on over-zealous guards, but the "Irish" guy aggressively comes back with, "Are ya sure it wasn't a zombie?!" I also love it when Victor is given lines like, "That's nonsense, zombies don't eat... meat." Aside from Victor, Moreland seems to be the only real actor out of all of them. Some of the intentional humor is hit-or-miss ("Look out, admiral, here we come"), but Moreland carries nearly every joke with comic flair. I don't consider "King of the Zombies" a total classic by any means (as schlock or otherwise), but it is fun and more than worth the four bucks I spent to buy it.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 May 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

King of the Zombies

Company Credits

Production Co:

Monogram Pictures, Sterling Productions Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

67 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1