White Zombie | Bela Lugosi | Cult Horror Movie | English
White Zombie - 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.
White Zombie (1932)
Director: Victor Halperin
Writers: Garnett Weston(story by), William B. Seabrook(novel "The Magic Island")
Stars: Bela Lugosi, Madge Bellamy, Joseph Cawthorn
Genre: Horror
Country: United States
Language: English
Release Date: 28 July 1932 (USA)
Duration: 67 min
Filming Location: RKO-Pathé Studios - 9336 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
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.
Reviews:
"Excellent early zombie flick:
These days, White Zombie is better remembered for it's influence on the zombie genre rather than the actual film itself, and while this is justified as the influence that the film has had is important; it's best not to forget that this is still very much a film worth seeing. The film was made after the best of the German Expressionism films, in the middle of Universal's reign, and just before Val Lewton started making his atmospheric horrors with the likes of Robert Wise and Jacques Tourneur. Aspects of all three of these styles can be seen within the film. It wasn't long after the first talking films came out that this was made, and the film feels very experimental; almost like a silent film with spoken dialogue, and the fashion of the characters reflects those found in the German Expressionism movies of the 1920's. The sets also reflect that, while the cinematography and mood could easily have been from a Val Lewton produced movie. The sense of fun that Universal capitalises on so often is still there, with Bela Lugosi putting in a fabulous camp performance.
This was made hot on the heels of Lugosi's initial success with Dracula, and his performance here reflects the one in the earlier film. Lugosi once again relies on his hand mannerisms and expressive eyes to add malevolence to his character, and it's great to see. The rest of the cast don't offer much to admire; but the film only has one star anyway. The movie takes place on the island of Haiti and follows the story of a young engaged couple that go to get married on a man named Charles Beaumont's plantation. Beaumont becomes obsessed with the lady of the couple, and so goes to a witch doctor and has her changed into a lifeless 'zombie'. He quickly regrets his decision, however, and then finds out that the process is not going to be reversed.
The island of Haiti has provided many films with a great setting, and it does for this one. The island isn't very well known to Western audiences, and the movie makes best use of that by making it as mysterious as possible. Voodoo has always made a great horror movie topic too, as there's so much that can be done with it. On the whole, this is a lovely little film, which although not a classic; is important for the genre and is also well worth watching."-Written by The_Void on IMDb.com
Also Known As (AKA):
(original title) White Zombie
Australia White Zombie
Brazil (reissue title) Zumbi Branco
Brazil Zumbi, A Legião dos Mortos
France Les morts-vivants
Germany (DVD title) Im Bann des weissen Zombies
Hungary A fehér zombi
Italy L'isola degli zombies
Japan (DVD box title) Kyôfu-jô: Howaito zonbi
Japan (Japanese title) 恐怖城
Lithuania Daktaro Zombio nusikaltimas
Poland Białe zombie
Poland (alternative title) Biały upiór
Serbia Beli zombi
Soviet Union (Russian title) Белый зомби
Spain La legión de los hombres sin alma
Sweden Vit vålnad
Turkey (Turkish title) Zombi - Yaşayan Ölüler
UK White Zombie
USA White Zombie
West Germany (TV title) White Zombie
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