White Zombie (1932) - Episode 76 - Decades of Horror: The Classic Era

“I kissed her as she lay there in the coffin; and her lips were cold.” He was expecting something else? Join this episode’s Grue Crew - Whitney Collazo, Chad Hunt, Joseph Perry, and Jeff Mohr - as they take a trip back to the pre-code days with White Zombie (1932).

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Episode 76 – 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.

IMDb

 

• Director: Victor Halperin
• Writers: Garnett Weston, based on The Magic Island by William Seabrook
• Cinematography: Arthur Martinelli
• Cast
  • Bela Lugosi as "Murder" Legendre
  • Madge Bellamy as Madeleine Short
  • Joseph Cawthorn as Dr. Bruner
  • Robert W. Frazer as Charles Beaumont
  • John Harron as Neil Parker
  • Brandon Hurst as Silver, Beaumont's butler
  • George Burr Macannan as Von Gelder, a zombie
  • Clarence Muse as a coach driver
  • Frederick Peters as Chauvin, a zombie
  • Annette Stone as a maid
  • John Printz as Ledot, a zombie
  • Dan Crimmins as Pierre, an old witch doctor
  • Claude Morgan as a zombie
  • John Fergusson as a zombie
  • Velma Gresham as the tall maid

The Decades of Horror Classic Era Grue-Crew had all seen dribs and drabs of White Zombie but none of them had seen the complete film ... until now, and boy, howdy, do they regret it. Joseph is impressed by cinematographer Arthur Martinelli's use of light and shadow and Whitney zeroes in on a very strange and awkward scene that takes place in a sugar mill. Now restored scenes that had previously been cut are identified by Jeff.  The movie is far better than Chad expected and even though he’s not a fan of voodoo zombies, he recommends White Zombie to everyone. In fact, each of the members of your loyal Grue-Crew are impressed with this film.

At this writing, White Zombie is streaming on Amazon Prime and a Blu ray is available from Kino Classics.

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era is part of the Decades of Horror 3-week rotation with the 1970s and 1980s. In three weeks, the next episode in their very flexible schedule will be a Joseph Perry pick, The Brain that Wouldn’t Die (1962).

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