Murders in the Zoo (1933) - Episode 78 - Decades of Horror: The Classic Era

“You don't think I sat there all evening with an eight-foot mamba in my pocket?” No, she thought you were just glad to see her. (Too easy?) Join this episode’s Grue-Crew - Whitney Collazo, Chad Hunt, and Jeff Mohr - as they discover which is the most dangerous animal found in Murders in the Zoo (1933).

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Episode 78 – Murders in the Zoo (1933)

A monomaniacal zoologist is pathologically jealous of his beautiful but unfaithful wife Evelyn and will not stop short of murder to keep her.

IMDb

 

• Director: A. Edward Sutherland (as Edward Sutherland)
• Writer: Philip Wylie, Seton I. Miller
• Cinematography: Ernest Haller 
• Cast
  • Charlie Ruggles as Peter Yates
  • Lionel Atwill as Eric Gorman
  • Gail Patrick as Jerry Evans
  • Randolph Scott as Dr. Jack Woodford
  • John Lodge as Roger Hewitt
  • Kathleen Burke as Evelyn Gorman
  • Harry Beresford as Professor G. A. Evans

Your Decades of Horror Classic Era Grue-Crew is delighted by this little known, pre-code classic film. Murders in the Zoo’s gruesome opening scene sets the tone for the entire film. Whitney is suitably disgusted by Lionel Atwill’s performance as the monomaniacal zoologist of the synopsis and is also impressed with the strength of Gail Patrick’s character and the arc of Kathleen Burke’s character. Chad thinks Charlie Ruggles adds just the right amount of humor when needed to lighten this heavy affair. A disturbing scene shot in the zoo with tragic results is described by Jeff as is the future career of cinematographer Ernest Haller.

If you haven’t seen Murders in the Zoo, your loyal Grue-Crew give it a strong recommendation. The film is currently available for streaming on Amazon Prime and on Blu-ray as one of four films included in Scream Factory’s Universal Horror Collection Volume 2.

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era puts out a new episode every two weeks. The next episode in their very flexible schedule will be Häxan (1922), the silent classic. A special guest will be joining them so be sure to check-in for the next episode.

Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: leave them a message or leave a comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast hosts at [e-mail]

To each of you from each of us, “Thank you so much for listening!”