White Zombie (film)

White Zombie
Image of a film poster with a dark green background. Large eyes overlook two hands clasped together. The text at the top reads "With these zombie eyes, he rendered her powerless". In the middle is the title, White Zombie. Below is written "With these zombie hands he made her perform his every desire!".
theatrical release poster
Directed by Victor Halperin
Produced by Edward Halperin
Written by Garnett Weston (story and dialogue)
Based on Inspired by The Magic Island (1929 novel) by William Seabrook[1]
Starring Bela Lugosi[2]
Music by
Cinematography Arthur Martinelli
Edited by Harold McLernon
Production
company
Halperin Productions
Distributed by United Artists
Release date
  • July 28, 1932 (1932-07-28)
Running time
 67 minutes;[5]
or 68 or 70 minutes[4]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $50,000 (approx)[4]

White Zombie is a 1932 American pre-Code horror film independently produced by Edward Halperin and directed by Victor Halperin. The screenplay by Garnett Weston, based on The Magic Island by William Seabrook, is about a young woman's transformation into a zombie at the hands of an evil voodoo master. Bela Lugosi stars as the zombie master "Murder" Legendre, with Madge Bellamy appearing as his victim. Other cast members include Joseph Cawthorn, Robert W. Frazer, John Harron, Brandon Hurst and George Burr MacAnnan.[6][7]

Large portions of White Zombie were shot on the Universal Studios lot, borrowing many props and scenery from other horror films of the era. The film opened in New York to negative reception, with reviewers criticizing the film's over-the-top story and weak acting. While the film made a substantial financial profit as an independent feature, it proved less popular than other horror films of the time.

White Zombie is considered the first feature length zombie film. A sequel, Revolt of the Zombies, opened in 1936. Modern reception to White Zombie has been more positive. Some critics have praised the film's atmosphere and compared it to the 1940s horror films of Val Lewton, while others still have unfavorable opinions on the quality of the acting.

Plot

On her arrival in Haiti, Madeleine Short (Madge Bellamy) reunites with her fiancé Neil Parker (John Harron), with imminent plans to be married. On the voyage, she meets Charles Beaumont (Robert Frazer), a wealthy planter who convinces her to have the marriage ceremony at his plantation house. In reality, Beaumont has fallen in love with Madeleine, and plans to get Neil out of the way by giving him a job in New York as his agent.

On the way to Beaumont's house, the couple's carriage passes "Murder" Legendre (Bela Lugosi), an evil voodoo master, leading a group of zombies. Legendre observes the couple with interest and manages to grab Madeleine's scarf.

After arriving at the house, and meeting Dr. Bruner (Joseph Cawthorn), who is to perform the ceremony, the couple is shown to their rooms. Beaumont goes off in a cart, driven by a zombie, to Legendre's sugarcane mill, which is operated entirely by zombies, to solicit Legendre's supernatural assistance in getting Madeleine to marry him. Legendre states that the only way is to use a potion to transform Madeleine into a zombie. Beaumont protests that he will find another way, but Legendre insists and convinces Beaumont to take it with him.

The next day, as Beaumont leads Madeleine to the altar, he tries to convince her not to go through with the wedding, but she rejects his plea. He asks for one final kiss, and gives her a rose with the potion on it. She kisses the flower and puts it into her bouquet. Shortly after the ceremony, the potion takes effect, and Madeleine appears to die. Haunted by Madeleine's death, Neil takes to drink, and sees apparitions of her in every shadow.

Legendre and Beaumont enter Madeleine's tomb at night with Legendre's zombie servants, who were all his enemies when they were alive. Hearing the raving Neil approach, they remove Madeleine's casket from the tomb. When Neil finds it missing, he seeks assistance from Dr. Bruner, who explains the possible existence of zombies.

In Legendre's cliffside castle, Madeleine has been revived as a zombie, and Beaumont listens to her play Liszt on the piano, her eyes lifeless. He gives her jewelry, but she does not respond. He now regrets transforming her into a zombie, and begs Legendre to return her to life. Legendre refuses, and demonstrates his mental control over her by wordlessly sending her away. After drinking a glass of wine offered by Legendre, Beaumont realizes that it is tainted with the potion, and that he too will become a zombie. Legendre tells Beaumont that he has his own plans for Madeleine. Beaumont calls on his butler, Silver, to help him, but Legendre transfixes Silver with his eyes, and the zombie servants take him away to a terrible death, throwing him into the river that runs under the castle.

Neil and Bruner seek out an old witch doctor, Pierre (Dan Crimmins), who tells them that all his people are afraid of the mountains, which they call "The Land of the Living Dead", because of the evil man who lives there named "Murder."

Camping out not far from the foot of Legendre's castle, Neil and Bruner hear the terrible screeches of a vulture. Bruner heads out to the castle, but Neil is too ill to go with him, so Bruner goes alone. Shortly afterward, Neil has another vision of Madeleine, and follows it to the castle, where Madeleine is attended by human maids who cannot bear to touch the zombie woman, even to brush her hair.

Legendre and Beaumont are together in the main room. Because Beaumont is the first man to actually know that he is turning into a zombie, Legendre questions him about his "symptoms", but Beaumont cannot speak.

When Neil enters the castle, Legendre senses his presence and silently orders Madeleine to kill him, over Beaumont's feeble protest. She approaches the passed-out Neil with a knife, but hesitates. Legendre increases his command, and Madeleine raises the knife to strike, but Bruner stops her. She runs away, and Neil wakes up and sees her, calling after her. He follows her to a high place above the Caribbean Sea and entreats her to recognize him. Legendre watches them, and telepathically calls his zombie servants to kill Neil. Neil shoots at them, but they are uninjured and keep coming toward him.

Bruner approaches Legendre and knocks him out, breaking his mental control over the zombies. Undirected, they ignore Neil and walk off the cliff. For a moment, Madeleine recognizes Neil; but Legendre wakes up, reestablishes his control over her, and forces Neil and Bruner back with the strength of his will. Beaumont then appears behind Legendre and pushes him off the cliff into the churning waters below. Beaumont loses his balance and also falls to his death, followed by a screeching vulture. Legendre's death releases Madeleine from her trance, and she awakens to embrace Neil.

"Neil," she says, "I dreamed."

Cast

Bela Lugosi
  • Bela Lugosi as "Murder" Legendre, a white Haitian voodoo master who commands a crew of zombies
  • Madge Bellamy as Madeleine Short, Neil Parker's fiancée, who is turned into a zombie by Legendre
  • Joseph Cawthorn as Dr. Bruner: a missionary preacher
  • Robert W. Frazer as Charles Beaumont, a plantation owner who is in love with Madeleine
  • John Harron as Neil Parker, a bank employee, the fiancé of Madeleine
  • Brandon Hurst as Silver, Beaumont's butler
  • George Burr Macannan as Von Gelder, a formerly rich man who has fallen under Legendre's spell to become a zombie
  • Clarence Muse as a coach driver
  • Frederick Peters as Chauvin, a zombie, the former high executioner
  • Annette Stone as a maid
  • John Printz as Ledot, a zombie, a former witch doctor who was once Legendre's master
  • Dan Crimmins as Pierre, an old witch doctor
  • Claude Morgan as a zombie
  • John Fergusson as a zombie
  • Velma Gresham as the tall maid

Production

The zombie theme of White Zombie was inspired by – but the screenplay not based on – the Broadway play by Kenneth Webb titled Zombie.[8][9] Webb sued the Halperins for copyright infringement, but did not win his case.[4] Hoping to cash in on the country's interest in voodoo, which began with William B. Seabrook's 1929 book on Haitian voodou, The Magic Island, the film, then titled Zombie, went into development in early 1932.[10] The Halperins leased office space from Universal Studios.[11] Garnett Weston's story focuses more on action than dialogue.[12] To aid the Halperins, producer Phil Goldstone helped secure funds for White Zombie as he had for other independent films at the time.[11][13] Much of the funding came from Amusement Securities Corp.[4]

White Zombie was filmed in eleven days in March 1932 and was shot at the Universal Studios lot, at RKO-Pathé, and in Bronson Canyon[14][4] on such a small budget – approximately $50,000[4] – that it had to filmed at night.[15] Other than Béla Lugosi and Joseph Cawthorn, the majority of the cast in White Zombie were actors whose fame had diminished since the silent film era.[13]

By the time Bela Lugosi appeared in White Zombie, he was already popular with contemporary audiences after his starring role in the hit 1931 film, Dracula and 1932's Murders in the Rue Morgue, and film historians have found it surprising that he would sign on to a low-budget film by producers (the Halperin brothers) with no track record in Hollywood.[1] Sources vary about Lugosi's salary for his week of work on White Zombie. Claims range between US$500 to $900. Richard Sheffield, who was his close friend in the 1950s, reported a payment of $5,000 for White Zombie on Lugosi's tax returns.[16][17]

The cast and crew's reaction to Lugosi on the set was mixed. Madge Bellamy recalled her collaboration with Lugosi positively, stating that he was very pleasant and that he used to kiss her hand in the morning when they would come on to the set.[18] In contrast, assistant cameraman Enzo Martinelli remarked that "Lugosi wasn't really a friendly type" on set.[18] Actor Clarence Muse, who played the coach driver, claimed that some scenes were partly re-written or re-staged by Lugosi, who also helped to direct some re-takes.[4][1]

Lugosi's model for his portrayal of "Murder" Legendre in White Zombie may have been the character he played in 1919's Slave of a Foreign Will (Sklaven Fremdes Willens), his first German film, in which he played a Svengali-like hypnotist with mesmerizing eyes.[1]

Phil Goldstone had previously worked with Bellamy and offered her the role of Madeleine Short for a salary of $5,000.[19] For the role of Dr. Bruner, the Halperins looked for an actor with name value and decided to cast Joseph Cawthorn, who was then known to audiences only as comic relief in stage and film roles.[20][20] Set designer Ralph Berger utilized the rented sets of previous films. These sets included the great halls from Dracula, pillars and a hanging balcony from The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), the dark corridors from Frankenstein (1931) and chairs from The Cat and the Canary (1927).[21] At RKO-Pathé sets from The King of Kings (1927) were used for the interior of Legendre's castle.[1]

In addition to Berger, assistant director William Cody and sound director L.E. "Pete" Clark earned their first film credit by working on White Zombie.[21] Jack Pierce, Lugosi's make-up artist on White Zombie, had been responsible for the make-up of several other famous horror films of the era including Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, and The Mummy (1932).[14][21]

Clarence Muse took over the role of the coach driver afer principal photography has already begun. Some footage of the unknown original was used in White Zombie.[4]

The music of White Zombie was supervised by Abe Meyer. Instead of using pre-recorded music, Meyer had orchestras record new versions of compositions for each specific film he was involved in. The music in White Zombie draws from works including Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition", Gaston Borch's "Incidental Symphonies", and Hugo Riesenfeld's "Death of the Great Chief".[22] Other pieces on the White Zombie soundtrack include music written by Richard Wagner, H. Maurice Jacquet, Leo Kempenski, and Franz Liszt. The film begins with "Chant", a composition of wordless vocals and drumming, created by Universal Studios employee Guy Bevier Williams, a specialist in ethnic music.[23]

Footage shot for White Zombie was recycled for the film's sequel, Revolt of the Zombies – also made by Halperin Productions – which was released in 1936.[4]

Release

White Zombie experienced distribution problems from the beginning, and went through several film studios including Columbia Studios and Educational Pictures before its initial release.[24] United Artists had been distributing several independent and foreign films that year and bought the rights to release White Zombie.[25] A preview of White Zombie's first cut was shown on June 16, 1932, in New York City.[26] This print of White Zombie had a running time of 74 minutes, whereas the regular distribution prints ran for only 69 minutes.[27]

Critical response

Most critical reviews focused on the poor silent era-style acting, stilted dialogue, and over-the-top storyline.[28][1] William Boehnel of the New York World-Telegram stated: "The plot...is really ridiculous, but not so startlingly so as the acting."[29] Thornton Delehaney of the New York Evening Post wrote, "[T]he story tries to out-Frankenstein Frankenstein, and so earnest is it in its attempt to be thrilling that it overreaches its mark all along the line and resolves into an unintentional and often hilarious comedy."[29] Irene Thirer of the New York Daily News wrote, "Many fantastic and eerie scenes are evolved, but most of them border on ludicrous".[28] Industry trade reviews were more positive. The Film Daily wrote: "It rates with the best of this type of film [...] Bela Lugosi is very impressive and makes the picture worthwhile".[28] Harrison's Reports wrote, "[The film] is certainly not up to the standards of Dracula or Frankenstein, but the types of audience that go for horror pictures will enjoy it".[30][31]

National media outlet reviewers were generally negative. Commonweal opined, "[The film is] interesting only in measure of its complete failure".[30] Liberty wrote, "If you do not get a shock out of this thriller, you will get one out of the acting". In Vanity Fair's "Worst Movie of 1932" article, Pare Lorentz wrote about a "terrific deadlock with Blonde Venus holding a slight lead over White Zombie, Bring 'Em Back Alive, and Murders in the Rue Morgue".[32] In the United Kingdom, press was mixed. The Kinematograph Weekly thought the film was "quite well acted, and has good atmosphere" but thought, too, it was "not for the squeamish or the highly intelligent".[33] The Cinema News and Property Gazette thought the film was for the "less sophisticated" and that the "exaggerated treatment of the subject achieves reverse effect to thrill or conviction".[34] Years after the film's release, Victor Halperin expressed a distaste for his horror films: "I don't believe in fear, violence, and horror, so why traffic in them?"[35]

Modern critical reception has been mixed, with critics praising the film's atmosphere while deprecating the acting. Time Out London wrote, "Halperin shoots this poetic melodrama as trance... The unique result constitutes a virtual bridge between classic Universal horror and the later Val Lewton productions."[36] TV Guide gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, comparing the film's atmosphere to Carl Dreyer's film Vampyr. However, the magazine described the acting as "woefully inadequate", with the exception of Lugosi.[37] Edward G. Bansk, a Val Lewton biographer, identified several flaws in White Zombie, including poor acting, bad timing and other "haphazard and sloppy" film aspects. Bansk wrote, "Although White Zombie is a film with courage, a film difficult not to admire, its ambitions overstep competence of its principal players."[38]

Box office

White Zombie premiered on July 28, 1932, in New York City's Rivoli Theatre. The film received a mixed box office reception upon its initial release, but was a great financial success for an independent film at the time.[39][40] In 1933 and 1934, the film experienced positive box-office numbers in small towns in the United States, as well as in Germany under the title Flucht von der Teufelsinsel. White Zombie was one of the few American horror films to be approved by the Nazis.[40] The popularity of the film led Victor Halperin to a contract with Paramount Studios.[28]

Opening on July 29, 1932, in Providence, Rhode Island and Indianapolis, Indiana, the film grossed $9,900 and $5,000, respectively, following one-week engagements. Frankenstein and other contemporary horror films had grossed more in Providence, and the Indianapolis theater "wasn't too happy with White Zombie, but what audiences saw it were pleased enough."[41] In Cleveland, Ohio, White Zombie sold a record 16,728 tickets its first weekend on its initial release in August.[33] In Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the film opened August 3 at the Princess Theatre. The facade had been transformed into a "House of the Living Dead" and "zombies" walked atop the marquee. The film failed to gross its estimated $8,000 and earned only $6,500 following a one-week run at the Princess Theatre. In comparison, Dracula had grossed $14,000 at Montreal's Palace Theatre during its first week in March 1931.[41]

Home video

White Zombie was transferred from poor quality prints to VHS and Betamax in the 1980s.[27] The film has been released on DVD from several companies – including K-Tel and Alpha Video — with varying image quality.[42][42][43] The book Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide described the Roan's later DVD release of the title as the best available.[5] The online film database Allmovie features a positive review of the Roan Group's transfer, stating the film "has never looked better".[43] The film was released on Blu-ray on January 29, 2013, from Kino Video.[44] On the White Zombie compilation album Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, the film is included as a hidden "easter egg". The film can be accessed by selecting Title 5 with a DVD remote control.

Aftermath and influence

Musician Rob Zombie appropriated the name of the film for his group White Zombie

White Zombie is considered to be the first feature length zombie film and has been described as the archetype and model of all zombie movies.[45][46] Not many early horror films followed White Zombie's Haitian origins style. Other horror films from the 1930s borrowed themes from White Zombie, such as people returning from the dead and other elements of zombie mythology.[47] These films include: The Ghost Breakers (1940), King of the Zombies (1941), I Walked with a Zombie (1943), and The Plague of the Zombies (1966).[48] These films all contain elements from White Zombie including the blank-eyed stares, the voodoo drums, and zombies performing manual labor.[49]

Victor Halperin directed a White Zombie sequel, Revolt of the Zombies, which was released in 1936. Béla Lugosi was considered for the role of villain Armand Louque, but the part went to Dean Jagger.[50] Cinematographer Arthur Martinelli and producer Edward Halperin returned for the sequel.[51] Modern critical response to Revolt of the Zombies is generally unfavorable. In a review from Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide, the review declares that "[T]here's no experimentation here, only dull composition shots and flatly lit shots of yakking characters in a by-the-numbers plot."[52] Allmovie rated White Zombie three stars out of five, while it gave Revolt of the Zombies only one star and deemed it far inferior to the original.[53][54]

Scenes from White Zombie have appeared in other films including Curtis Hanson's The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Michael Almereyda's Nadja, and Tim Burton's Ed Wood.[55] The heavy metal band White Zombie appropriated their name from the film. The group's vocalist Rob Zombie said of the film, "[It's] a great film that not a lot of people know about...It amazes me that a film that is so readily available can be so lost."[56] In 1997, the Janus company released a model kit based on the Murder Legendre character.[56]

In 2009, it was announced that Tobe Hooper would direct a remake of White Zombie.[57] Screenwriter Jared Rivet worked on a script in 2007 with Hooper. The project was halted due to rights issues. Rivet explained that White Zombie "is clearly public domain, but there were question marks about uncredited source material."[58]

In 2013, Walkabout Publishing released Stephen D. Sullivan's adaptation of White Zombie.[59]

In the spring of 2017, Black Rose Writing released Brad A. Braddock's prequel to White Zombie, entitled Memoirs of Murder: A prequel to White Zombie. Since it's release, it has won an award for best new horror. The novel revives such characters as Silver, played by Brandon Hurst in the original film. As well as Von Gelder and Chauvin, two of Murder Legendre's zombies from the original film.

See also

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Stafford, Jeff (ndg) "White Zombie (1932)" TCM.com. Retrieved: March 19, 2018
  2. ↑ Film opening credits: "White Zombie with Bela Lugosi"
  3. 1 2 3 Rhodes 2001, p. 257
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 White Zombie at the American Film Institute Catalog
  5. 1 2 Kay 2008, p. 313
  6. ↑ Staff (August 6, 1932) Variety. p.15
  7. ↑ Billing order per film opening credits
  8. ↑ Grant 2004, p. 210
  9. ↑ Kay 2008, p. 6
  10. ↑ Rhodes 2001, p. 89
  11. 1 2 Rhodes 2001, p. 91
  12. ↑ Rhodes 2001, p. 95
  13. 1 2 Rhodes 2001, p. 92
  14. 1 2 Rhodes 2001, p. 104
  15. ↑ Vieira, Mark A. (2003). Hollywood Horror: From Gothic to Cosmic. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. p. 47. ISBN 0-8109-4535-5.
  16. ↑ Rhodes 2001, p. 97
  17. ↑ Rhodes 2001, p. 105
  18. 1 2 Rhodes 2001, p. 98
  19. ↑ Rhodes 2001, p. 99
  20. 1 2 Rhodes 2001, p. 100
  21. 1 2 3 Rhodes 2001, p. 103
  22. ↑ Rhodes 2001, p. 109
  23. ↑ Rhodes 2001, p. 110
  24. ↑ Rhodes 2001, p. 111
  25. ↑ Rhodes 2001, p. 113
  26. ↑ Rhodes 2001, p. 112
  27. 1 2 Rhodes 2001, p. 194
  28. 1 2 3 4 Rhodes 2001, p. 266
  29. 1 2 Rhodes 2001, p. 265
  30. 1 2 Rhodes 2001, p. 267
  31. ↑ Harrison's Reports film review; August 6, 1932, page 126.
  32. ↑ Rhodes 2001, p. 268
  33. 1 2 Rhodes 2001, p. 162
  34. ↑ Rhodes 2001, p.163
  35. ↑ Rhodes 2001, p. 237
  36. ↑ "White Zombie Review. Movie Reviews – Film – Time Out London". Time Out. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  37. ↑ "White Zombie Review". TV Guide. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  38. ↑ Bansk 109
  39. ↑ Rhodes 2001, p. 271
  40. 1 2 Rhodes 2001, p. 233
  41. 1 2 Rhodes 2001, p. 269
  42. 1 2 "DVD Releases for White Zombie". Allmovie. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  43. 1 2 Buchanan, Jason. "Horror Classics, Vol. 1: White Zombie: Overview". Allmovie. Archived from the original on March 5, 2011.
  44. ↑ "White Zombie". Kino Lorber. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  45. ↑ Rhodes 2001, p. 13
  46. ↑ Prawer 1989, p. 68
  47. ↑ Kay 2008, p. 5
  48. ↑ Rhodes 2001, p. 183
  49. ↑ Rhodes 2001, p. 184
  50. ↑ Rhodes 2001, p. 171
  51. ↑ "Revolt of the Zombies: Production credits". Allmovie. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  52. ↑ Kay 2008, p. 9
  53. ↑ Erickson, Hal. "White Zombie: Overview". Allmovie. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  54. ↑ Erickson, Hal. "Revolt of the Zombies: Overview". Allmovie. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  55. ↑ Rhodes 2001, p. 189
  56. 1 2 Rhodes 2001, p. 190
  57. ↑ "Tobe Hooper Walking With White Zombie". Shock Till You Drop. July 20, 2009. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  58. ↑ "What Happened to Tobe Hooper's White Zombie?". Shock Till You Drop. July 6, 2010. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  59. ↑ White Zombie Released!

Bibliography

  • Bansak, Edmund G. (2003). Fearing the Dark: The Val Lewton Career. McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-1709-9. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  • Grant, Barry Keith & Sharrett, Christopher (2004). Planks of Reason: Essays on the Horror Film. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-5013-3. Retrieved December 1, 2009.
  • Kay, Glenn (2008). Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 1-55652-770-5. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  • Prawer, Siegbert Salomon (1989). Caligari's Children: The Film as Tale of Terror. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80347-X. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  • Rhodes, Gary Don (2001). White Zombie: Anatomy of a Horror Film. McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0988-6. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
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