White Zombie (1932)

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. 

Here we have the very first Zombie movie....EVER. Not only that, this was the film that inspired Rob Zombie to name his band White Zombie.  He would later go on to become quite the film maker himself.  

The film was directed and produced by brothers Victor Halperin and Edward Halperin.  The screenplay was written by Garnett Weston.  Béla Lugosi stars as the antagonist, Murder Legendre, with Madge Bellamy appearing as his victim. Other cast members included Robert W. Frazer, John Harron and Joseph Cawthorn

The zombies are indeed unnerving.

The film opened to mostly negative reviews. They complained of poor acting and an over the top story.  The acting is indeed poor in spots but not by Bela Lugosi.  Even though his portrayal of Dracula proved to be more iconic, I find this to be Lugosi's best performance. He oozes evil and menace in this film.  There is no question that he is the best thing in White Zombie.

For the modern viewer White Zombie may move too slow or not have the gore they're used too. But the film has a sense of wickedness.  One such example is the scene at the Sugar Mill where the zombies are working, making no sound.  The only noise is the creaking of the machinery that they are forced to operate. This scene gives a kick to the viewer's system and a realization of the evil that is taking place here.  The shot of the undead walking across the mountain is a great visual.  The whole film has an atmosphere that makes it a classic. And the aura that Lugosi gives with his piercing eyes take it over the top. Some may take the look in his as eyes as comical but they're damn unnerving to me.  But the rest of the cast could not keep up and their performances are certainly lacking the same enthusiasm. It's a shame that Lugosi made a shitty $800 for his performance.

Lugosi shines with his performance in White Zombie.

 Even with a shoestring budget it's still a spooky film and one that I feel falls into the category "Classic". And this is almost exclusively due to Lugosi.


Trivia:
The play "Zombie" opened in New York in February, 1932, and the author, Kenneth S. Webb, sued Edward Halperin and Victor Halperin, the film's producers, for the movie rights. The Halperins won the case.

The film was thought lost until its rediscovery in the 1960s. A court battle was fought between film distributor Frank Storace and the estate of Stanley Krellberg, the copyright owner of the film. Storace had wished to produce a restored version of the film but the estate refused him access to original footage in their possession. Storace gave up the court battle and did not win his access to his original footage.

According to friends of Bela Lugosi, the actor always regretted that he had taken the role of "Murder" Legendre for only $800 while the film was quite successful at the box office for the Halperin brothers.

This film was shot in only eleven days, completed March 1932.

The voodoo chanting that plays over the opening credits is sampled in the song "El Imperio del Mal" by the Spanish rock band Migala.

There is no other way.

Quotes:
Charles Beaumont: But there must be another way.
Legendre: There is no other way!

Madeline: Driver, who were those men we saw?
Coach Driver: They are not men, madame. They are dead bodies!

Dr. Bruner: Before we get through with this thing we may uncover sins that even the devil would be ashamed of.

Cheers