A transport lane has engine trouble and is forced to land on a mysterious Caribbean island. the passengers take refuge in a mansion run by the evil Dr. Mikos Sangre (Henry Victor, Freaks, To Be or Not To Be, Tiger Bay; the role was originally designed for Bela Lugosi, then Peter Lorre, Victor was the third choice), who controls a host of zombies through voodoo. Sangre is a German spy who had previously captured a US Admiral (Guy Usher, The Penguin Pool Murder, Charlie Chan at the Opera, Bells of Capistrano) and was trying to pry military secrets out of him. The pilot of the downed plane was James "Mac" McCarthy (Dick Purcell, Captain America, The Bank Dick, The Case of the Velvet Claws; he died of a heart attack at age 39, and at least one film historian has suggested that the strain of filming Captain America was too much for his heart). Also on the plane were passenger Bill Summers (John Archer, Guadalcanal Diary, White Heat, Destination Moon), and his valet, Jefferson Jackson (Mantan Moreland, perhaps best recognized as Birmingham Brown in the Charlie Chan films, also a veteran of vaudeville and "race" movies, Moreland appeared in Spider Baby, Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery, and Mr. Washington Goes to Town, among many others). Moreland deservedly got third billing in King of the Zombies, right behind Dick Purcell and eye candy Joan Woodbury (Charlie Chan on Broadway, Brenda Starr, Reporter, The Ten Commandments); Moreland's third billing was a testament to his popularity during the often close-minded 1940s. Also in the cast were cute as a button Marguerite Whitten (the movie's Afrro-American eye candy, if you will), Leigh Whipper, Madame Sul-te-Wan*, Laurence Criner, Patricia Stacey, and James Davis.
SPOILER ALERT: The villainous Dr. Sangre gets his comeuppance at the end of the film...but you have probably figured that out already,
Directed by Jean Yarbrough, who helmed five Abbott and Costello films and the Abbott and Costello television show, five Bowery Boys films, and a number of classic B-horror films, including The Devil Bat, She-Wolf of London, and House of Horror. The film was scripted by Edmond Kelso (Tex Rides with the Boy Scouts, The Mystery of the Hooded Horseman, Revenge of the Zombies).
A fun flick for its time, but not suited for one with high PC standards. Watch it for Mantan Moreland.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXvtb_JNH5U
* the "T" is capitalized on her IMDb listing, but is lower case on the film credits
Never saw it, but love Mantan Moreland. He did a ton of stuff in the '40s. His last, sad appearance was in the Corman-produced THE YOUNG NURSES in 1973.
ReplyDeleteMoreland was an underrated comic genius with a great sense of timing.. Fun fact: After Shemp Howard died of a sudden heart attack, Moe Howard asked Moreland to step in and become the third Stooge. The powers that be stepped in and put the kibosh on the deal and the role eventually went to Joe Besser.
Delete