Black Zoo
Encyclopedia
Black Zoo is a 1963 American
horror film
produced and co-written by Herman Cohen
. It is a violent, gore
-filled tale directed by Robert Gordon
.
who owns Conrad's Animal Kingdom. He leads a cult
group who literally worship the animals he tends — especially the big cats: a lion, a lioness, a pair of cheetahs, a tiger, and a black panther; as well as a gorilla. Conrad plays organ music to the animals in his living room, and uses them to kill anyone who gets in his way. Conrad is married to Edna and forces his mute
son Carl to assist him.
had the idea for the film, and hired Aben Kandel
to work with him on the script
.
Cohen had worked with Gough previously in Horrors of the Black Museum
and Konga
.
The animals were provided by Ralph Helfer
. The zoo was built at Raleigh Studio (formerly Producers Studio) on North Bronson in Hollywood, California. The entire zoo seen in the picture was an interior set.
Publicity was done with the cats—including an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
. Cohen did not like the title, preferring Horrors of the Black Zoo.
tape published by The Fang
(Floral Park, NY) in 2001.
was pretty much like this.
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
produced and co-written by Herman Cohen
Herman Cohen
Herman Cohen was a producer of B-movies during the 1950s, who helped to popularize the teen horror movie genre with films like the cult classic I Was a Teenage Werewolf....
. It is a violent, gore
Splatter film
A splatter film or gore film is a subgenre of horror film that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of gore and graphic violence. These films, through the use of special effects and excessive blood and guts, tend to display an overt interest in the vulnerability of the human body and the...
-filled tale directed by Robert Gordon
Robert Gordon
Robert Gordon , a 17th century merchant and philanthropist, was born in Aberdeen. He was the only son of Arthur Gordon who married Isabella Menzies of Balgownie...
.
Plot
Michael Conrad is a private zookeeperZookeeper
A zookeeper is a worker in a zoo, responsible for the feeding and daily care of the animals. As part of their routine, they clean the exhibits and report health problems...
who owns Conrad's Animal Kingdom. He leads a cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
group who literally worship the animals he tends — especially the big cats: a lion, a lioness, a pair of cheetahs, a tiger, and a black panther; as well as a gorilla. Conrad plays organ music to the animals in his living room, and uses them to kill anyone who gets in his way. Conrad is married to Edna and forces his mute
Muteness
Muteness or mutism is an inability to speak caused by a speech disorder. The term originates from the Latin word mutus, meaning "silent".-Causes:...
son Carl to assist him.
Cast
- Michael GoughMichael GoughMichael Gough was an English character actor who appeared in over 150 films. He is perhaps best known to international audiences for his roles in the Hammer Horror films from 1958, and for his recurring role as Alfred Pennyworth in all four movies of the Burton/Schumacher Batman franchise,...
as Michael Conrad - Jeanne CooperJeanne CooperWilma Jeanne Cooper , best known as Jeanne Cooper, is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Katherine Chancellor on the daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless...
as Edna Conrad - Rod LaurenRod LaurenRod Lauren Strunk was an American actor and singer.As an actor, he worked mostly in television, appearing in single episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. amongst others during the 1960s...
as Carl - Virginia GreyVirginia GreyVirginia Grey was an American actress.She was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of director Ray Grey. One of her early babysitters was movie star Gloria Swanson. Grey debuted at the age of ten in the silent film Uncle Tom's Cabin as Little Eva...
as Jenny - Jerome CowanJerome CowanJerome Palmer Cowan was an American film and television actor. At eighteen he joined a travelling stock company, shortly afterwards enlisting in the navy in World War I. After the war he returned to the stage and became a vaudeville headliner, then gained success on the New York stage...
as Jeffrey Stengle - Elisha Cook Jr.Elisha Cook Jr.Elisha Vanslyck Cook, Jr. was an American character actor who made a career out of playing cowardly villains and weedy neurotics in dozens of films...
as Joe - Warrene Ott as Mary Hogan
- Marianna HillMarianna HillMarianna Hill , born Mariana Schwarzkopf, in Santa Barbara, California on February 9, 1941 is an American actress mostly working in American television.She has appeared in more than 70 films and television episodes...
as Audrey - Oren Curtis as Radu
- Eilene Janssen as Bride
- Eric Stone as Groom
- Dani Lynn as Art Student
- Susan Slavin as Art Student
- Edward PlattEdward PlattEdward Cuthbert Platt was an American actor best known for his portrayal of "The Chief" in the 1965-70 NBC/CBS television series Get Smart...
as Detective Rivers - Douglas HendersonDouglas HendersonDouglas Henderson was a Scottish politician. He served as a Member of Parliament for the Scottish National Party , representing the East Aberdeenshire constituency from February 1974 to March 1979, and held virtually every national office in the SNP, short of party leader...
as Lieutenant Duggan
Production
Herman CohenHerman Cohen
Herman Cohen was a producer of B-movies during the 1950s, who helped to popularize the teen horror movie genre with films like the cult classic I Was a Teenage Werewolf....
had the idea for the film, and hired Aben Kandel
Aben Kandel
Aben Kandel was an American screenwriter, novelist, and boxer. He was screenwriter on such classic B movies as I was A Teen-Age Werewolf, Joan Crawford's final movie Trog, and one of Leonard Nimoy's first starring vehicles, Kid Monk Baroni.Kandel had an earlier scandalous success with his gritty,...
to work with him on the script
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
.
Cohen had worked with Gough previously in Horrors of the Black Museum
Horrors of the Black Museum
Horrors of the Black Museum is a British horror film starring Michael Gough and directed by Arthur Crabtree.It was the first film in what film critic David Pirie dubbed Anglo-Amalgamated's "Sadian trilogy" , with an emphasis on sadism, cruelty and violence , in contrast to the supernatural...
and Konga
Konga (film)
Konga is a 1961 British science fiction film directed by John Lemont and starring Michael Gough, Margo Johns and Austin Trevor. It was distributed in the United States by American International Pictures....
.
The animals were provided by Ralph Helfer
Ralph Helfer
Ralph Helfer is a notable American animal behaviorist, creator of Marine World/Africa U.S.A., California, and writer of books about animals.He was born in Chicago and had one sister, Sally...
. The zoo was built at Raleigh Studio (formerly Producers Studio) on North Bronson in Hollywood, California. The entire zoo seen in the picture was an interior set.
Publicity was done with the cats—including an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
. Cohen did not like the title, preferring Horrors of the Black Zoo.
Availability
Black Zoo was produced on a VHSVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
tape published by The Fang
The Fang
The Fang is a distinctive toothlike peak, 3159 m, which forms the highest point of Fang Ridge on Mount Erebus, Ross Island. Descriptively named by Frank Debenham of British Antarctic Expedition, 1910–13, who made a plane table survey of the vicinity in 1912....
(Floral Park, NY) in 2001.
Real life copycat crime
A real-life crime2011 Ohio exotic animal release
On October 18, 2011, near the Muskingum County Animal Farm preserve in Zanesville, Ohio, owner Terry Thompson was purported to have set his 56 exotic animals free before committing suicide. Of the 56 exotic animals, 48 were killed by the local police. The animals freed included lions, leopards,...
was pretty much like this.
External links
- Black Zoo at a Herman CohenHerman CohenHerman Cohen was a producer of B-movies during the 1950s, who helped to popularize the teen horror movie genre with films like the cult classic I Was a Teenage Werewolf....
fansite