Revolt of the Zombies
Encyclopedia
Revolt of the Zombies is a 1936 horror film
directed and produced by the Halperin Brothers which stars Dean Jagger
and Dorothy Stone. Although it was conceived as a loose sequel to Victor Halperin's moderately-successful 1932 film White Zombie
, when compared with Halperin's previous work, this film is generally regarded as a disappointment. Although he is not credited in the film, Béla Lugosi
's eyes appear in Revolt of the Zombies whenever zombifying-powers are used; it is the same image of Lugosi's eyes used in the film White Zombie
.
, an Oriental priest, chaplain of a French colonial regiment, is condemned to life imprisonment because he possesses the power to turn men into zombie
s. In his prison cell, the priest prepares to burn a parchment containing the location of the secret formula. Colonel Mazovia (Roy D'Arcy) kills the priest and takes the partially-burned parchment. After the war, an expedition of representatives from the Allied countries with colonial interests are sent to Cambodia
to find and destroy forever the so-called "Secret of the Zombies". The group includes Colonel Mazovia; a student of dead languages, Armand Louque (Dean Jagger
); Englishman Clifford Grayson (Robert Noland); General Duval (George Cleveland); and his daughter Claire (Dorothy Stone).
Armand falls in love with Claire, who accepts his proposal of marriage to spite Clifford, whom she really loves. Later, when Claire runs to Cliff for comfort following an accident, Armand breaks the engagement, leaving her free to marry Cliff. Further accidents caused by Mazovia result in the natives refusing to work, forcing the expedition to return to Phnom Penh
. Armand finds a clue which he had overlooked before and returns to Angkor
against orders.
After viewing an ancient ceremony at a temple, Armand follows one of the servants of a high priest out of the temple, through a swamp, to a mysterious bronze doorway. When the servant leaves, Armand goes through the door to a room paneled in bronze, with an idol holding a gong. He accidentally strikes the gong, and a panel in the wall opens, revealing a small metal tablet. He translates the inscription and realizes that it is the secret for which they have all been looking. He alone now has the power to make zombies out of people, and begins with a practice run on his servant before using his zombie powers in an attempt to coerce the fickle Claire in the movie's climax.
that would be produced by Academy Pictures. A camera crew was sent to Angkor
, Indochina
to film background shots for the film. Production on Revolt of the Zombies was behind schedule in January with no script complete while the Halperins planned on filming in February. The film only began production on March 9, 1936 with the shoot being finished later in the month.
In May 1936, however, the Halperins encountered legal troubles in the form of a suit from Amusement Securities Corporation, a company that had helped finance White Zombie. Amusement Securities alleged that its contract for the earlier film gave it the exclusive right to use the world "zombie" in motion picture titles. Amusement Securities sent letters to theaters who planned to showcase Revolt of the Zombies, warning them not to show the film. As the film's premiere approached, Judge Waservogel of the New York State Supreme court ruled that screenings of the film could take place until a judgement in the suit was reached, and appointed attorney Henry Hoffman to referee the case. On June 27, 1936, Hoffman issued an opinion in favor of the plaintiffs, awarding Amusement Securities $11,500 in damages and legal fees and prohibiting the Halperins from promoting Revolt of the Zombies as a sequel to White Zombie.
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...
directed and produced by the Halperin Brothers which stars Dean Jagger
Dean Jagger
Dean Jagger was an Academy Award winning American film actor.-Career:Born Ira Dean Jagger in Columbus Grove, Ohio, Jagger made his film debut in The Woman from Hell with Mary Astor...
and Dorothy Stone. Although it was conceived as a loose sequel to Victor Halperin's moderately-successful 1932 film White Zombie
White Zombie
White Zombie was a Grammy Award-nominated American heavy metal band. Based in New York City, White Zombie was originally a noise rock band. White Zombie are better-known for their later heavy metal-oriented sound...
, when compared with Halperin's previous work, this film is generally regarded as a disappointment. Although he is not credited in the film, Béla Lugosi
Béla Lugosi
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...
's eyes appear in Revolt of the Zombies whenever zombifying-powers are used; it is the same image of Lugosi's eyes used in the film White Zombie
White Zombie (film)
White Zombie is a 1932 American independent Pre-Code horror film directed and produced by brothers Victor Halperin and Edward Halperin, respectively. The screenplay by Garnett Weston tells the story of a young woman's transformation into a zombie at the hands of an evil voodoo master. Béla Lugosi...
.
Plot
On the Franco-Austrian Frontier during World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, an Oriental priest, chaplain of a French colonial regiment, is condemned to life imprisonment because he possesses the power to turn men into zombie
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
s. In his prison cell, the priest prepares to burn a parchment containing the location of the secret formula. Colonel Mazovia (Roy D'Arcy) kills the priest and takes the partially-burned parchment. After the war, an expedition of representatives from the Allied countries with colonial interests are sent to Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
to find and destroy forever the so-called "Secret of the Zombies". The group includes Colonel Mazovia; a student of dead languages, Armand Louque (Dean Jagger
Dean Jagger
Dean Jagger was an Academy Award winning American film actor.-Career:Born Ira Dean Jagger in Columbus Grove, Ohio, Jagger made his film debut in The Woman from Hell with Mary Astor...
); Englishman Clifford Grayson (Robert Noland); General Duval (George Cleveland); and his daughter Claire (Dorothy Stone).
Armand falls in love with Claire, who accepts his proposal of marriage to spite Clifford, whom she really loves. Later, when Claire runs to Cliff for comfort following an accident, Armand breaks the engagement, leaving her free to marry Cliff. Further accidents caused by Mazovia result in the natives refusing to work, forcing the expedition to return to Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...
. Armand finds a clue which he had overlooked before and returns to Angkor
Angkor
Angkor is a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries. The word Angkor is derived from the Sanskrit nagara , meaning "city"...
against orders.
After viewing an ancient ceremony at a temple, Armand follows one of the servants of a high priest out of the temple, through a swamp, to a mysterious bronze doorway. When the servant leaves, Armand goes through the door to a room paneled in bronze, with an idol holding a gong. He accidentally strikes the gong, and a panel in the wall opens, revealing a small metal tablet. He translates the inscription and realizes that it is the secret for which they have all been looking. He alone now has the power to make zombies out of people, and begins with a practice run on his servant before using his zombie powers in an attempt to coerce the fickle Claire in the movie's climax.
Production
In November 1935, trades papers announced that brothers Victor Halperin and Edward Halperin would create a sequel to White ZombieWhite Zombie
White Zombie was a Grammy Award-nominated American heavy metal band. Based in New York City, White Zombie was originally a noise rock band. White Zombie are better-known for their later heavy metal-oriented sound...
that would be produced by Academy Pictures. A camera crew was sent to Angkor
Angkor
Angkor is a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries. The word Angkor is derived from the Sanskrit nagara , meaning "city"...
, Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
to film background shots for the film. Production on Revolt of the Zombies was behind schedule in January with no script complete while the Halperins planned on filming in February. The film only began production on March 9, 1936 with the shoot being finished later in the month.
In May 1936, however, the Halperins encountered legal troubles in the form of a suit from Amusement Securities Corporation, a company that had helped finance White Zombie. Amusement Securities alleged that its contract for the earlier film gave it the exclusive right to use the world "zombie" in motion picture titles. Amusement Securities sent letters to theaters who planned to showcase Revolt of the Zombies, warning them not to show the film. As the film's premiere approached, Judge Waservogel of the New York State Supreme court ruled that screenings of the film could take place until a judgement in the suit was reached, and appointed attorney Henry Hoffman to referee the case. On June 27, 1936, Hoffman issued an opinion in favor of the plaintiffs, awarding Amusement Securities $11,500 in damages and legal fees and prohibiting the Halperins from promoting Revolt of the Zombies as a sequel to White Zombie.
Cast
- Dorothy Stone
- Dean JaggerDean JaggerDean Jagger was an Academy Award winning American film actor.-Career:Born Ira Dean Jagger in Columbus Grove, Ohio, Jagger made his film debut in The Woman from Hell with Mary Astor...
- Roy D'ArcyRoy D'ArcyRoy D'Arcy was an American film actor of the silent film and early sound period of the 1930s noted for his portrayal of flamboyant villains...
- Robert Noland
- George ClevelandGeorge ClevelandGeorge Alan Cleveland was a Canadian film actor. He appeared in over 180 films between 1933 and 1954.-Career:...
- E. Alyn WarrenE. Alyn WarrenE. Alyn Warren , was an American actor. He appeared in 99 films between 1915 and 1940.He was born in Richmond, Virginia and died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles.-Selected filmography:* The Virgin of Stamboul...
- Carl StockdaleCarl StockdaleCarl Stockdale also known as Carlton Stockdale was one of the longest-working Hollywood veteran actors, with a career dating from the early 1910s. He also made the difficult transition from silent films, to talkies....
- William Crowell
- Teru ShimadaTeru ShimadaTeru Shimada was an acclaimed Japanese-American actor who was cast most famously as Mr. Osato, a SPECTRE agent in the 1967 James Bond film, You Only Live Twice. His film career began in 1932 with the Night Club Lady. He appeared with Peter Lorre in the 1939 classic Mr. Moto's Last Warning...
- Adolph Milar
- Sana Rayya