Revenge of the Zombies

Revenge of the Zombies
Revenge of the Zombies
Directed by	Steve Sekely
Written by	Edmond Kelso; Van Norcross;
Produced by	Lindsley Parsons
Starring	John Carradine; Gale Storm;
Cinematography	Mack Stengler
Edited by	Richard C. Currier
Music by	Edward J. Kay
Production; company	Monogram Pictures
Distributed by	Monogram Pictures
Release date	September 17, 1943;
Running time	69 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Revenge of the Zombies is a 1943 comedy horror film, directed by Steve Sekely, starring John Carradine and Gale Storm. Dr. Max Heinrich von Altermann (John Carradine), is a mad scientist working to create a race of living dead warriors for the Third Reich.

The film was a follow-up to the horror-comedy King of the Zombies (1941) with Mantan Moreland reprising his role as Jeff and Madame Sul-Te-Wan returning as a different character. The film is both a sequel and a partial remake of the original film. Both films feature the concept of a mad scientist married to a zombie wife. In this film, the female zombie has retained her free will, and refuses to be controlled.

Plot

After the death of Max's (John Carradine) wife Lila (Veda Ann Borg), he holds a funeral for her. However, he has also turned her into a zombie. He is amazed when Lila show signs of free will and challenges him for control. In the excitement Dr. Keating (Barry Macollum) goes missing after entering a tomb which should not have been entered.

During dinner, Scott Warrington (Mauritz Hugo) finds a radio in Max's cabinet and figures out that it communicates to Hitler. Max learns of this and gags and ties up Scott. Lazarus (James Baskett), Max's right-hand man, finds a gun. While making soup with Rosella (Sybil Lewis), Jeff (Mantan Moreland) finds Scott bound and gagged in a closet, and he tells Jeff about the situation. Max discovers this and tries to flee the swamp. Lila and the hordes of zombies pursue Max, and both Max and Lila end up sinking into quicksand.

Cast

John Carradine as Dr. Max Heinrich von Altermann
Gale Storm as Jennifer Rand
Robert Lowery as Larry Adams
Bob Steele as United States agent posing as Sheriff
Mantan Moreland as Jeff Jackson
Veda Ann Borg as Lila von Altermann
Barry Macollum as Dr. Harvey Keating
Mauritz Hugo as Scott Warrington
Madame Sul-Te-Wan as Mammy Beulah, the housekeeper
James Baskett as Lazarus
Sybil Lewis as Rosella
Robert Cherry as Pete, a zombie
Franklyn Farnum as zombie

Production

The film was a semi-remake of King of the Zombies. It was co-written by Edmond Kelso, who wrote the first film, and has a similar storyline: two men and a servant played by Mantan Moreland are guests in a strange house where a mad scientist with a zombie wife is working for Nazi Germany.^[1]

It was meant to star Bela Lugosi, but Lugosi ended up not appearing. The movie was the first in a new six-film contract between Monogram and Moreland.^[1]

The film was announced in April 1943 with Robert Lowery and Mantan Moreland attached.^[2]

Filming was meant to start on 10 May 1943.^[3] However this date was pushed back and John Carradine became the star.^[4]

Reception

Writing in The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia, Peter Dendle wrote that it is the first zombie film to presume that audiences know what a zombie is. Dendle called it a remake of King of the Zombies and "stock fare from the Monogram horror mill."^[5] Kino Lorber's Blu-ray "Revenge of the Zombies," a November 26, 2024, release, features a Tom Weaver-Gary D. Rhodes audio commentary providing background on the movie and its producers' negotiations with the Office of War Information and the Bureau of Motion Pictures, which disapproved of several elements of its script.

References

^ ^a ^b Tom Weaver, Poverty Row Horrors, p 124
^ Schallert, Edwin (Apr 21, 1943). "DRAMA AND FILM: Columbia Announces Unusual War Feature John Abbott, 'Discovered' by Flora Robson, Awarded Big Role in 'Saratoga Trunk'". Los Angeles Times. p. A17.
^ "Of Local Origin". New York Times. Apr 24, 1943. p. 17.
^ "Of Local Origin". New York Times. May 22, 1943. p. 10.
^ Dendle, Peter (2000). The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia. McFarland Publishing. pp. 148–149. ISBN 9780786463671.