''King of the Zombies'' is a 1941 American zombie comedy film directed by

Jean Yarbrough Jean Yarbrough (August 22, 1901 – August 2, 1975) was an American film director. Biography Jean Yarbrough was born in Marianna, Arkansas on August 22, 1901. He attended the University of the South located in Sewanee, Tennessee. In 1922 ...

and starring Dick Purcell,

Joan Woodbury Joan Elmer Woodbury (December 17, 1915 – February 22, 1989) was an American actress beginning in the 1930s and continuing well into the 1960s. Early life Woodbury was born in Los Angeles, California on December 17, 1915. Her father was Elmer ...

, and

Mantan Moreland Mantan Moreland (September 3, 1902 – September 28, 1973) was an American actor and comedian most popular in the 1930s and 1940s. He starred in numerous films. His daughter Marcella Moreland appeared as a child actress in several films. E ...

. The film was produced by Monogram Pictures, and was typical of its

B film A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

s produced by the Pine-Thomas team. Along with flying scenes, the use of zany characters and slapstick efforts were juxtaposed with a spy and zombie story.Weaver 1993, pp. 36-45.

Plot

In 1941, a Capelis XC-12 transport aircraft flown by pilot James "Mac" McCarthy ( Dick Purcell) flying between Cuba and Puerto Rico runs low on fuel and is blown off course by a storm. McCarthy, unable to pick up any radio transmissions over the Caribbean, hears a faint radio signal. After crash-landing on a remote island, his passenger Bill Summers ( John Archer) and his black manservant/valet, Jefferson Jackson (

) take refuge in a mansion owned by Dr. Miklos Sangre (

Henry Victor Henry Victor (2 October 1892 – 15 March 1945) was an English-born character actor who had his highest profile in the film silent era, he appeared in numerous film roles in Britain, before emigrating to the US in 1939 where he continued ...

) and his wife Alyce (Patricia Stacey). The quick-witted yet easily frightened manservant soon becomes convinced the mansion is haunted by

zombies A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in wh ...

and confirms this with some of Dr. Sangre's hired helps. With the assistance of Barbara Winslow (

), the stranded group begins to find out what mysterious events are taking place in the mansion. Whilst exploring, the group stumbles upon a voodoo ritual in the cellar. It is being conducted by the doctor, who is in reality a foreign spy, trying to acquire war intelligence from a captured US Admiral whose aircraft had also crashed on the island. McCarthy comes under the doctor's spell but Summers comes to his aid. Information is being transmitted to Barbara, but Summers stops the ritual. The interruption causes the zombies to turn on their master. Sangre shoots the pilot but falls into a firepit and dies. With Sangre dead, all the zombies are released from his spell.

Cast

* Dick Purcell as James "Mac" McCarthy *

as Barbara Winslow *

as Jefferson "Jeff" Jackson *

as Dr. Miklos Sangre * John Archer as Bill Summers * Patricia Stacey as Alyce Sangre *

Guy Usher James Guy Usher (May 9, 1883 – June 16, 1944) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 190 films between 1932 and 1943. Born in Mason City, Iowa, Usher acted on stage before venturing into films. Billed as James Guy Usher, h ...

as Admiral Arthur Wainwright * Marguerite Whitten as Samantha, the Maid *

Leigh Whipper Leigh Rollin Whipper (October 29, 1876 – July 26, 1975) was an American actor on the stage and in motion pictures. He was the first African American to join the Actors' Equity Association, and one of the founders of the Negro Actors Guild of ...

as Momba, the Butler *

Madame Sul-Te-Wan Madame Sul-Te-Wan (born Nellie Crawford; March 7, 1873 – February 1, 1959) was the first black actress to sign a film contract and be a featured performer.Lowe, Denise. ''An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Women in Early American Films'', Hawo ...

as Tahama, the Cook and High Priestess * James Davis (credited as Jimmy) as Lazarus, a Zombie *

Laurence Criner Laurence Criner (19 July 1898 - 8 March 1965) born John Laurence Criner, occasionally credited as J. Lawrence Criner, was an actor in the United States. An African-American, he had numerous film roles including as the male lead and star. He was ...

as Dr. Couillie

Production

''King of the Zombies'' was announced in January 1941 as a vehicle for

Bela Lugosi Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), known professionally as Bela Lugosi (; ), was a Hungarian and American actor best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic ''Dracula'', Ygor in ''S ...

. It was inspired by the success of ''

The Ghost Breakers ''The Ghost Breakers'' is a 1940 American mystery/horror comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard. It was adapted by screenwriter Walter DeLeon as the third film version of the 1909 play '' The Ghost Bre ...

'' (1940). Lugosi was meant to play the role of Dr. Sangre.Dendle 2001, pp. 96–97. When he became unavailable, negotiations ensued to obtain

Peter Lorre Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, first in Europe and later in the United States. He began his stage career in Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before movin ...

for the part, but a deal could not be reached. Veteran character actor Henry Victor was signed just prior to the date of filming. Principal photography by Sterling Productions, Inc. began on March 28, 1941 and wrapped in early April, being primarily filmed on a studio back lot."Original print information: 'King of the Zombies'."
''Turner Classic Movies''. Retrieved: August 18, 2016. The transport aircraft used in ''King of the Zombies'' was a Capelis XC-12, built in 1933 by Capelis Safety Airplane Corporation of California. The aircraft was a 12-seat, low-wing cabin monoplane with two 525 hp

Wright Cyclone Wright Cyclone was the name given to a family of air-cooled radial piston engines designed by the Wright Aeronautical Corporation and used in numerous American aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s. Background The Wright Aeronautical Corporation wa ...

engines.

Release

In the press kit for ''King of the Zombies'', Monogram advised exhibitors to sell "it along the same lines as

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

's ''

'' (1940)." The Bob Hope horror/comedy was a runaway hit at the time.Hallenbec
2009, pp. 32–34.
/ref>

Reception

Writing in ''The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia'', academic

Peter Dendle Peter Dendle is a professor of English at Penn State Mont Alto, teaching classes on folklore, 20th and 21st century representations of the Middle Ages, Old and Middle English (language and literature), and the monstrous (in film, folklore, and s ...

called ''King of the Zombies'' "... utterly absurd and delightful". Bruce G. Hallenbeck, who wrote ''Comedy-Horror Films'', said that the film's politically incorrect humor comes off as innocent due to Moreland's delivery.

Awards

''King of the Zombies'' was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Music (Music Score of a Dramatic Picture) (Edward Kay).

Sequel

Two years later, ''King of the Zombies'' was followed by a sequel, of sorts, called ''

Revenge of the Zombies ''Revenge of the Zombies'' is a 1943 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 Thir ...

'' (1943) that included two of the original cast members. Mantan Moreland reprised his role as Jeff.

was cast as Mammy Beulah, the housekeeper.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Dendle, Peter. ''The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2001. . * Hallenbeck, Bruce G. ''Comedy-Horror Films: A Chronological History, 1914-2008''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2009. . * Weaver, Tom. ''Poverty Row Horrors! Mongram, PRC and Republic Horror Films of the Forties''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 1993. .

External links

* * * *
Review of film
at ''And You Call Yourself a Scientist!'' {{DEFAULTSORT:King Of The Zombies 1941 films 1941 horror films 1940s comedy horror films American black-and-white films American comedy horror films American zombie comedy films 1940s English-language films Films about Voodoo Films directed by Jean Yarbrough Films produced by Lindsley Parsons Films set in country houses Films set in the Caribbean Films set on islands Monogram Pictures films Mad scientist films Nazi zombie films 1941 comedy films 1940s American films