''Revolt of the Zombies'' is a 1936 American
horror film
Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes.
Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...
directed by
Victor Halperin, produced by Edward Halperin, and stars
Dean Jagger and
Dorothy Stone. One of the earliest
zombie films, it was initially conceived as a loose
sequel to the director's moderately successful ''
White Zombie'' (1932) but, due to a lawsuit, was unable to promote itself as such.
Although uncredited,
Bela Lugosi's eyes appear in ''Revolt'' whenever zombifying-powers are used; it is the same image of Lugosi's eyes used in ''White''.
When compared with Halperin's previous work, ''Revolt'' is generally regarded as a disappointment.
Plot
On the Franco-Austrian Frontier during
World War I, an Oriental priest, chaplain of a French colonial regiment, is condemned to life imprisonment because he possesses the power to turn men into
zombies. In his prison cell, the priest prepares to burn a parchment containing the location of the secret formula. Gen. 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 General 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
Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...
. 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.
Cast
*
Dorothy Stone as Claire Duval
*
Dean Jagger as Armand Louque
*
Roy D'Arcy
Roy D'Arcy (born Roy Francis Giusti; February 10, 1894 – November 15, 1969) was an American film actor of the silent film and early sound period of the 1930s noted for his portrayal of flamboyant villains. He appeared in 50 different films ...
as Gen. Mazovia
* Robert Noland as Clifford Grayson
*
George Cleveland as Gen. Duval
*
E. Alyn Warren
Edward Alyn Warren (June 2, 1874 – January 22, 1940) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1915 and 1940. In some early silent films he was credited as Fred Warren or E. A. Warren. He was born in Richmond, Vir ...
as Dr. Trevissant
*
Carl Stockdale as Ignacio / Max MacDonald
* William Crowell as Priest Tsiang
*
Teru Shimada
Teru Shimada (島田輝 ''Shimada Teru'', born Akira Shimada (島田明 ''Shimada Akira''); November 17, 1905 – June 19, 1988) was a Japanese-American actor.
A '' Nikkeijin'' (first-generation Japanese-American), Shimada emigrated to the Unit ...
as Buna
*
Adolph Milar
Adolph Milar (1895–1950) was a Swiss-born film actor. He appeared in character roles in around sixty American films from 1919 to 1945, playing characters of a variety of nationalities.Biskupski p.43 His name is sometimes written as Adolf Milar. ...
as Gen. von Schelling
* Sana Rayya as Dancer
Production
On September 3, 1935,
Louella Parsons reported that
Bela Lugosi was to star in ''The Revolt of the Zombie''. By November, trades papers announced that brothers
Victor
The name Victor or Viktor may refer to:
* Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname
Arts and entertainment
Film
* ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film
* ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
and Edward Halperin would create a sequel to ''
White Zombie'' that would be produced by Academy Pictures with no mention of Lugosi.
A camera crew was sent to
Angkor,
Indochina to film background shots.
Production was behind schedule in January 1936 with no script complete while the Halperins planned on filming in February.
The film only commenced production on March 9 with the shoot completed later in the month.
In May, however, the Halperins encountered legal troubles in the form of a suit from Amusement Securities Corporation, a financer of ''White Zombie''. Amusement Securities alleged that its contract for the earlier film gave it the exclusive right to use the word "zombie" in motion picture titles. Amusement Securities sent letters to theaters who planned to showcase ''Revolt'', warning them not to screen. As the premiere approached, Judge Waservogel of the
New York State Supreme Court ruled that screenings could take place until a judgement in the suit was reached, and appointed attorney Henry Hoffman to referee the case. On June 27, 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'' as a sequel to ''White Zombie''.
Release
The film is in the
public domain.
Reception
Writing in ''The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia'', academic
Peter Dendle called it "an uninvolving follow-up to ''White Zombie'' that could not have been saved by Bela Lugosi." Glenn Kay, author of ''
Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide'', said, "There's no experimentation here, only dull composition and flatly lit shots of yakking characters in by-the-numbers plot."
References
External links
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{{Victor Halperin
1936 horror films
1936 films
American zombie films
American independent films
American black-and-white films
Films set in Cambodia
World War I films set in the European theatre
Films directed by Victor Halperin
1930s English-language films
1930s American films