Tonight's movie was "Revolt of the Zombies" (1936). Who said Halloween was over? Actually, "Revolt" wasn't much of a horror story but more an adventure like it's predecessor "White Zombie", which was also directed by Victor Halperin. He may have made a minor cult classic with that film (which is supposedly the first Zombie Movie ever made), but as a sequel, "Revolt" is pretty revolting because the script is all mixed up, and the direction and budget suggest an Ed Wood production. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Wood was influenced by this flick. The way the dialogue is recited in some scenes recalls the smarmy but earnest deliveries of actor Bunny Breckinridge, as "The Ruler", in "Plan 9 From Outer Space".
I discovered the movie in the same Dean Jagger database search that produced "C-Man", reviewed a few days ago. He is thirteen years younger here, and more virile looking - remember that in "C-Man" we said he was too soft for the role. But in 1936 he looks thin and strong, playing an archaeologist who is part of a team sent to Angkor Wat in Cambodia to investigate a rumor of Black Magic.
The time is post-World War One. As the movie opens we see a French officer describe to his Generals a fearsome sight. On the battlefield, he witnessed a patrol of allied French Cambodian soldiers who appeared to be under a supernatural influence. These men advanced unabated on the German enemy, even while being riddled with bullets. They had a glazed look in their eyes as they walked right through the barbed wire, and.........well, you know. They kicked the Germans' butts because they were Zombies.
When you think of Zombies in 1936, think of them as several generations of gore removed from the current era of 'Walking Dead" grotesquerie. These chaps look physically like regular humans, but with glazed eyes. Also, they are not deceased and reanimated like modern Zombies but instead are live men whose souls have been stolen. They are under the control of a Master who can use them like slaves.
After the French officer concludes his tale, his General orders the Cambodian High Priest, who is responsible for the Zombification of the soldiers, to be jailed and put in solitary confinement. You'd think he'd give the guy a medal because they are fighting the same enemy, but no, he wants the priest locked up. "No man should have such power"!, he declares, and rightly so.
Somehow, the priest has a statue of Shiva in his cell. He also has a tapestry with images printed upon it that is used in the Zombie Creation Ritual. I think he has some incense, too. I don't know if he snuck all of this stuff into his prison cell or was allowed to have it, but anyway, he's back at it again : making yet more Zombies from the comfort of solitary confinement. But wait! He's not the only one in the cell! Somehow or another, an Evil Genius named General Mazovia has snuck in there, and he's hiding behind the Shiva statue. He's gonna knock off the High Priest and steal his tapestry. Then he will become the Chief Zombiemaker of the World.
The High Priest is found dead in his cell. The other Generals get word of Mazovia's escape, and send a team of officers and archaeologists to Angkor, to find him, and also to get to the bottom of this Zombie business, which is all new to them. But here the story takes a left turn, because the General's daughter wants to go along. She is played by Dorothy Stone, a blonde cupie doll of the era, and, like Ruth Terry the other night, she's the kind of gal Dad can't say no to. Stone instantly becomes smitten with Robert Noland, one of the archaeologists, and now we've got a romance on our hands. Because Dean Jagger likes her too, this makes it a triangle and also a rivalry. He is Noland's best friend, but their competition for Dorothy Stone may throw a monkey wrench into the works.
Whatever happened to the Zombies? Oh, they're still around, but the script is focusing on the romance now. It is here that the Plan 9 Acting Techniques will make their entrance (not that the acting was spectacular to begin with, mind you). If you can stick with the movie throughout this 15 to 20 minute interlude, you will again be treated to some Zombie Intrigue, but not until Dean Jagger gets the idea to steal the tapestry himself. Once he does that, he creates his first Zombie (Teru Shimada) and uses him to murder the Evil Genius Mazovia, thereby eliminating the competition. Sorry about all the spoilers, but in truth I'm not sure it's possible for me to spoil this movie for ya, lol. It may do that by itself!
Anyhow, Jagger does become the Chief Zombifier, and now he's got Dorothy Stone over a barrel. She can either leave Robert Noland and marry him (meaning Jagger), or he will turn Noland into a Zombie. Now, I imagine some women might take the latter deal, am I right? There are probably more than a few ladies out there who wouldn't mind at all if their hubbies were turned into Zombies, and even moreso, there are probably even some who would say their husbands already are Zombies, haha. :)
Well, at any rate, there you basically have it. "Revolt of the Zombies" was produced by Talisman Studios, obviously a Poverty Row enterprise. It looks like it was edited with a hacksaw and lit with 30 watt bulbs. I believe it has the lowest IMDB rating, 3.3, of any film I've seen since I began reviewing. I'm not gonna give it any thumbs, up or down. It's just one of those movies that you're either gonna watch or you ain't. I can recommend it for two things, one of course being the Ed Wood Masterclass that takes place in Act Two, and the other is the location shooting at the legendary Yamashiro restaurant in the Hollywood Hills, which is standing in for a Cambodian Temple. I have only been to Yamashiro once, when I was about five years old, but I still remembered it, and I didn't know it was around as early as 1936. Probably a lot of the movie budget was spent on sushi, because it sure didn't end up on the screen. ////
That's all for today. Did you watch Fiona Hill's testimony this morning? Wow. She was the most articulate witness yet, and the first to really open up and speak, to say more than "yes" and "that's correct". I think she was devastating to Trump. How anyone can still support him is beyond me.
See you tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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