Revenge of the Zombies

A somewhat fun Monogram horror movie. The wife of Dr. von Altermann (John Carradine) has died mysteriously. Her brother and a hired detective (hunky Robert Lowery) investigate. It seems the doctor is quite mad and experimenting on human beings and turning them into zombies.

Yes, it's a cheap no budget movie but it's fun. It has a nice atmospheric opening, a few amusing lines, some funny bits by Mantan Moreland and an interesting plot. Also Carradine gives a good performance and Lowery is tall, handsome, muscular and pretty good in a nothing role. A light enjoyable horror flick. Good viewing around Halloween. I give this a 5.

After hearing about the sudden death of his sister, a man by the name of "Scott Warrington" (Mauritz Hugo) and two friends named "Larry Adams" (Robert Lowery) and "Jeff" (Mantan Moreland) head out to the Louisiana swamps to find out what happened. But first they meet a doctor by the name of "Harvey Keating" (Barry Macollum) who tells them that after examining the body of "Lila von Alterman" (Veda Ann Borg) he is convinced that she did not die of a heart attack like he was originally told by her husband "Dr. Max Heinrich von Alterman" (John Carradine). Dr. Keating suspects she was poisoned. When they get to the house of Dr. von Alterman they find the body of Lila and discover that she is quite dead. Not long afterward her body disappears and they further discover that there are things going on that are extremely unusual and these discoveries could pose a grave threat to the United States. Anyway, rather than detail the rest of the story and possibly spoil the film for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was a likable film for the most part. One thing I should mention though is that it bears a striking resemblance to a movie made two years earlier called "King of the Zombies". Unlike that movie though this one was made during World War II and features--Nazi swamp zombies! Also included are two attractive actresses named Gale Storm (as "Jennifer Rand") and the aforementioned Veda Ann Borg. Add in some creepiness along with some humor for good measure and this movie manages to entertain fairly well for a B-movie of this type. I rate it as average.

This movie is another example of the genius of Poverty Row studios, like Monogram, Republic, Mascot, etc. Who can argue with the kind of comedic mystery represented by Charlie Chan, The Purple Monster, The Tiger Woman, Radio Ranch, Rocket Man, and zombie movies like this.

The plot has to do with a mad scientist who wants to create an army of zombie Storm Troopers to help the Nazi's conquer America. (Be sure to look for an early scene where the zombies are assembled and goose step in formation). I don't think we need to go any farther into the story. It is only important to realize that this is Saturday Matinee entertainment in it's purest form.

It is one of the only forums where one can see the sinister elegance of a John Carradine, as well as the comic genius of a Mantan Moreland, all the while enjoying a virtual parade of second string pre-prime, and post-prime players. In this case we find Gale Storm (pre My Little Margie), and Bob Steele (post cowboy). A mute Veda Ann Borg, as the zombie wife, reminds us that her voice was as important as her acting. Speaking of Mantan Moreland; it is really too bad that PC guilt won't allow for the recognition he deserves.

I urge anyone who is interested in a little Saturday entertainment to catch this little gem if you can. You won't be disappointed. If you like it, and I know you will, you might want to check out another called "The Whip Hand".

This is surprisingly well made. The direction features quite a bit of camera movement for a quickie, the photography boasts some moody shadows and interesting wide angle lens effects, the swamp graveyard set is cool, and above all it's well acted--with Moreland doing his thing but the rest of the cast giving their all. And the music score is also well done not too much music either--not the wall to wall stock music approach in this film.

There is a lab/montage scene that is pretty elaborate and well done. There is another nice tidy montage to show time passing at a dinner party which has a funny pay off line and the last shot has an unusual pay off as well.

Carradine fans will enjoy his bug eyed entrance into the film but for the most part he plays it pretty straight/sober and he has a kind of memorable exit from the film--not to give it away.

The intentions I guess are mainly comic though it's not all that funny you almost wish they had just gone for serious horror yet it isn't campy for the most part and it's an all professional job.

The script holds it back from becoming above average though it is above average in all departments for this low budget genre of the era. Even the sets though not memorable don't look impoverished and the lab has quite a bit of gear in it.

The direction really impressed me with always making the most out of every situation--within the restricted scale of the movie.

One interesting thing, and you know this right away, is Nazi scientist Carradine kills and zombifies his wife, she does occasionally speak and they do a kind of interesting hollow sound to her voice. I think this film may be the first of the Nazi dead army plot movies tough it's certainly not the best one.

All said and done on a script level you pretty much get what you'd expect which isn't much but the movie almost won me over and fans of this era of genre films could do a lot better but you could do a lot worse as well.

The title implies a far greater sense of purpose than the walking dead actually display in this Monogram quickie. Zombies usually stagger, but this time they orderly march in line, their slow pace presumably compensated for by the fact they work for no wages. They're an emaciated bunch apart from Veda Ann Borg, more unnerving than usual since for once she hardly says a word.