KING OF THE ZOMBIES

 

Another low-budget zombie tale. This time it's the 1941 Monogram production KING OF THE ZOMBIES. 

Three Americans (John Archer, Dick Purcell, and Mantan Moreland) are flying in a storm somewhere between Cuba and Puerto Rico. The trio crash land on an island, and find it to be inhabited by a mysterious doctor named Miklos Sangre (Henry Victor). The Americans eventually discover that Sangre is a foreign agent, and that he has zombiefied many of the native population of the island in his quest to control the human mind. 

What makes KING OF THE ZOMBIES notable today is the comedic presence of Mantan Moreland. Some now may find the African-American Moreland's role of manservant Jefferson Jackson inappropriate, but he's the real star of the film, and his portrayal is hardly offensive. (Moreland here is essentially doing the same type of thing Bob Hope did in many more better-known and better-budgeted features.) Unlike other annoying comedic "relief" in several other poverty row horrors, Moreland's antics are always welcome--he has far more personality than anyone else in the cast, and his timing and way with a quip enlivens anything he appears in. 

Moreland is sorely needed here, because there isn't much to KING OF THE ZOMBIES without him. John Archer and Dick Purcell are very generic hero types. For some reason Purcell gets top billing, despite the fact that he has more of a supporting role, and Archer, even though he's the leading man, is billed fifth. 

Henry Victor (best known for playing the conniving carnival strongman in FREAKS) does an acceptable job as the lead villain, but he comes off as a minor league Bela Lugosi. Speaking of Bela, various sources claim that Lugosi was originally supposed to play Dr. Sangre.....if he had, this movie would have gotten a special edition Blu-ray release by now. 

The movie never officially states it, but Dr. Sangre is a German scientist (the film came out in 1941 before Pearl Harbor). In Monogram's 1943 follow-up REVENGE OF THE ZOMBIES, the Nazi angle is openly stressed. 

Joan Woodbury, as Mrs. Sangre's niece, is ostensibly the female lead, even though she gets very little to do. Mrs. Sangre, by the way, is a zombie (she's played by Patricia Stacey). Marguerite Whitten is the Sangre maid, and she develops something of a relationship with Mantan Moreland (the two of them are much more enjoyable to watch than the supposed leads). 

Jean Yarbrough directed KING OF THE ZOMBIES, and he had a long history with low-budget genre material. He keeps things moving, but most of the story is set inside Dr. Sangre's gloomy mansion, and there isn't much of an attempt to make things creepy. There are zombies, but they spend their time wandering around aimlessly in a non-threatening manner. The climax does have a quasi-voodoo ceremony, but its tone becomes almost silly. 

Believe it or not, the music score for KING OF THE ZOMBIES, which is credited to Edward Kay, was nominated for an Academy Award!! Was this due to some sort of Hollywood industry inside joke?? Perhaps, because the music doesn't sound all that much different than one hears in any other typical Monogram picture of the period. 

KING OF THE ZOMBIES isn't one of the worst Poverty Row Horrors, but it lacks dynamic good (and bad) guys, and the living dead element isn't used creatively. Its saving grace is Mantan Moreland. Monogram would bring back Moreland and the Nazi mad scientist creating zombies plot for REVENGE OF THE ZOMBIES. I'll be dealing with that movie in a future blog post.