Zombies.... but not what you expect.

 

Zombies scare me... we know that. But. those are the Romero Flesh-eating variety. If you go back to their original concepts, they aren't that scary. BUT, they make for some fine, atmospheric early horror films. I've watched 2 early efforts this week.... Revolt of the Zombies from 1936, and King of the Zombies from 1941.

Revolt of the Zombies is a cheap film from Halperin Studios... starring really no one of note. But what IS interesting with it is that they attempted to do something a little different with it. It starts with a Cambodian Priest from Angkor Wat attempting to sell the idea of a regiment of Zombies to be used in the war that is currently raging in Europe (presumably WWI). While the Zombies are staggeringly effective, they horrify the Generals who decline to use them. However, an enemy agent kills the priest and attempts to steal the secret of the Zombies, which leads to an expedition to Angkor Wat to try and find the secret. It unfortunately devolves at that point into a a love triangle, with one of the lovers discovering the secret and using it to enslave practically everyone around his beloved...  and, it comes to abrupt end, when to prove that his love is genuine, releases control of all those he enslaved... with the results predicted in the title of the film.

Now, the other one, is a Monogram picture from 1941, and is more traditional zombie fare for the time, but with some definite points of interest. Chiefly, I'm going to point you to the amazingly charismatic performance of Mantan Moreland. Moreland was a comic relief actor for monogram, appearing, according to IMDB, in some 103 films in his career. Unlike many of the so-called "comic sidekicks" in these films, Moreland is actually funny, coming across as a cross between Lou Costello and Eddie "Rochester" Anderson. There are routines he does here as Jefferson "Jeff" Jackson which easily stand with some of the great performance of Lou Costello, or The Three Stooges, or the Bowery Boys, and his quips make the film, which is otherwise a rather standard horror/espionage story, into a really entertaining time. 

At one point he is caught by the villain and hypnotized into thinking he's a zombie. But as he's ordered to fall in with the other zombies, he tells them in a resigned tone:  "Move over boys, I'm one of the gang now." This then follows with a cute scene between him and Marguerite Whitten as Samantha the maid, where she wearily tries to prove to him he's not actually a zombie. There is real chemistry between them, and the comic timing is utterly perfect.

Samantha, the Maid: What you doing in that lineup?
Jefferson 'Jeff' Jackson: Don't bother me woman. Can't you see I is a has-been?
Samantha, the Maid: A zombie?
Jefferson 'Jeff' Jackson: Nothing else but. And don't ask me my name, 'cuz I don't know. I don't know nothing.
Samantha, the Maid: You ain't no zombie, 'cuz zombies can't talk.
Jefferson 'Jeff' Jackson: Can I help it 'cuz I'm loquacious?

The tragedy of Moreland is that he was a genuine talent, and had the unfortunate fortune to be a black actor at a time when black actors were primarily cast in rather demeaning and racially insensitive roles. As a result of this, he came to be cast less and less... causing him to return to touring in comedy acts.

 Despite the problematic nature of many of his roles, Mantan Moreland STILL stood out. In researching a bit about him, I discovered an amazing fact: He was ALMOST the third of the Three Stooges!

Apparently, Shemp Howard was a fan and pointed him out to Moe Howard. Moe followed his career closely, and when Shemp sadly passed away in 1955, Moe was ready to bring Mantan in to replace him! The deal was nixed by Columbia Pictures however, who insisted that Moe replace Shemp with someone already under contract to them.