White Zombie is a 1932 pre-Code horror movie produced independently by Edward Halperin and directed by Victor Halperin. The screenplay by Garnett Weston, based on The Magic Island, a non-fiction travel book by William Seabrook, is about a young woman's transformation into a zombie by a voodoo master. Bela Lugosi features as the zombie master Legendre, with Madge Bellamy appearing as one of his victims. Other cast members include Joseph Cawthorn, Robert W. Frazer, John Harron, Brandon Hurst, and George Burr MacAnnan.Staff (August 6, 1932) Variety. p.15Billing order per film opening credits
Large portions of White Zombie were filmed on the Universal Studios lot, borrowing many props and scenery from other horror movies of the era. The movie premiered in New York to negative reception, with reviewers criticizing the movie's implausible story and weak acting. While the movie made a substantial financial profit as an independent feature, it proved less popular than other horror movies of the time.
White Zombie is considered the first feature length zombie movie; a loose sequel, Revolt of the Zombies, opened in 1936. Developing a cult following over the decades, modern reception to White Zombie has been more positive; with praise of the movie's atmosphere and comparisons to the 1940s horror movies of Val Lewton.
Plot The action of White Zombie is set in Haiti in 1932. Much of the plot concerns Legendre, Beaumont, another plantation master, and a newly arrived couple, Neil and his fiancée Madeleine, and how Legendre turns her into a "braindead" zombie.
On arrival in Haiti, Madeleine Short reunites with her fiancé Neil Parker, with imminent plans to be married. On the way to their lodging, the couple's coach passes "Murder" Legendre, an evil voodoo master, who observes them with interest, and grabs Madeleine's scarf, which he uses for later voodoo rituals against her. Neil and Madeleine arrive at the home of a wealthy plantation owner, Charles Beaumont, whom Madeleine met while travelling from New York. Charles' obsession with Madeleine prompts him to meet Legendre secretly in Legendre's sugarcane-mill, operated by zombies, one of whom falls into a cane-grinding pit. Charles wants to convince Madeleine to marry him and solicits Legendre's supernatural assistance. Legendre states that the only way to help Charles is to transform Madeleine into a zombie with a potion. Beaumont, aghast at first, finally agrees, takes the potion, and surreptitiously gives it to Madeleine inside flowers for her wedding.
Soon after Madeleine and Neil's wedding ceremony, local missionary Dr. Bruner presiding, the potion takes effect on Madeleine, who apparently dies and is entombed soon afterward. Murder and Charles enter Madeleine's tomb at night and bring her back to life as a zombie. In a drunken state, a depressed Neil sees ghostly apparitions of Madeleine and goes to her tomb. On finding it empty, Neil seeks out the assistance of Bruner, who informs him that Madeleine might not be dead at all; he recounts how Murder had used potions to turn many of his rivals into living but soulless zombies, who now act as Murder's closest guardians. The two men journey to Murder's cliffside castle to rescue Madeleine.
At the castle, Charles has begun to regret Madeleine's transformation and begs Legendre to return her to life, but Murder refuses. Charles discovers he has been tainted by Legendre's voodoo and is also transforming into a zombie. As Neil enters the fortress, Legendre senses his presence and silently orders Madeleine to kill Neil. She approaches Neil with a knife, but Bruner grabs her hand from behind a curtain, making her drop the knife and walk away. Neil follows Madeleine to an escarpment, where Legendre commands his zombie guardians to kill Neil, who shoots them, but this does not stop them.
Bruner approaches Legendre and knocks him out, breaking Legendre's mental control of his zombies. Undirected, the zombies walk forward and topple off the cliff. Legendre awakens and eludes Neil and Bruner, but Charles pushes Legendre off the cliff. Charles loses his balance and also falls to his death. Legendre's death releases Madeleine from her zombie trance, and she awakens to embrace Neil.
Cast
Bela Lugosi as "Murder" Legendre, a white Haitian voodoo master who commands a crew of zombies. Madge Bellamy as Madeleine Short, Neil Parker's fiancée, who is turned into a zombie by Legendre. Joseph Cawthorn as Dr. Bruner: a missionary preacher. Robert W. Frazer as Charles Beaumont, a plantation owner obsessed with Madeleine. John Harron as Neil Parker, a bank employee, the fiancé of Madeleine. Brandon Hurst as Silver, Beaumont's butler. George Burr Macannan as Von Gelder, a formerly rich man who has fallen under Legendre's spell to become a zombie. Clarence Muse as a coach driver. Frederick Peters as Chauvin, a zombie, the former high executioner. Annette Stone as a maid. John Printz as Ledot, a zombie, a former witch doctor who was once Legendre's master Dan Crimmins as Pierre, an old witch doctor. Claude Morgan as Garcia, a zombie who used to be a thief. John Fergusson as Marquee, a zombie who was the chief of the police. Velma Gresham as the tall maid.
Production The zombie theme of White Zombie was inspired by – but the screenplay not based on – the Broadway play by Kenneth Webb titled Zombie.Grant 2004, p. 210Kay 2008, p. 6 Webb sued the Halperins for copyright infringement, but did not win his case. Hoping to cash in on the country's interest in voodoo, which began with William B. Seabrook's 1929 book on Haitian voodou, The Magic Island, the movie, then titled Zombie, went into development in early 1932.Rhodes 2001, p. 89 The Halperins leased office space from Universal Studios.Rhodes 2001, p. 91 Garnett Weston's story focuses more on action than dialogue.Rhodes 2001, p. 95 To aid the Halperins, producer Phil Goldstone helped secure funds for White Zombie as he had for other independent movies at the time.Rhodes 2001, p. 92 Much of the funding came from Amusement Securities Corp.
White Zombie was filmed in eleven days in March 1932 and was filmed at the Universal Studios lot, at RKO-Pathé, and in Bronson Canyon on such a small budget – approximately $50,000 – that it had to be filmed at night. Other than Béla Lugosi and Joseph Cawthorn, the majority of the cast in White Zombie were actors whose fame had diminished since the silent film era.
By the time Bela Lugosi appeared in White Zombie, he was already popular with contemporary audiences after his major role in the successful 1931 movie Dracula and 1932's Murders in the Rue Morgue, and movie historians have found it surprising that he would sign on to a low-budget movie by producers (the Halperin brothers) with no reputation in Hollywood.Stafford, Jeff (ndg) "White Zombie (1932)" TCM.com. Retrieved: March 19, 2018 Sources vary about Lugosi's salary for his week of work on White Zombie. Claims range between US$500 to $900. Richard Sheffield, who was his close friend during the 1950s, reported a payment of $5,000 for White Zombie on Lugosi's tax returns.Rhodes 2001, p. 97Rhodes 2001, p. 105
The cast and crew's reaction to Lugosi on the set was mixed. Madge Bellamy recalled her collaboration with Lugosi positively, stating that he was very pleasant and that he used to kiss her hand in the morning when they would come on to the set.Rhodes 2001, p. 98 In contrast, assistant cameraman Enzo Martinelli remarked that "Lugosi wasn't really a friendly type" on set. Actor Clarence Muse, who played the coach driver, claimed that some scenes were partly re-written or re-staged by Lugosi, who also helped to direct some re-takes.
Lugosi's model for his portrayal of "Murder" Legendre in White Zombie may have been the character he played in 1919's Slaves of a Foreign Will (Sklaven fremden Willens), his first German movie, in which he played a Svengali-like hypnotist with mesmerizing eyes.
Phil Goldstone had previously worked with Bellamy and offered her the role of Madeleine Short for a salary of $5,000.Rhodes 2001, p. 99 For the role of Dr. Bruner, the Halperins looked for an actor with name value and decided to cast Joseph Cawthorn, who was then known to audiences only as comic relief in stage and movie roles.Rhodes 2001, p. 100 Set designer Ralph Berger utilized the rented sets of previous movies. These sets included the great halls from Dracula, pillars and a hanging balcony from The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), the dark corridors from Frankenstein (1931) and chairs from The Cat and the Canary (1927). At RKO-Pathé sets from The King of Kings (1927) were used for the interior of Legendre's castle.
In addition to Berger, assistant director William Cody and sound director L.E. "Pete" Clark earned their first movie credit by working on White Zombie.Rhodes 2001, p. 103 Jack Pierce, Lugosi's make-up artist on White Zombie, had been responsible for the make-up of several other famous horror movies of the era including Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, and The Mummy (1932).Rhodes 2001, p. 104
Clarence Muse took over the role of the coach driver after principal photography had already begun. Some footage of the unknown original was used in White Zombie.
The music of White Zombie was supervised by Abe Meyer. Instead of using pre-recorded music, Meyer had orchestras record new versions of compositions for each specific movie he was involved in. The music in White Zombie draws from works including Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition", Gaston Borch's "Incidental Symphonies", and Hugo Riesenfeld's "Death of the Great Chief".Rhodes 2001, p. 109 Other pieces on the White Zombie soundtrack include music written by Richard Wagner, H. Maurice Jacquet, Leo Kempenski, and Franz Liszt. The movie begins with "Chant", a composition of wordless vocals and drumming, created by Universal Studios employee Guy Bevier Williams, a specialist in ethnic music.Rhodes 2001, p. 110
Footage filmed for White Zombie was recycled for a follow-up movie, Revolt of the Zombies – also made by Halperin Productions – which was released in 1936.
"Murder" Legendre
Murder Legendre (also stylised "Murder" Legendre) is the antagonist of the film, portrayed by actor Bela Lugosi. A malevolent voodoo and zombie master with telepathic powers, this character is remembered as one of the actor's most striking performances and has been the subject of various interpretations.
Murder Legendre was born in Haiti somewhere in the 1890s-1900s. At a young age, he met Ledot, a witch doctor who taught him all the skills of voodoo and witchcraft. After mastering them all, Murder becomes a vodou master himself. He used his voodoo powers to turn Ledot into a zombie, he then turned many of his enemies into zombies and made them all work as slaves in his sugar-mill.
The character of Legendre is in general identified as white. But some authors identify him as black. In her essay on White Zombie and the Creole, Gillian Phillips insists that Legendre's ethnicity is ambiguous and that he embodies both sides of Haitian history. Although his name suggests French roots, Legendre is also presented as a foreign personality of indeterminate origin, who resents the way all sides of the society of the island have treated him.
He is presented as a necromancer, a sorcerer, a voodoo master or a zombie master.
One of his most defining features is his "sardonically evil smirk", his hypnotic gaze and "long" hands, as well as a forked beard, the result of make-up work by Jack Pierce.
Inspiration According to author and adventurer William Seabrook in his 1929 novel The Magic Island, a voodoo priestess he met, Maman Celie, briefly inspired Legendre who also is a voodoo priest and witch doctor. In the first chapter of the book, Seabrook describes an innocent Haitian girl being sacrificed and in another, a group of zombies working at a sugar-mill.
Analysis