Black Moon (1934)

Drums, beating incessantly. Rhythmic and reverberating. Native drums that never stop. Ominous and portentous. Need some aspirin. The opening scene has our heroine, Dorothy Burgess, sitting on the floor in the nursery with her daughter - beating on a drum. She was raised on a West Indian island and yearns to return once more. She is warned not to return on the threat of death, but she goes anyway - with her 4 year old in tow."Black Moon" sought to capitalize on the recent success of "White Zombie" but succeeds in being irritating as well as illogical and downbeat. Burgess arrives on the island, drums beating, and it is immediately clear that the natives are hostile and hateful. Her uncle, whose family has lived there for 200 years we find out, lives in a fortress as protection from the dangerous inhabitants. Several goofy situations arise as the movie audience is unable to suspend disbelief or generate interest in the misbegotten adventure, but it is mercifully short at 68 minutes.Jack Holt, a good actor who deserved a better fate, is her husband but could pass for her grandfather. Fay Wray has little to do and Clarence Muse is a boat operator who apparently gets a free pass on the island, although he states he is from "Georgia, USA". Couldn't wait for this one to end, and I gave it a rating of four. Shown at Cinefest, Columbus, O., 5/13.

"I Walked with a Zombie" may not have been the first Voodoo film adapted from Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre," which is not surprising when you consider the West Indies was where Edward Rochester courted his mad wife. Perhaps it's a stretch, but "Black Moon" seems to contain several plot elements from Bronte's novel as Stephen Lane—whose West Indian born wife is drifting into madness—forms a close personal bond with his secretary.When the wife (Dorothy Burgess), under the influence of a Voodoo curse, returns to her childhood home in the West Indies, Lane's secretary (Fay Wray) accompanies her. Lane (Jack Holt) soon follows. Here the secretary becomes a substitute mother for Stephen's child, recalling a similar relationship between Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester's ward Adele. Also, Stephen, like Edward Rochester, can finally have the woman he truly loves only when his wife dies as a result of her madness, in this case leading a native uprising.Judging from other comments about this being a good example of pre-code horror, my expectations were high. But the director and writers never adequately explored the terror of situations. There are no build-ups of suspense. Things just happen. People are found dead after the fact. Killings and Voodoo sacrifices that happen on-screen are clumsily directed. Nevertheless, performances are uniformly good, the script is literate, and there are a few moments of cinematic art. The print I saw on Turner Classic Movies is very clean; and I was impressed by Joe August's cinematography in the scene in the tower as it filled with smoke from the burning tunnel. The interplay of light and smoke created an eerie atmosphere that I wish had been made more of.

Black Moon (1934) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Twenty-plus years after her parents were murdered in a voodoo ritual, a woman (Dorothy Burgess) travels back to the native land where the people there want her to start up as their leader. The woman's secretary (Fay Wray) wires her husband (Jack Holt) to come and try to save her but it might be too late. This forgotten horror film from Columbia falls somewhere between WHITE ZOMBIE and I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE so fans of those two films will certainly want to check this out. As far as I'm concerned, I'm not a major fan of all three films as I think they all have a great atmosphere but in the end their stories just aren't strong enough to carry the films for me. There's a lot of stuff that does work here with the biggest plus being the atmosphere created by the director. We really get the feeling as if we're on this island surrounded by the strange locals and in the middle of something evil. There's no fog machines but that doesn't keep Neill away from delivering the goods as the dark tone of the film also hits on something that the Val Lewton films would eventually do and that's the use of shadows. Another plus is some fine cinematography as well as a nice performance by Holt. Wray, the original Scream Queen, is good too, although, as usual, she isn't given enough to do. What doesn't work, for one, is the performance of Burgess who is easy on the eyes but her character is badly underwritten. Another problem is the actual screenplay that really doesn't offer any twist or turns up until the very end when the movie does go in a direction that you wouldn't normally expect.

Made in the same year as White Zombie, and a few years before I Walked with a Zombie, was Black Moon, a more obscure little chiller directed by Roy William Neill(..most notable for his Sherlock Holmes movies)regarding a New York businessman's daughter in danger of being sacrificed in a voodoo ritual due to his wife's association with San Christopher island natives.Jack Holt stars as Stephen Lane, the businessman who allows his wife, Juanita(Dorothy Burgess), along with daughter Nancy(Cora Sue Collins), nursemaid Anna(Eleanor Wesselhoeft), and secretary Gail(Fay Wray) to return to San Christopher, her homeland where she grew up under the corrupt influence of Ruva(Madame Sul-Te-Wan)and voodoo priest, Kala(Laurence Criner). Poisoned with their beliefs and power, Juanita becomes their priestess, under the spell of the voodoo drums, Nancy is to be sacrificed at the rising of the full moon. Stephen answers the wire of Gail to come to the island where danger awaits and he will join forces with Dr Raymond Perez(Arnold Korff)who runs a plantation which has been on San Christopher for generations, attempting to cull the restless, hostile natives who have started to stir away from civility due to Juanita's reemergence. Gail, as it turns out, is in love with Stephen and Juanita can no longer escape the beat of the drums, her decision to return home placing her own daughter in jeopardy.This could be seen as possibly racist as the black natives are evil, willing to do whatever it takes in order to sacrifice someone for the full moon. Any attempt to get Juanita off of the island, or to fight against their influence is met with murder. Anna, who voices her anger towards Ruva when she attempts to nursemaid Nancy, for instance, is found dead in a lava pit nearby the plantation. A message operator, who sends word by wire to other locations, is found hung. Juanita actually attempts to drug Stephen and somewhat willingly offers her daughter(..this is where she actually fights against the voodoo curse which summons her)for potential sacrifice. A revolt entraps Stephen, Perez, Gail, and Nancy in a tower, along with McClaren(Clarence Muse), a black shipboat captain who lost his girlfriend to a sacrificial voodoo ceremony..this ceremony, establishing the frightening lengths the natives would go to appease whatever god they serve, is disturbed by Stephen who attempts to stop the sacrifice by shooting Kala. The suspense is surprisingly built well, using the voodoo drums, often heard in the background, as a constant presence to unnerve the viewer, recognizing the threat and how real it is to the lives of those foreign to the island(..not to mention, Perez, whose death would, in turn, release the natives to overtake San Christopher). Interesting is how the natives are shown in a negative light, but if one dwells on their oppression(..the island being occupied by white man Perez who abusively barks at the natives when they host a welcome party for Juanita)you can see why they would seek to rebel against Perez. Fascinating portrayal by Burgess, her Juanita wrestling with feelings towards both sides, eventually motivated towards the natives and their voodoo, unable to resist. Wray is simply lovely in a supporting role, a kind-hearted soul who wards off her devotion and love for Stephen, her accepting the trip to San Christopher as a favor to him actually saving Nancy's life due to her message for him to come to the island. Some striking B&W photography, including some stunning shots of Burgess, her face emoting the pull of the natives' power. A curio for fans of movies about voodoo and it's use as a weapon..not quite as atmospheric as White Zombie or I Walked with a Zombie, but has it's moments.