Revenge of the Zombies (1943)

Cheapie horror comedy from Monogram, a sort of sequel/remake of King of the Zombies. Mantan Moreland was in both pictures playing the same character. There are small differences in the plots of the two films but essentially they're the same - a couple of white guys and their black valet (Moreland) wind up in a spooky old dark house where a mad scientist (John Carradine) is experimenting with zombies for the Nazis. Moreland is an acquired taste but he's pretty much the only person in this who appears to be trying. Even John Carradine looks bored. There's not a lot about this to love. It's not as cheesy or fun as you might hope. As much as I didn't care for King of the Zombies, there were at least some funny moments here and there. This is just blah.

Monogram Studios was a very low-budget film company that had a knack for creating dumb movies that still were often entertaining. Cerebral? Never...but fun in a low-brow sort of way. So, if you are looking for William Shakespeare, keep looking for another studio. But, if you like schlocky Lugosi, Carradine or George Zucco films, then this is the studio for you! Here, we find John Carradine in a couple familiar roles--a mad scientist AND a Nazi!! But unlike the typical insane Nazi scientist, he has come up with a rather unique plan--to create an army of zombies! This way, they Third Reich will have super-soldiers who are impervious to pain and practically unstoppable. Being a really nice guy, he kills his own wife and reanimates her--he's THAT devoted to his goody cause. Into this weird little world of bizarre experiments come a group of do-gooders--including Monogram's king of scaredy-cats, Mantan Moreland. In this movie, Moreland basically plays the same guy he played in the Charlie Chan films--comic relief that occasionally actually helps despite himself! As I said above, this is NOT a film for the intellectually-minded and I am sure the Criterion Collection will NOT be releasing this film any time soon. The acting is occasionally quite bad, the plot silly and the whole thing makes no sense if you think about it....but it's an oddly satisfying B-movie if you like that sort of schlock! So, if you like schlock, then this is very good schlock!!

John Carradine, in one of his occasional starring roles from the 1940's, plays a mad doctor working in the Louisiana swamps on a method of creating zombies for the Nazi cause. In order to perfect his method he's gone so far as to turn his wife into one. Things get complicated when his wife's brother shows up with a detective nd doctor in tow. Worse still is the fact that his zombie bride seems to have a mind of her own.This is a mostly good horror mystery espionage thriller. For most of the films brief running time the film is a clever at and mouse game between the doctor and his guests. The trouble is that in the final fifteen minutes the film goes through so many gyrations of the plot that you'll swear that someone left a reel or two out the film. Its twist upon twist upon nonsensical turn. Its fine in the B movie way the film is constructed, but at the same time it considerably lessens what should have been a better film.Over all this is an amusing film (some nice comedy is provided by the great Mantan Moreland). Its definitely worth checking out if you run across it or can pick it up, as I did in the the bargain bin.

Revenge of the Zombies (1943) ** (out of 4) Low budget shocker about a mad scientist (John Carradine) trying to bring the dead back to life so that they can help Hitler win WW2. All of the now politically incorrect material makes this film stand out from various other zombie films released around this time but the story is pretty lacking all the way around. Carradine sleepwalks through his role and the supporting cast doesn't fair any better with the exception of Mantan Moreland who plays one of the servants. Bob Steele plays a small role as well. The zombies are all pretty boring but thankfully the film only runs 61-minutes.