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Film: Drums o’ Voodoo
Year: 1934
Director: Arthur Hoerl
Writer: Augustus Smith
Starring: Laura Bowman, Augustus Smith and Morris McKenny
Review:
This is a movie that I learned about when searching for horror from 1934. Seeing that this featured an all-black cast, the first film in the genre to do it, made it intriguing. There are issues I have that stem from that, which I’ll get to later. Another bit to include here is that I learned that one of our stars was also the writer of the play this is based on. That’s the extent of my prior knowledge.
Synopsis: in a small Southern town, Baptist preacher Amos Berry (Augustus Smith) and a local voodoo priestess, Auntie Hagar (Laura Bowman), get together to thwart the aims of a pimp who has come to town to recruit a beautiful young girl, Amos’ niece Myrtle Simpson (Edna Barr).
We start this with title cards, that let us know about where this takes place. There is a fine line between voodoo and those that are Christian. It then takes us to a voodoo ritual being led by Auntie. She is calling for the drums which is something I love with this movie. They are heard throughout and it gives it an ominous feel.
It then shifts to a local bar that is run by Thomas Catt (Morris McKenny). He is the pimp from the synopsis. He is referred to as Tomcat throughout this as well. We see him leave to go see the preacher, Amos. This man is harboring a secret and Tomcat knows what it is. He is extorting money from him to hide it. Amos fears his congregation will turn on him if they learn what it is. Lives get more complicated when Tomcat overhears Myrtle’s singing. An offer is made. If Amos gives her over to him, he’ll forget what he knows and that will end this arrangement. Like a good Christian, Amos declines. Tomcat tells him to have the twenty dollars that night or he’ll reveal to the church the secret.
Now there’s another plot here with Auntie’s grandson, Ebenezer (Lionel Monagas). He’s in love with Myrtle and she feels the same. Auntie tells him that she isn’t for him. He doesn’t understand why and we learn later that this older woman believes that Myrtle has the same curse that killed her mother during childbirth. This makes the younger woman worry if they should heed this warning, where Ebenezer doesn’t believe.
The last thing to recap here is that we have an interesting scene where Auntie and Amos talk. They are on opposite sides here where she is a voodoo priestess and he’s a minister. They both want Tomcat out of their town. She asks Amos what Tomcat has over his head and he won’t tell her. She warns him that he can’t keep secrets from her. It is then decided that she’ll do a ritual to get back at this gangster, to drive him from the area.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that the print I’ve seen, as well as others who probably watched the same one and wrote reviews, there are reels or just scenes missing. It looks like this is supposed to run 70 minutes, but the one out there is under 50. It makes it difficult because it jumps and it feels like there are important things that are in those parts. I’ll just judge it on what I saw.
Where I’ll start then is delving into religion. Something that isn’t as prominent here is that voodoo incorporates Catholicism. Now the original play is called Louisiana. It sounds like this was a Broadway show, which shocked me. Smith being the writer and starring in this as Amos is good. I don’t want to critique him, as to me it feels like he’s giving a negative light on voodoo. It comes off as a bit evil. I would like to investigate this more to see where he’s coming from with how things are written.
Sticking with this though, I do love that the town is torn between dark and light. Ebenezer does point to Myrtle that Auntie is a Christian woman. She just doesn’t like to wait on God to punish those that deserve it. Voodoo allows her to do much quicker. I do like that being included. There’s a funny scene where Amos is at the church with Deacon Dunston (A.B. DeComathiere). The drums are in the background and he’s saying how it is driving him to want to dance naked. I did like how they are in the background, in this holy place and almost contaminating the church goers. It is infectious. This does go preachy with scenes that happen here. What was interesting though was showing how judgmental members are. This is seen through Zero (Fred Bonny).
Then the last part of the story is Tomcat. What is great here is that he’s everyone’s enemy. Both sides want him gone. Something interesting is that Amos was seen going over the bridge to his place, so that is what Zero is calling out. Others want to know why. I get calling out the minister who leads the church. What I wonder is, how many others are attacking him while doing the same thing. To end this thought, someone is keeping Tomcat in business.
Let me then discuss acting. I thought that Bowman, Smith and McKenny are all good here. I’d venture to say great, because they are in the framework of the movie. It made me smile when we went to the rituals and Auntie gets the drums going. This has happened a few times. Amos is a complicated character which add layers. Tomcat talks to him early but doesn’t reveal what his secret is. I guessed it, but it made scene since it needed to be something bad. McKenny is good as the common villain here. He is confident in what he does. He also attacks Myrtle when she says no, showing toxic masculinity to add in. I’d say that Monagas, Barr, Alberta Perkins, DeComathiere, Bonny and the rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed. They push the events along as well as the characters. My issue though is that characters are playing ‘dumb’ caricatures of what Black people were thought to be. That feels like it is catering to a white audience. It also feels racist. I’m inclined to not think that way, because of it being an all-Black cast. I also believe that Bonny is a white actor in black-face. Hard to judge though due to the time.
All that is left is filmmaking. This is hard to judge because of the print I saw in rough shape. It missing reels makes the editing jarring. What I could see is that it feels like a stage play with the sets and how it is framed. That is fine for the era. We don’t get effects here. Part of that is budget while the other being the time it was made. The best part for me was the sound design and that is the drums. Hearing them while the characters aren’t at the ritual adds a bit of atmosphere.
In conclusion, this movie is hampered by not seeing a complete copy. There are scenes and sequences missing that I think would help. I’d also not call this a horror movie. It feels like at the time, since this genre was selling, they pushed it. That are putting it here due to using voodoo and what happens late. I’d say that the leads were good. There are racists aspects to supporting cast, but due to the era, I’m more forgiving. The copy I saw wasn’t in good shape which affects my thoughts on cinematography. The framing looks like a play. What was good was the drums used and how it adds an ominous atmosphere. It is an interesting duality of beliefs for this era, even if I think it leans one way. Not one I can recommend to everyone, unless you’re seeking out movies of this era.
My Rating: 4.5 out of 10