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Film: Voodoo Man
Year: 1944
Director: William Beaudine
Writer: Robert Charles
Starring: Bela Lugosi, John Carradine and George Zucco
Review:
This was a movie that I hadn't heard of until searching out the filmography of its star, Bela Lugosi. Seeing that this was a 1944 horror film, which went on my list as a Foray through the Fours watch. Then realizing that this also starred the likes of John Carradine and George Zucco, that added to my intrigue as well.
Synopsis: Dr. Richard Marlowe (Lugosi) uses a combination of voodoo and hypnosis to revive his dead wife by transferring the life essences of hapless, young girls he has kidnapped and imprisoned in the dungeon beneath his mansion.
We start this off with a young woman pulling up to a gas station. Nicholas (George Zucco) comes out and she asks for directions. He informs her about roadwork and how there is a detour to take. He then goes inside, has Grego (Pat McKee) go to work on a task and reveals a hidden phone. A call is made to Dr. Marlowe. We then shift over to the spot as we see bushes moving and then a detour sign set up. This is done by Toby (John Carradine) and another henchman. This woman's car then dies soon after and she's taken by this duo.
The movie then shifts over to Ralph Dawson (Tod Andrews) as he's called into his boss's office. What's interesting here is that the office is for Banner Motion Picture Company, the production company for this film. Ralph is a screenwriter who works for S.K. (John Ince), a producer. He shows Ralph the news story about the missing girl. She isn't the first. He wants Ralph to write a movie about this. He reminds him though that his vacation starts today as he is getting married. S.K. forgot, but still wants him to think about it while he's out.
Ralph leaves and ends up at the gas station we saw earlier. Grego comes out to help but gets sidetracked by offering services. He doesn't put the gas in the car as Ralph asked. This causes him to run out near where the 'detour' would be. Stella Saunders (Louise Currie) then shows up at the station. Nicholas helps her and then relays the message to Dr. Marlowe. This is a chance meeting as Stella is the cousin to Betty Benton (Wanda McKay), who is marrying Ralph this weekend. She gives him a ride to the wedding.
Things get tricky here. Dr. Marlowe uses a switch to disable her car. Ralph goes looking for help, leaving Stella to be taken by the goons. Ralph finds the house of Dr. Marlowe, but sent away by her housekeeper, played by Mici Goty. When he returns to where the car was, it is gone. He must hike to get gas and head to Betty's. He thinks that Stella is there, having played a trick. They both are worried when she's nowhere in sight. They go to the police.
We then see what's been happening. Dr. Marlowe is trying to help his wife like the synopsis said. She is Evelyn (Ellen Hall). This woman has been dead for 22 years. She is still up and walking, looking like she's in a trance. This is made possible thanks to Nicholas, who is doing rituals to take the essence of life from a group of women, putting them into Evelyn. They haven't found the right one so it continues to fail and keep her in this state. Stella is the next victim, which is until they see Betty. They will continue until they succeed in bringing Dr. Marlowe's love back from her state.
That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the story. Where I want to start is that this is an interesting combination of science, albeit fiction, with a pagan ritual. I'm not shocked to see something like this being used here. I've seen movies earlier where Lugosi is taking on a character, trying to revive or save his wife. There were questions that I had, but I think that this is clever despite its low budget.
Where I want to start is that this is sensationalizing with its tagline and concept. We never truly know what Dr. Marlowe's specialty is as a doctor. I love the idea that science did not bring his love back to life so he turned to voodoo and became friends with Nicholas. I was questioning how and why Evelyn is walking around. This is where I give credit to writing. She's dead, but because they've transferred the essence of life into her, she walks around zombie-like. It makes sense as well since they're using voodoo. They don't go too deep into the ritual itself outside of that, but that works in the movie's favor if I'm honest. This concept worked for me.
Another part that I found clever was having Ralph be a screenwriter. That adds a meta element, well ahead of its time. I love the fact that this producer wants him to write a screenplay about what is happening. It feels in the vein of how this is stranger than fiction since the truth is crazier than they could ever have thought. With how things go in the real world, which is how life seems to be so playing with that idea is good.
Now I want to shift from here to discuss filmmaking. I'll start by saying that the cinematography and framing are fine. The best part is during the ritual, seeing this rope tie itself into a knot. That is how they know they've succeeded. I'm not sure why, but it worked for me. I also thought that the use of the soundtrack was good. There is chanting that is heard. This is effective when people who have come under the influence, even if they're not within earshot, it draws them back. We as the audience can hear it and the characters who are under the influence. That was a good touch. I did have to bring up a negative here. This movie was boring. Being that this runs 62 minutes, it did fly by. It just didn't hold my attention.
All that is left then is acting. It is fun to see the three greats here in Lugosi, Carradine and Zucco. They're all solid in their roles. The quirkiest is Carradine. All are professionals here. I'm glad that McKay is here looking into what happened to her cousin. She's solid along with Andrews. Currie was good with the snark that she had when we first met her. All the women who were zombies were solid as well. Henry Hall and Dan White were good as sheriff and deputy respectively. McKee, Goty and the rest of the cast were fine for what was needed as well.
In conclusion, this is a bit of a hidden gem. There are good elements to the story. I like the meta-approach with a screenwriter getting pulled into what he was asked to write about. We also have a medical doctor not being able to overcome death, turning to pagan rituals. There are good things about the framing and soundtrack. This is a bit slow for its short runtime. I'd say that the acting is solid across the board as well. Not a great movie, but one of the better poverty row films.
My Rating: 6 out of 10