White Zombie

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Cast & Crew

Bela Lugosi
'Murder' Legendre

Madge Bellamy
Madeleine Short Parker

Robert Frazer
Charles Beaumont

Joseph Cawthorn
Dr. Bruner

John Harron
Neil Parker

Brandon Hurst
Silver

Clarence Muse
Coach driver

Garnett Weston
Writer (Dialogue)

Garnett Weston
Writer (Story)

Victor Halperin
Director

Edward Halperin
Producer

Gaston Borch
Non-Original Music

Nathaniel Dett
Non-Original Music

H. Maurice Jacquet
Non-Original Music

Leo Kempenski
Non-Original Music

Hugo Riesenfeld
Non-Original Music

Xavier Cugat
Original Music

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Critic Reviews for White Zombie

Audience Reviews for White Zombie

• Oct 01, 2018

  Overlooked perhaps, but this is one of the greats of the genre and due largely to (dare I say it?) the hypnotic performance of it's star, Bela Lugosi. Mesmerizing. And yes, zombies too, but such is Lugosi's chi that his minions are actually less frightening than Lugosi himself. How good is this? It challenges his performance in Dracula.
  Kevin M. W Super Reviewer
• Apr 10, 2013

  White Zombie is another early Bela Lugosi vehicle, this time he plays an evil voodoo witch doctor who's creating an army of zombies to do his bidding. A young couple recently arrives in Haiti to get married at their friend's estate. But their friend has ulterior motives for inviting them. He's determined to steal her away from the groom. With the help of the evil Legendre (Lugosi), he slips her the zombie potion on her wedding day. However, he has her as a zombie, and where's the fun in that? Lugosi as Dracula and as Legendre does the hypnotic stare and also does a lot of things with his hands. In fact, he might be doing much the same character, just different make-up. The rest of the cast is pretty undistinguished, and apart from it's notoriety as the first "zombie movie" there isn't much reason to watch this. It's rather dull and uninteresting by today's standards.
  Devon B Super Reviewer
• Dec 27, 2011

  It's a shame that Bela Lugosi didn't get more leading parts that exercised his abilities as an actor, but then again, he was quite happy to indulge in his horror legacy and make a living off of it in the process. White Zombie was released a year after the success of Dracula, and its popularity was a big part of that success. However, the film itself isn't quite as good as the one it capatlized on. The storyline is pretty good, but it's all stuff we've seen before and that already we're quite familiar with. A mysterious doctor madman on unknown islands doing devilish things away from society. That's certainly nothing new. The film has a lot of atmosphere and some genuinely creepy moments, but overall just doesn't hold up well or stand out among the others. Most will only watch it for Lugosi's performance, and I can't think of a better reason than that to see it.
  Tim S Super Reviewer
• Nov 17, 2011

  White obvious limitations are natural as the film was shot in 11 days for a tiny budget, White Zombie is a decent and not to mention the first zombie film known in cinema. The zombie legions are all under the control of Murder Legendre (Bela Lugosi) and not the imminent threat to all in the vicinity zombies we've come to know. The film looks rather hastily thrown together, but still excudes a creepy atmosphere and Bela Lugosi is just as much a part of that as the graveyard and other creepy settings. A decent classic low budget horror flick that was also what inspired Rob Zombie to name his first band White Zombie.
  

  Chris B Super Reviewer

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