King of the Zombies


Title: King of the Zombies (1941)
Rating: 3/5
Genre: Horror, Comedy
Starring: John Archer, Mantan Moreland, Joan Woodbury
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Duration: 67 mins

“I do declare… imagine us havin’ a white zombie for dinner!”


While flying over the Caribbean during a storm, Mac the pilot, Bill his passenger, and Bill’s valet, Jeff, decide to make an emergency landing on a small island where they believe they heard a radio signal. They end up crash landing in a clearing that happens to be a graveyard outside of an eerie old mansion inhabited by Dr. Sangre, his family, and his servants who invite them to stay there until the next ship comes in. Slowly they realize that Dr. Sangre has a horde of zombies under his spell and a military admiral held captive who is in possession of secret government information of interest to the mad “king of the zombies.” After Mac is zombified, Bill and Jeff must devise a plan to stop Dr. Sangre before they too fall under his evil voodoo hypnotism.

King of the Zombies is a surprisingly entertaining film from one of the least innovative decades of horror. The sets are effectively creepy, adding a mood of gothic horror to what would normally be the premise for an exotic adventure feature. The cinematography also plays a part making the locations even darker and more brooding, but by this time Hollywood had perfected the art of old dark houses and misty cemeteries. The ensemble is the icing on this spooky cake, including your typical, thick-accented mad doctor/voodoo priest, a cackling old crone, a tall, sullen butler, and, of course, the ragged troop of the walking dead, all of whom could pass for “realistic” zombies even in a modern-day film.

There are two other factors that make King of the Zombies surprising. One is the fact that, for such an old and pre-Civil Rights era film, there are many roles played by black actors. One of these actors, Mantan Moreland, absolutely steals the show as the humorous “Jeff” character. In fact, I’m willing to bet that Moreland, in a comic relief supporting role, has more screen time than the lead actor himself, and for very good reason: Moreland is a riot. Everything he says is a punch line, and every punch line is hilarious. I couldn’t believe that I was actually laughing out loud at some of his off-the-cuff one-liners such as “I’d be turnin’ pale if I had it in me!” The rest of the film may not be politically correct by today’s standards, what with the black zombie slavery and all, but some the jokes provided by “Jeff” are just as funny as ever.

Of all the black & white films made in the “golden era” of horror, King of the Zombies is the most enjoyable today. Some of the special effects and dialog might be dated, but the movie as a whole is a hoot for viewers of all ages and is highly recommended for some quick laughs. This film sparked a follow-up called Revenge of the Zombies in 1943 with Moreland reprising his memorable comedic role.

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