Zombies on Broadway
| Zombies on Broadway | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Gordon M. Douglas |
| Produced by | Benjamin Stoloff |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Based on |
short story by Robert Faber Charles Newman |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Roy Webb |
| Cinematography | Jack MacKenzie |
| Edited by | Philip Martin |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 68 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Zombies on Broadway (or Loonies on Broadway in the UK) is an 1945 American horror comedy film directed by Gordon M. Douglas. It stars Alan Carney and Wally Brown as a pair of men who are tasked with finding a real zombie for a zombie-themed nightclub. Sheldon Leonard, as a former mobster turned nightclub owner, and Bela Lugosi, as the mad scientist who created the zombies, also appear.
Plot summary
The duo of Jerry Miles and Mike Strager are employed as Broadway press agents. Miles and Strager's latest idea is to hire a genuine zombie for the opening of a new nightclub. The boys head to the Caribbean island of San Sebastian where they meet the beautiful cabaret singer Jean la Dance. In exchange for her help, Jean wants passage off the island. Miles and Strager eventually meet up with the zombie expert Professor Renault. Unknown to them, the professor's zombie has captured Jean and brought her to the Professor's secret laboratory, While Miles and Strager investigate the house, Jean awakes to find herself gagged and strapped to a table as the Professor's next test subject. Before he can proceed to give Jean the serum his guard dogs detect intruders. Jean is quickly spirited to a secret dungeon where she is tied up but manages to escape. Strager becomes "zombified" by being under the spell of Renault's secret formula and Miles, la Dance, and Strager return home. When Strager comes out of his trance, the boys must face the wrath of Ace Miller, a nightclub owner, who is more frightening then anything they've seen yet.
Production notes
The Caribbean island named "San Sebastian" in this film is also the name of the island featured in two earlier RKO films from 1943: I Walked With a Zombie and The Ghost Ship.
Zombies on Broadway turned in a profit for RKO, which encouraged the studio to re-unite Brown, Carney, Anne Jeffreys and Bela Lugosi for the film Genius at Work in 1946.[2]
Reception
Zombiemania: 80 Movies to Die For author Arnold T. Blumberg wrote that "the only real entertainment value to be had in Zombies on Broadway, apart from spotting connections to I Walked With a Zombie, is derived from the scenes involving the little monkey, who clearly believes he's working on a much better film than everyone else."[3] Writing in The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia, academic Peter Dendle said, "Brown and Carney aren't funny, and it's sad to see Lugosi outwitted by a pack of morons."[4]
References
- ↑ "Zombies on Broadway: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
- ↑ Lennig, Arthur (2013). The Immortal Count: The Life and Films of Bela Lugosi. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 9780813143767.
- ↑ Blumberg, Arnold (2006). Zombiemania: 80 Movies to Die For. Telos Publishing. p. 395. ISBN 9781845830038.
- ↑ Dendle, Peter (2001). The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia. McFarland & Company. pp. 214–215. ISBN 978-0-7864-9288-6.
External links
- Zombies on Broadway at the Internet Movie Database
- Zombies on Broadway at Rotten Tomatoes
- Zombies on Broadway at AllMovie