‘Blood madness… out of the fog… into your heart!’
Valley of the Zombies is a 1946 American horror film directed by Philip Ford for Republic Pictures from a screenplay by Dorrell McGowan and Stuart E. McGowan. It stars Robert Livingston, Lorna Gray (The Man They Could Not Hang), Ian Keith (The Phantom of Paris; Fog Island), Thomas E. Jackson, Charles Trowbridge (The Mummy’s Hand), Earle Hodgins, LeRoy Mason, William Haade, Wilton Graff, Charles Cane.
The film makes reference to a zombie cocktail drink.
Plot teaser:
A shadowy figure climbs up and across a roof top toward the office of Dr. Rufus Maynard (Charles Trowbridge). Inside, Maynard informs his partner, Dr. Terry Evans (Robert Livingston), and Terry’s girl friend, nurse Susan Drake (Lorna Gray), that blood has again been stolen from the laboratory. Once Terry and Susan leave, Maynard is abruptly confronted by the top-hatted figure. The threatening man identifies himself as Ormand Murks (Ian Keith) and reminds Maynard that five years previously, the doctor had placed him in a mental institute. Two years later, Murks was brought to Maynard for treatment, but he apparently died on the operating table of no apparent cause…
Reviews:
” …it’s a spooky house movie, and a vampire movie, and a voodoo movie, and a mad science movie, all in just under an hour! With all those elements crammed so tightly together, I can almost forgive Valley of the Zombiesfor its conspicuous lack of both valleys and zombies. It’s even sort of a murder mystery …The latter probably made Valley of the Zombies look distinctly retro even in 1946; in any case, its reliance on early-30’s styles of presentation is plainly apparent from the vantage point of the 21st century. Today, what’s most interesting about this movie is probably its sense of humor on one hand, and Ian Keith’s portrayal of Ormand Murks on the other.” 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting
” …this is yet another one of those post-war 40s efforts where noir was swallowing horror a bit. You can feel that genre’s influence more than any other, with Murks’s undead status being the only thing that even pushes it into horror territory. Hailing from Republic Pictures (basically a conglomerate of other Poverty Row studios), it’s no surprise that it feels like a quick attempt to cash in on the early zombie craze (which was already on its last legs at this point) and film noir.” Brett Gallman, Oh, the Horror!
“Wearily predictable, the script seems to have exhausted its supply of wit in finding the name Ormand Murks for its mad undertaker.” Phil Hardy (editor), The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror
Choice dialogue:
“You’re more stubborn than my wife!”
“Dying is getting to be a habit round here.”
“You might need help. And I’m good at screaming.”
