A Film starring the great Boris Karloff, directed by "Casablanca" director Michael Curtiz - Is there anything else a Classic Horror lover could desire? "The Walking Dead" of 1936 is one of a handful of Warner Horror films from the 30s, and indeed a very original one. The film, which is a mixture of gangster film (in the first half) is only 70 minutes long. Even though the entire cast deliver solid performances, this is mainly a Karloff one-man-show, simply due to this brilliant Horror icon's unique charisma and incomparable talent for eeriness. As far as I am concerned, Karloff is not only one of the all-time Horror greats, but generally one of the greatest actors in motion picture history, and "The Walking Dead" is yet another proof of this brilliant man's greatness. Apart from the great Karloff, the film is highly atmospheric and well-shot in dark eerie tones.
After a gangster gets sentenced to a 10-year prison sentence, a group of fellow mobsters lead by the lawyer Nolan (Ricardo Cortez) decide to have the Judge killed. In order to prevent being charged for their crime, they frame the naive musician John Ellman (Boris Karloff) for the murder. Ellman, who had been sent to prison by the judge once, is subsequently brought to trial, sentenced to death, and executed on the electric chair. When his innocence is proved minutes after his death, Ellman is resurrected by the ingenious scientist Dr. Beaumont, who has resurrected dead animals before...
The scientific resurrection of the dead is generally one of my favorite topics in Horror films. Great films about this topic have been made throughout cinematic history, be it James Whale's brilliant Universal Classics "Frankenstein" and "Bride Of Frankenstein" in the 1930s (in which Karloff plays his most famous role), the Hammer Studio's ingenious Frankenstein films with Peter Cushing, or Stuart Gordon's "Re-Animator" of 1985. These are just a few brilliant films about the (attempt of) scientific resurrection of dead people, and even though quite different, "The Walking Dead" is yet another very good film following a plot of the kind. As mentioned above, Karloff is, as always, excellent in his role. Karloff's role ingeniously switches between naive victim, human vegetable and vengeful ghost, and this great, and versatile actor was predestined to play roles of the kind. The rest of the performances are entirely solid, especially Ricardo Cortez is very good. The film is very well photographed, the dark, gloomy tones help build up a particularly eerie atmosphere. The film is neither one of Karloff's nor director Curtiz' most well known films, but it sure is worth tracking down. A must-see for fans of classic Horror!
After a gangster gets sentenced to a 10-year prison sentence, a group of fellow mobsters lead by the lawyer Nolan (Ricardo Cortez) decide to have the Judge killed. In order to prevent being charged for their crime, they frame the naive musician John Ellman (Boris Karloff) for the murder. Ellman, who had been sent to prison by the judge once, is subsequently brought to trial, sentenced to death, and executed on the electric chair. When his innocence is proved minutes after his death, Ellman is resurrected by the ingenious scientist Dr. Beaumont, who has resurrected dead animals before...
The scientific resurrection of the dead is generally one of my favorite topics in Horror films. Great films about this topic have been made throughout cinematic history, be it James Whale's brilliant Universal Classics "Frankenstein" and "Bride Of Frankenstein" in the 1930s (in which Karloff plays his most famous role), the Hammer Studio's ingenious Frankenstein films with Peter Cushing, or Stuart Gordon's "Re-Animator" of 1985. These are just a few brilliant films about the (attempt of) scientific resurrection of dead people, and even though quite different, "The Walking Dead" is yet another very good film following a plot of the kind. As mentioned above, Karloff is, as always, excellent in his role. Karloff's role ingeniously switches between naive victim, human vegetable and vengeful ghost, and this great, and versatile actor was predestined to play roles of the kind. The rest of the performances are entirely solid, especially Ricardo Cortez is very good. The film is very well photographed, the dark, gloomy tones help build up a particularly eerie atmosphere. The film is neither one of Karloff's nor director Curtiz' most well known films, but it sure is worth tracking down. A must-see for fans of classic Horror!