Black Moon (1934)

A young girl who lives on a tropical island loses her parents to a voodoo sacrifice, but although she manages to escape the island, a curse is put on her. Years later, as an adult, she ... See full summary »

Director:

Roy William Neill

Writers:

Clements Ripley (from the Cosmopolitian Magazine story), Wells Root (screenplay)

Stars:

Jack Holt, Fay Wray, Dorothy Burgess

Cast

Cast overview:
Jack Holt	...	Stephen Lane
Fay Wray	...	Gail Hamilton
Dorothy Burgess	...	Juanita Perez Lane
Cora Sue Collins	...	Nancy Lane
Arnold Korff	...	Dr. Raymond Perez
Clarence Muse	...	'Lunch' McClaren
Eleanor Wesselhoeft	...	Anna
Madame Sul-Te-Wan	...	Ruva
Laurence Criner	...	Kala
Lumsden Hare	...	John Macklin
Henry Kolker	...	The Psychiatrist

Storyline

A young girl who lives on a tropical island loses her parents to a voodoo sacrifice, but although she manages to escape the island, a curse is put on her. Years later, as an adult, she feels a strong compulsion to return to the island to confront her past. Her husband, her daughter and her nanny go with her, but once back on the island, the woman finds herself elevated by the locals to the stature of a voodoo goddess, and she begins her inevitable descent into madness, with disastrous results for her family.

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Plot Keywords:

voodoo | jungle | new york city new york | childhood memory | scream | 

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Taglines:

Jungle madness! Tropic love! Glamorous thrills! (Print Ad- Staunton Star-Times, ((Staunton, Ills.)) 20 September 1934)

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Genres:

Drama | Horror

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 June 1934 (USA)

Also Known As:

Oi daimones tou Adou

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

68 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was refused a UK cinema certificate in 1934.

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Quotes

Dr. Raymond Perez: [Rada drums beating in the background] Something is happening. You ask me what and I can only say I do not know. I merely consider this. We are five whites. Two of them are women and one is a helpless child. And around us are two thousand black. Fully three-quarters of these are hill bandits - fugitives from Haiti.

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Connections

Spoofed in Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Fetish (1965)

User Reviews

Headache Drums

Drums, beating incessantly. Rhythmic and reverberating. Native drums that never stop. Ominous and portentous. Need some aspirin. The opening scene has our heroine, Dorothy Burgess, sitting on the floor in the nursery with her daughter - beating on a drum. She was raised on a West Indian island and yearns to return once more. She is warned not to return on the threat of death, but she goes anyway - with her 4 year old in tow.

"Black Moon" sought to capitalize on the recent success of "White Zombie" but succeeds in being irritating as well as illogical and downbeat. Burgess arrives on the island, drums beating, and it is immediately clear that the natives are hostile and hateful. Her uncle, whose family has lived there for 200 years we find out, lives in a fortress as protection from the dangerous inhabitants. Several goofy situations arise as the movie audience is unable to suspend disbelief or generate interest in the misbegotten adventure, but it is mercifully short at 68 minutes.

Jack Holt, a good actor who deserved a better fate, is her husband but could pass for her grandfather. Fay Wray has little to do and Clarence Muse is a boat operator who apparently gets a free pass on the island, although he states he is from "Georgia, USA". Couldn't wait for this one to end, and I gave it a rating of four. Shown at Cinefest, Columbus, O., 5/13.