MovieChat Forums > I Walked with a Zombie (1943) Discussion > black moon(34)

black moon(34)

posted 13 years ago by pjwoodall1
3 replies | jump to latest

TCM ran Black Moon last night, and I was struck by the similarities to I Walked with A Zombie. BM is a Columbia film starring Jack Holt, Fay Wray, Cora Sue Collins, Dorothy Burgess and Clarence Muse in the Sir Lancelot role.

Holt, a wealthy island owner(location not specified) has a wife Burgess who's descending into madness due to her strange affinity for the voodoo cult on the island. Wray is the loyal secretary and Collins his daughter. Muse seems to be the only black(yes, that's the term used for the natives) on the island who isn't part of the cult.

There are no zombies, voodoo or gutmunching, but the use of photography and music is very similar to IWWAZ, and there is even a midnight walk by Holt and Muse that presages the later film. Throw in a nod to ISLAND OF LOST SOULS from the year before and you have an interesting variation on the Jane Eyre theme.

[–] misspaddylee 12 years ago

I'm intrigued. Black Moon is now on my must-see list.

"Tell me about the squares, Buzzie."

[–] pjwoodall1 12 years ago

I had forgotten about BM which must be among the "forgotten" horror films.

A few years ago I started writing Treasure Island with Zombies which takes place ten years after the original story. Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver return to the island to retrieve the rest of the treasure only to find it's now guarded by zombies. But are they West Indies zombies or George Romero zombies? I was inclined to the former.

My niece said she didn't like zombie movies but her boyfriend did. I recommended IWWAZ, but I don't know if she ever took me up on it.

As for Black Moon, I don't know if it's available.

[–] MisterDenton 12 years ago

I saw Black Moon before I Walked With a Zombie, and was reminded of it while watching the latter. While I think Zombie is a better film, BM is certainly worth watching, for those who haven't seen it. It's hard to beat (or even match) the sheer beauty and style of a Val Lewton film, but BM has some striking shots of its own, as well as a consistently eerie score made up entirely of drums. For anyone who's interested, it's available for purchase on DVD from the Warner Bros. Archive collection (http://www.wbshop.com/product/black+moon+1000243577.do?sortby=ourPicks &from=Search).