American Cinematographer - February 1988 - 42

posed gathering of
principals on the

the

verandah set. On
screen

the upper

castle, mountains,
skies and the
were

sea

matted in for

larger views.

and her

distraught lover, both parts being superim¬

over the glass shot of the castle. There is some
noticeable shakiness in the compositing of this scene.
The soundtrack makes fine use of long silences

posed

punctuated with unexpected noises - the screeching
of vultures, the scraping of a coffin being slid into a
crypt, the creaking and groaning of the mill, etc. - and
occasional bursts of music. Musical arrangements
were handled by Abe Meyer, a silent picture maestro
who, unable to get a musical directorship with any of
the

major studios after theater orchestras became obso¬

lete, undertook to supply scores for the independents

through his company, Meyer Synchronizing Service.
drumming and chants were specially com¬
posed by Guy Bevier Williams, an expert in ethnic
music then employed at Universal. Also commissioned
for the film was a Spanish jota by Xavier Cugat; this
work is properly unnerving in sequences where Harron
pursues the vision of his lost bride. An unusually
weird effect is produced by the tragic spiritual, "Listen
to the Lamb," as hummed by alternating male and
female choruses. Some of the other action is scored by
appropriate agitatos from Meyer's silent film music
library.
Amusement Securities Corporation retrieved
the distribution rights to the picture and kept it in
reissue for many years - which led to an interesting
sequel. In 1936 the Halperins, then proprietors of a
small producing company called Academy Pictures at
Tec-Art Studios (now Raleigh Studio), produced Revolt
of the Zombies, an unsuccessful attempt to repeat their
1932 success. Although the theme, subject matter, lo¬
cale and other particulars differed widely from the first
picture, Amusement Securities brought an injunction
suit against Academy for "Unfair Competition By Use

The native

of Name 'Zombie' in Title." The

producers were en¬
joined from using the word in a title and from using
any advertising or materials tending to identify the
picture with White Zombie. Damages and an account¬

American

Cinematographer

ing of profits also were ordered. The court, after a 14day trial, decided that the word had acquired a second¬
ary meaning suggestive of the earlier picture and that
the title Revolt of the Zombies constituted unfair compe¬
tition. The Halperins, therefore, had to retitle their
picture Revolt of the Demons, although sanity prevailed
eventually and they were able to again use the word
they had made famous.
Wild, different and sometimes overdone,
a loyal following and at least as
many detractors. It creates and sustains a Gothic mood
White Zombie has earned

few other pictures have, provides some diabolical
chills (the sight of a bullet thudding into the bare chest
of the giant Chauvin without halting his advance or
as

drawing blood is as frightening a moment as any film
can offer),
gave the underrated Lugosi his finest role,
and remains one of the most haunting and interesting
films of its time.
White Zombie

Released

by United Artists
Halperin production; produced by Edward Halperin; directed
by Victor Halperin; story and dialogue by Garnett Weston;
director of photography, Arthur Martinelli, ASC; assistant direc¬
tor, William Cody; editor, Harold MacLernon; RCA Photophone
recording by Clarco; sound engineer, L.E. (Pete) Clark; settings by
Ralph Berger; art effects, Conrad Tritschler; special effects by
Howard Anderson; makeup artists, Jack P. Pierce, Carl Axcelle;
second assistant director, Herbert Glazer; dialogue director, Her¬
bert Farjeon; assistant to producer, Sidney Marcus; musical direc¬
tor, Abe Meyer; original music, Guy Bevier Williams, Xavier
Cugat; additional music, Nathaniel Dett, Gaston Borch, Hugo
Riesenfeld, Leo Kempenski, Hen Herkan, H. Maurice Jacquet;
operative cameraman, J. Arthur Feindel; assistant cameramen,
Charles Bohny, Enzo Martinelli; photographed at Universal Stu¬
dio; running time, 69 minutes; released July 28, 1932.
Murder, Bela Lugosi; Madeline Short, Madge Bel¬
lamy; Dr. Bruner, Joseph Cawthorn; Neil Parker, John Harron;
A

Charles Beaumont, Robert Frazer; Driver, Clarence Muse; Silver,
Brandon Hurst; Pierre, Dan Crimmins; Chauvin, Frederick

Peters; Von Gelder, George Burr McAnnan; Latour, John Printz;

Zombies, Claude Morgan, John Fergusson; Maids, Annette
Stone, Velma Gresham.

February 1988

American Cinematographer - February 1988

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