Actually a very funny and pleasant movie, with a Dixie setting where the quick and the living dead seem to coexist even by daylight, also with at least a couple of subplots (a puzzle: the zombie wife's will, and of course the cause of her death; and an espionage subplot also, announced by the march of the zombies at the beginning), immensely helped by a good director, Sekely, and three exciting performances, from people who had all the requisites of movie stars: Carradine (who plays a scientist, a physician, not insane but evil), Moreland and Veda Ann Borg (who gave a bit of dignity even to an ingrate role), but the main plot being a zombie tale, done as comedy and also as SF, our chance to visit a not too dazzling but nonetheless intriguing laboratory; in fact I liked it even better than 'Lady in the Death House', and here the storyline seems fast without being rush (though in the later movie that wasn't an error, since the very nature of the subject, the race against a deadline, imposed it, requested it). But Sekely was one of the masters of the genre; here, filming for Monogram. The sense of humor is genuine, and the style, light, in another unpretentious movie. There are a lot of things I enjoy here.The visitors don't seem to realize that some of the servants, in fact Lazarus, are living dead. The lovable black chauffeur gets to see other zombies at work, digging dispassionately, as becoming, in the 1st half of the movie. But the script was good, with most of the dialog being appropriate and well written. So, comedy, zombies, mystery, espionage, SF; and just to make a point: 'Revenge …' isn't a zombie drama with humorous relief, but a comedy, it is a comedy that happens to be about zombies, which is another thing altogether. Now in other words: these aren't zombies from a horror movie, but zombies from a SF (and one overtly political, proceeding with the march of the zombies and following with the espionage subplot). The will's mystery is, anyway, dropped; the mean used to murder the wife is explained, perhaps also the need to do it (as the scientist was getting ready for his getaway), but we can only presume that the widower's pretense of not knowing the dispositions in the will was indeed to gull or disorient his guests.Thank you for reading, if you did.

There is not much to say about this one except that it is probably the worst of the early spate of zombie movies (I may get to watch another one, REVOLT OF THE ZOMBIES [1936], before the month is out). For all star John Carradine's intention of building an army in the service of the Third Reich with them, they are not seen to do much at all!; James Baskett (Uncle Remus from SONG OF THE SOUTH [1946]!) plays their leader, who also serves as Carradine's manservant. Black comic Mantan Moreland reprises his 'fraidy cat' chauffeur role from KING OF THE ZOMBIES (1941), as does the exotically named Madame Sul-Te-Wan as Carradine's housekeeper. Unfortunately for Carradine, his supreme achievement – the zombification of his wife – brings him all sorts of trouble: not only do her relatives turn up at his remote abode/lab to inquire into her sudden death (which means he has to fake a funeral service!) but she actually proves disobedient and indignant, eventually 'persuading' her fellow zombies to rise against their master!! Also involved is cowboy star Bob Steele (still best-known for his bit in Howard Hawks' THE BIG SLEEP [1946]) who plays a U.S. secret agent posing as a Nazi posing as a Sheriff! Thankfully, director Sekely would have much better luck with his next genre effort, THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS (1962).

(Some Spoilers) Monogram Pictures long awaited sequel, after two years in the making, to the highly successful 1941 Zombie flick "King of the Zombies". The movie "Revenge of the Zombies" only has Mantan Moreland as Jeff in it's cast from the original film. The rest of the original crew found better things to do with their lives with three dying within three years of "King of the Zombies" release.The Nazis having the war turn against them decide to create a new secret weapon to steam the tide and thus guarantee their ultimate victory. Working in the swamps and alligator infested Louisiana Bayous Nazi mad scientist Dr.Max Henrich Von Altermann, John Carradine, has created an army of Zombies with his newly deceased wife Lila, Veda Ann Borg, as it's latest recruit.Using the extract of the poisonous swamp lily to create an army of walking dead Dr. Altermann is now ready to ship out, in a Nazi U-Boat, back to his fatherland Nazi Germany where he can do his work unimpeded from the FBI and US Government Secret Service. It's there that he'll infuse the desperate needs of the German Whermacht with a new source of manpower: Mindless Zombies who are not only immune to bullets and artillery shells but will follow orders without question from their superiors.All this of course is just a pipe dream on Dr. Altermann's part in that the Zombies are not that cooperative with his mad and insane scheme of world conquest. Their only interested in going back to their eternal rest and not having anything to do with the world of the living.It's when Dr. Altermann's wife's brother Scott Warrington, Mauritz Hugo, and good friend Larry Adams, Robert Lowery, together with their chauffeur Jeff show up for Lila funeral things start to get a bit weird for everyone involved. Lila just gets up out of her coffin and disappears into the swamps.It's not until much later that Larry and Scott as well as Jeff realize that the bereaved Dr. Altermann is a Nazi spy trying to do in not only them but the USA as well. Dr. Altermann has since gotten hooked on his naive secretary Jennifer Rand, Gale Storm, whom he wants to take home with him, via U-Boat, to Germany to be his future bride. This all leads to Dr. Altermann's dead wife Lila to get a bit jealous and later have his Zombies together with her give him a taste of his own medicine. An, overdose, way over his head, of a black water bayou cocktail.Nowhere as good as "King of the Zombies" the movie still has it's moments with mostly Mantan Moreland's, as Jeff, eye bugging and hysterical comedy act. In fact Moreland ends up being the hero by saving Larry from a fate worse then death: In becoming a Zombie. There's also Madame Sul Te-Wan as Dr. Altermann's maid Mammy Beulah who's really the one who gave the mad doctor the idea of creating Zombies in the first place. It's when Mammy Beulah realized just what a low down swine her boss really is that she informed Larry & Co. what to do in keeping form being turned into, with a dose of swamp lily extract, a Zombie. A strong cup of coffee.

A pretty ordinary cheapie from Monogram Studios that begins with some promising atmosphere and visual style, but ultimately deteriorates with a lot of talk and some lame attempts at comic relief by black funny-man Mantan Moreland, who's not so humorous this time around.A very youthful John Carradine plays it surprisingly low-key as an unconvincing Nazi scientist trying to create an army of non-scary zombies to fight for the Germans. He even turns his own wife into one of them, the fiend. These living dead sleepwalkers are more like what you'd call the "marching dead" as they step about in silly and perfect militaristic formation, like mindless robots. Those viewers unfamiliar with "pre-Romero" zombie movies are bound to be left especially stumped.** out of ****