Obeah!

Last updated
Obeah!
Directed by F. Herrick Herrick
Written byRobert Carse [1]
Story byF. Herrick Herrick
Starring
CinematographyHarry W. Smith
Edited byLeonard Weiss
Production
company
Arcturus Pictures
Release date
  • February 1935 (1935-02)
Running time
75 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Obeah! [2] is a 1935 American horror film directed by F. Herrick Herrick and starring Jean Brooks and Phillips Lord. In the United Kingdom, the film was released under the title The Mystery Ship. [1] It is believed to be a lost film, as no copies of it are known to exist. [3]

Contents

Plot

A sailor, known as "The Adventurer," searching for a lost American explorer discovers him being held hostage on a remote island in the South Sea. The man is held captive by the island's natives, who have placed him under a voodoo spell known as "obeah." The Adventurer attempts to halt a death ritual but fails, and the explorer dies. The Adventurer is forced to flee the island, taking with him a native woman and the daughter of the dead explorer.

With the help of a map taken from the explorer, the three attempt to locate a chest of gold that has been sunk off the island shore. Meanwhile, the high priest of the island people casts a curse on the three, and a love triangle ensues between those on the ship. [lower-alpha 1]

Cast

Production

The film was produced by the New York City-based production company Arcturus Pictures. [8] Based on a story by director F. Herrick Herrick, [9] the film's script was written by Robert Carse, the film's production began in June 1934 [10] and lasted several weeks. The film was shot on location in Kingston, Jamaica. [11]

An additional article published in Film Daily claimed the film's shoot lasted a total of eleven months, shot on a worldwide cruise that stopped in over twenty countries. [6] Later trade reports reported the shoot had only lasted four months. [6] The ship's crew as well as various unknown performers appear in the film. [6] Scenes were filmed at Papine and Port Royal, alongside interior shots in downtown Kingston bars. [12]

See also

Notes

  1. This plot summary is based entirely on a re-published article provided by the American Film Institute, extracted from The Film Daily (February 1935) [4]

Related Research Articles

Obeah, or Obayi, is a series of African diasporic spell-casting and healing traditions found in the former British colonies of the Caribbean. These traditions derive much from traditional West African practices that have undergone cultural creolization. There is much regional variation in the practice of Obeah, which is followed by practitioners called Obeahmen and Obeahwomen.

Kumina is an Afro-Jamaican religion. Kumina has practices that include secular ceremonies, dance and music that developed from the beliefs and traditions brought to the island by Kongo enslaved people and indentured labourers, from the Congo region of West Central Africa, during the post-emancipation era. It is mostly associated with the parish of St. Thomas in the east of the island. However, the practice spread to the parishes of Portland, St. Mary and St. Catherine, and the city of Kingston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tor Johnson</span> Swedish professional wrestler and actor

Karl Erik Tore Johansson, better known by the stage name Tor Johnson, was a Swedish professional wrestler and actor. As an actor, Johnson appeared in many B-movies, including some famously directed by Ed Wood. In professional wrestling, Johnson was billed as Tor Johnson and Super Swedish Angel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Howard (American actor)</span> American actor (1913-1995)

John Howard was an American actor. He is best remembered for his roles in the films Lost Horizon (1937) and The Philadelphia Story (1940).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nanny of the Maroons</span> Leader of Windward Maroons in Jamaica

Queen Nanny, Granny Nanny, or Nanny of the Maroons or Sarah "Matilda" Rowe ONH, was an 18th-century leader of the Jamaican Maroons. She led a community of formerly enslaved Africans called the Windward Maroons. In the early 18th century, under the leadership of Nanny, the Windward Maroons fought a guerrilla war over many years against British authorities in the Colony of Jamaica in what became known as the First Maroon War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Brooks</span> American actress (1915–1963)

Jean Brooks was an American film actress and singer who appeared in over thirty films. Though she never achieved major stardom in Hollywood, she had several prominent roles in the early 1940s as a contract player for RKO Radio Pictures.

<i>The Seventh Victim</i> 1943 film by Mark Robson

The Seventh Victim is a 1943 American horror film directed by Mark Robson and starring Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Isabel Jewell, Kim Hunter, and Hugh Beaumont. Written by DeWitt Bodeen and Charles O'Neal, and produced by Val Lewton for RKO Radio Pictures, the film focuses on a young woman who stumbles on an underground cult of devil worshippers in Greenwich Village, New York City, while searching for her missing sister. It marks Robson's directorial debut and was Hunter's first onscreen role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Antonio</span> Place in Surrey, Jamaica

Port Antonio is the capital of the parish of Portland on the northeastern coast of Jamaica, about 100 km from Kingston. It had a population of 12,285 in 1982 and 13,246 in 1991. It is the island's third largest port, famous as a shipping point for bananas and coconuts, as well as one of its most important tourist attractions, tourism being a major contributor to the town’s economy.

<i>Mutiny on the Bounty</i> (1935 film) 1935 film by Frank Lloyd

Mutiny on the Bounty is a 1935 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer drama film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Charles Laughton and Clark Gable, based on the 1932 Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall novel Mutiny on the Bounty.

Colonel Sir Thomas Modyford, 1st Baronet was a planter of Barbados and Governor of Jamaica from 1664 to 1671.

<i>The Unearthly</i> 1957 film

The Unearthly is a 1957 independently made American black-and-white science fiction horror film, produced and directed by Boris Petroff. It stars John Carradine, Myron Healey, Allison Hayes, Marilyn Buferd, Arthur Batanides, Sally Todd, and Tor Johnson. The film was written by Jane Mann and John D.F. Black.

<i>Sea Wife</i> 1957 British film

Sea Wife is a 1957 British CinemaScope drama thriller war film photographed in DeLuxe Color, based on the 1955 James Maurice Scott novel Sea-Wyf and Biscuit. Shot in Jamaica, the film follows a group of survivors from a torpedoed British refugee ship.

<i>The American Venus</i> 1926 film

The American Venus is a 1926 American silent comedy film directed by Frank Tuttle, and starring Esther Ralston, Ford Sterling, Lawrence Gray, Fay Lanphier, Louise Brooks, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. The film was based on an original story by Townsend Martin. The scenario was written by Frederick Stowers with intertitles by Robert Benchley.

Igbo people in Jamaica were shipped by Europeans onto the island between the 18th and 19th centuries as enslaved labour on plantations. Igbo people constituted a large portion of the African population enslaved people in Jamaica. Jamaica received the largest amount of slaves from the biafra region than anywhere else in the diaspora during the slave trade. Some slave censuses detailed the large number of enslaved Igbo people on various plantations throughout the island on different dates throughout the 18th century. Their presence was a large part in forming Jamaican culture, Igbo cultural influence remains in language, dance, music, folklore, cuisine, religion and mannerisms. In Jamaica the Igbo were often referred to as Eboe or Ibo. There are a substantial number of Igbo language loanwords in Jamaican Patois. Igbo people mostly populated the northwestern section of the island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Headley</span> West Indian cricketer

George Alphonso Headley OD, MBE was a West Indian cricketer who played 22 Test matches, mostly before World War II. Considered one of the best batsmen to play for the West Indies and one of the greatest cricketers of all time, Headley also represented Jamaica and played professional club cricket in England. West Indies had a weak cricket team through most of Headley's playing career; as their one world-class player, he carried a heavy responsibility and the side depended on his batting. He batted at number three, scoring 2,190 runs in Tests at an average of 60.83, and 9,921 runs in all first-class matches at an average of 69.86. He was chosen as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1934.

<i>The Lost Tribe</i> (1949 film) 1949 film by William A. Berke

The Lost Tribe (1949) is the second Jungle Jim film produced by Columbia Pictures. The film features Johnny Weissmuller in his second performance as the adventurer Jungle Jim, co-starring Myrna Dell and Elena Verdugo, along with Joseph Vitale and George J. Lewis as the film's antagonists. It was directed by William Berke and written by Don Martin and Arthur Hoerl.

<i>Voodoo Tiger</i> 1952 film by Spencer Gordon Bennet

Voodoo Tiger is a 1952 American adventure film directed by Spencer G. Bennet and starring Johnny Weissmuller in his ninth performance as the protagonist adventurer Jungle Jim. It was written by Samuel Newman and produced by Columbia Pictures. It features James Seay as the film's antagonist. Jean Byron also stars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maymie de Mena</span> American activist (1879–1953)

Maymie de Mena was an American-born activist who became one of the highest-ranking officers in the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). She has been credited with keeping the organization alive after Marcus Garvey's conviction for mail fraud and deportation from the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamaican nationality law</span>

Jamaican nationality law is regulated by the 1962 Constitution of Jamaica, as amended; the Nationality Act of 1962, and its revisions; and various British Nationality laws. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Jamaica. Jamaican nationality is typically obtained either on the principle of jus soli, i.e. by birth in Jamaica; or under the rules of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth abroad to parents with Jamaican nationality. It can also be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country, or to a permanent resident who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalisation. There is not currently a program in Jamaica for persons to acquire nationality through investment in the country. Nationality establishes one's international identity as a member of a sovereign nation. Though it is not synonymous with citizenship, for rights granted under domestic law for domestic purposes, the United Kingdom, and thus the commonwealth, have traditionally used the words interchangeably.

F. Herrick Herrick was an American film director and philatelist.

References

  1. 1 2 Polack 2017, p. 49.
  2. "Obeah! (1935)". British Film Institute. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  3. Thomas, Hilda (7 April 2015). "Of Myth and Magic: Exploring Superstitions and Traditional Beliefs from Latin America and the Caribbean". Nearshore Americas. Archived from the original on 20 December 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  4. "Obeah!". The Film Daily : 11. 13 February 1935.
  5. "Obeah". American Film Institute . Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Rhodes, Gary D. (2001). White Zombie: Anatomy of a Horror Film. McFarland. p. 180. ISBN   978-0-786-42762-8.
  7. Polack 2017, p. 48.
  8. Polack 2017, p. 46.
  9. Hanson, Patricia King, ed. (1971). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States. Vol. 1. University of California Press. p. 329. ISBN   978-0-520-07908-3.
  10. Polack 2017, p. 47.
  11. Polack 2017, pp. 48–9.
  12. Polack, Peter. Jamaica, the Land of Film, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2017, p. 46–48.

Works cited