Black Moon (1934 film)

Last updated

Black Moon
Black-moon-movie-poster-md.jpg
Directed by Roy William Neill
Screenplay byWells Root [1]
Based onBlack Moon
by Clements Ripley
Produced by Harry Cohn [2]
Starring
Cinematography Joseph August [1]
Edited by Richard Cahoon [1]
Production
company
Distributed byColumbia Pictures Corp.
Release date
  • 15 June 1934 (1934-06-15)
Running time
68 minutes [2]
CountryUnited States [1]

Black Moon is a 1934 American pre-Code horror film directed by Roy William Neill and starring Jack Holt, Fay Wray, and Dorothy Burgess. [1] It is based on a short story by Clements Ripley that first appeared in Hearst's International-Cosmopolitan. The film centers on a young woman who returns to the tropical island where her parents were murdered during a voodoo ritual with her daughter and nanny, only to become corrupted by the native's dark rituals.

Contents

Plot

A young girl, Juanita, finds her parents killed in a voodoo ritual on a distant tropical island. She escapes with her life, but when she reaches adulthood, she feels compelled to return to the island, bringing her daughter and a nanny who takes care of the child. Once there, she goes to stay with her uncle who lives on the island. She soon discovers that the natives, who had been using her for voodoo rituals when she was a child, now treat her as a voodoo goddess. In this role, she begins leading their rituals.

Any attempt to fight Juanita's influence or to remove her from her position is met with violent force. One person is found dead in a lava pit, while another is found hanged. At one point, Juanita is so overcome by the voodoo curse that she offers her daughter up for sacrifice. Juanita's businessman husband, Stephen, follows her to the island and attempts to travel into the jungle to rescue her, but finds her taking part in a sacrifice of an innocent woman. Although he shoots the high priest of the tribe, Juanita completes the sacrifice herself.

Their high priest injured, the natives now plan to murder all of the white people on the island. Stephen takes his daughter and two others into the fortified section of a plantation house. The natives succeed in capturing Stephen and his secretary, Gail, but they are eventually rescued. In the end, Stephen shoots and kills Juanita just as she is about to sacrifice her own daughter.

Cast

Cast adapted from the book Columbia Pictures Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films. [2]

Production

Black Moon was based on the novel by Clements Ripley which first appeared in Hearst's International-Cosmopolitan . [1] Among the cast was Jack Holt, who was one of Columbia Pictures' most popular actors of the period and would continue to headline their pictures up until the early 1940s. [2] The director, Roy William Neill had been directing films since 1916 and joined Columbia in 1930, where he directed the studios films The Menace , The Ninth Guest (1934) and The Black Room (1935). [3]

The film began production on April 10, 1934, and finished on May 3, 1934. [1]

Release

Black Moon was released on June 15, 1934. [1] It was distributed by Columbia Pictures Corp. [1]

Reception

From contemporary reviews, A.D.S. of The New York Times commented that the film was "strictly studio-made, is admirably equipped to throw a double-bar-relled scare into the innocent entertainment-hunter." while stating that "There are times when the reassuring Hollywood touch appears in the picture. For example, the native ritual which precedes the main or throat-cutting event has a precision in the dance routines and mass singing that suggests the Busby Berkeley touch." [4] A reviewer in Variety commented that direction in Black Moon was "commednable and the acting is good, but the scenario possesses dubious elements" [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fay Wray</span> American actress (1907–2004)

Vina Fay Wray was a Canadian-American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film King Kong. Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray attained international recognition as an actress in horror films. She has been dubbed one of the early "scream queens".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black magic</span> Magic used for evil and selfish purposes

Black magic, also known as dark magic, has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes, specifically the seven magical arts prohibited by canon law, as expounded by Johannes Hartlieb in 1456.

<i>Blood from the Mummys Tomb</i> 1971 film by Seth Holt

Blood from the Mummy's Tomb is a 1971 British horror film starring Andrew Keir, Valerie Leon, and James Villiers. It was director Seth Holt's final film, and was loosely adapted from Bram Stoker's 1903 novel The Jewel of Seven Stars. The film was released as the support feature to Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Holt (actor)</span> American actor (1888–1951)

Charles John Holt, Jr. was an American motion picture actor who was prominent in both silent and sound movies, particularly Westerns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juanita Moore</span> American film, TV, and stage actress (1914–2014)

Juanita Moore was an American film, television, and stage actress.

<i>Voodoo Woman</i> 1957 film by Edward L. Cahn

Voodoo Woman is a 1957 horror film directed by Edward L. Cahn and starring Marla English in her final film role, Tom Conway, and Mike Connors. It was released in March 1957 by American International Pictures as a double feature with The Undead.

<i>I Walked with a Zombie</i> 1943 film by Jacques Tourneur

I Walked with a Zombie is a 1943 American horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur and produced by Val Lewton for RKO Pictures. It stars James Ellison, Frances Dee, and Tom Conway, and follows a Canadian nurse who travels to care for the ailing wife of a sugar plantation owner in the Caribbean, where she witnesses Vodou rituals and possibly encounters the walking dead. The screenplay, written by Curt Siodmak and Ardel Wray, is based on an article of the same title by Inez Wallace, and also partly reinterprets the narrative of the 1847 novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Voodoo doll</span> Effigy into which pins are inserted

The term Voodoo doll commonly describes an effigy into which pins are inserted. Such practices are found in various forms in the magical traditions of many cultures around the world.

<i>After Death</i> 1989 film by Claudio Fragasso

After Death is an Italian zombie film directed by Claudio Fragasso. The film is set on a remote island where a voodoo curse raises the dead from their graves to feast on the flesh of the living. When a boat of explorers⁠—including a young girl who experienced the zombie uprising years earlier⁠—makes an emergency docking on the island, the crew find that their only hope for survival is a protective idol given to the young girl by her mother years ago.

<i>The Believers</i> 1987 film by John Schlesinger

The Believers is a 1987 Canadian-American crime thriller horror film directed by John Schlesinger, starring Martin Sheen, Robert Loggia and Helen Shaver. It is based on the 1982 novel The Religion by Nicholas Conde.

<i>Imitation of Life</i> (1959 film) 1959 film directed by Douglas Sirk

Imitation of Life is a 1959 American drama film directed by Douglas Sirk, produced by Ross Hunter and released by Universal International. It was Sirk's final Hollywood film and dealt with issues of race, class and gender. Imitation of Life is the second film adaptation of Fannie Hurst's 1933 novel of the same name; the first, directed by John M. Stahl, was released in 1934.

Holly Kathleen Palance is an American former actress and journalist. She is perhaps best known for her role as the nanny of Damien Thorn in Richard Donner's The Omen (1976). Palance also appeared in Pete Walker's horror film The Comeback (1978). Beginning in 1984, she also co-hosted the series Ripley's Believe it or Not! with her father, Jack Palance.

<i>Ritual</i> (2002 film) 2002 American film

Tales from the Crypt Presents: Ritual is a 2002 American horror comedy film and third and final film based on the HBO television series Tales from the Crypt, following Demon Knight and Bordello of Blood. The film was released in select countries in 2002, the Philippines in 2003, and released direct-to-DVD in the US in 2006. It stars Tim Curry, Jennifer Grey, and Craig Sheffer with Avi Nesher directing. It is based on the film I Walked With a Zombie.

<i>Cry of the Werewolf</i> 1944 film by Henry Levin

Cry of the Werewolf is a 1944 American horror film directed by Henry Levin and starring Nina Foch, Stephen Crane, Osa Massen, Blanche Yurka and Barton MacLane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katherine DeMille</span> American actress (1911–1995)

Katherine Lester DeMille was a Canadian-born American actress who played 25 credited film roles from the mid-1930s to the late 1940s.

<i>I Eat Your Skin</i> 1971 American film

I Eat Your Skin is a 1971 American horror film written, produced and directed by Del Tenney. It stars William Joyce, Heather Hewitt and Walter Coy. The film was shot entirely in Florida in 1964 under the title Caribbean Adventure to disguise from potential investors the fact that it was a zombie film.

<i>Isle of the Snake People</i> 1971 Mexican film

Snake People a.k.a. Isle of the Snake People, is a 1968 Mexican horror film directed by Juan Ibáñez and starring Boris Karloff and Julissa.

<i>Jungle Moon Men</i> 1955 American film

Jungle Moon Men (1955) is the fifteenth Jungle Jim film produced by Columbia Pictures. It features Johnny Weissmuller in his second performance as the protagonist adventurer Johnny Weissmuller. The film was directed by Charles S. Gould and written by Dwight Babcock and Jo Pagano.

<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.

Obeah! 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. It is believed to be a lost film.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Black Moon (1934)". American Film Institute . Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Pitts 2014, p. 19.
  3. 1 2 Pitts 2014, p. 20.
  4. ↑ A.D.S. 1934.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.