#294: Voodoo Man

Release Date: February 21st, 1944

Format: 16mm (New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles, CA)

Written by: Robert Charles

Directed by: William Beaudine

2.5 Stars

Following the delightful The Ape Man, next up in tonight’s William Beaudine triple-feature at the New Beverly is Voodoo Man, from 1944. 

Also starring Bela Lugosi, this one is a bit heavier on atmosphere, not the easiest task when you have a budget that couldn’t have been more than a few thousand dollars. Beaudine still manages to wrangle an evocative tone, although I wouldn’t say it’s as spooky as he would have hoped. He does find spots for his signature warmth and humor, though, which I’m discovering is one of Beaudine’s directorial traits.

The story is about the eccentric Dr. Marlowe, who lives in an isolated countryside house and abducts women from the neighboring highway on which to perform voodoo rituals, in hopes that he can resurrect his comatose wife of the past 22 years.

When our protagonist, Stella (Louise Currie, who also played the female lead in The Ape Man), goes missing, her family gets involved, determined to expose Dr. Marlowe’s sinister plot.  

I liked the film, although you can see the constraints of the shoestring production. Unfortunately, unlike The Ape Man, Beaudine doesn’t have a guy in a gorilla costume to distract you from the low budget. 

No matter, Voodoo Man is still a fun watch, with another one of those Beaudine wink-wink meta endings, in case you had any doubts about whether or not he’s in on the joke that he’s just made a silly little B-movie. 

When the evil Dr. Marlowe is defeated and Stella’s screenwriter brother-in-law turns her kidnapping saga into a script, the head of the production studio asks him, “Who should star in it?” Ralph replies, “How about Bela Lugosi?”

The line got a huge laugh in the room, and we’re on to the next feature, the notorious Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla.