Black Moon

A curio that all film buffs should see. But be warned. Very good black & white cinematography is not enough to compensate for this racist tale, even by 1932 standards. Maybe the way the ignorant colonialist characters of this film confront the religion of the islanders, is still assumed by many persons today, but all this voodoo crap has seriously affected horror cinema, until things began to improve a bit with the Hammer Film production "The Plague of the Zombies", and specially with "The Serpent and the Rainbow", which were more informed about the Caribbean and its tragic story of genocide, colonialism, tyranny and misery, all of which still affect many islands (big and small). The filmmakers didn't even make a fine research about the chants or rites of the voodoo religion (because a religion is what voodoo is, that should be treated with respect if we really believe in freedom of cult)... Here natives hum and hum, while the colonialists wear formal dress to have dinner. At least in "King Kong", released a year before, things were more palatable due to the fantastic nature of the story, with an island out of nowhere, so Max Steiner's ritual dances and the cult to Kong seemed marvelous, and they still do. But the St. Christopher of this foolish tale resembles Haiti way too much to be taken as plain "entertainment". On the performers' side, Dorothy Burgess is fine as Juanita Pérez, the "Voodoo Queen" (or something like that), and Arnold Korff is quite convincing as her colonialist landowner uncle, Dr. Pérez (how people with Spanish names and tombstones ended speaking creole in "St. Haiti" is not explained); while Fay Wray is nothing but a decorative figure, and Jack Holt, as the concerned entrepreneur and husband of Queen Juanita, seems more like her father. Don't miss it!

Black Moon (1934) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Twenty-plus years after her parents were murdered in a voodoo ritual, a woman (Dorothy Burgess) travels back to the native land where the people there want her to start up as their leader. The woman's secretary (Fay Wray) wires her husband (Jack Holt) to come and try to save her but it might be too late. This forgotten horror film from Columbia falls somewhere between WHITE ZOMBIE and I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE so fans of those two films will certainly want to check this out. As far as I'm concerned, I'm not a major fan of all three films as I think they all have a great atmosphere but in the end their stories just aren't strong enough to carry the films for me. There's a lot of stuff that does work here with the biggest plus being the atmosphere created by the director. We really get the feeling as if we're on this island surrounded by the strange locals and in the middle of something evil. There's no fog machines but that doesn't keep Neill away from delivering the goods as the dark tone of the film also hits on something that the Val Lewton films would eventually do and that's the use of shadows. Another plus is some fine cinematography as well as a nice performance by Holt. Wray, the original Scream Queen, is good too, although, as usual, she isn't given enough to do. What doesn't work, for one, is the performance of Burgess who is easy on the eyes but her character is badly underwritten. Another problem is the actual screenplay that really doesn't offer any twist or turns up until the very end when the movie does go in a direction that you wouldn't normally expect.

Drums, beating incessantly. Rhythmic and reverberating. Native drums that never stop. Ominous and portentous. Need some aspirin. The opening scene has our heroine, Dorothy Burgess, sitting on the floor in the nursery with her daughter - beating on a drum. She was raised on a West Indian island and yearns to return once more. She is warned not to return on the threat of death, but she goes anyway - with her 4 year old in tow. "Black Moon" sought to capitalize on the recent success of "White Zombie" but succeeds in being irritating as well as illogical and downbeat. Burgess arrives on the island, drums beating, and it is immediately clear that the natives are hostile and hateful. Her uncle, whose family has lived there for 200 years we find out, lives in a fortress as protection from the dangerous inhabitants. Several goofy situations arise as the movie audience is unable to suspend disbelief or generate interest in the misbegotten adventure, but it is mercifully short at 68 minutes. Jack Holt, a good actor who deserved a better fate, is her husband but could pass for her grandfather. Fay Wray has little to do and Clarence Muse is a boat operator who apparently gets a free pass on the island, although he states he is from "Georgia, USA". Couldn't wait for this one to end, and I gave it a rating of four. Shown at Cinefest, Columbus, O., 5/13.

Before I start to comment, I want to point out that Black Moon is not a racist movie. How do I know? Think about it. "Lunch" McClaren, a black man played by Clarence Muse is a hero, and spoilers ahead: Actually survives the film, something not shown very often until the 1960's. The best thing about the movie ( besides Fay Wray of course), is the atmosphere. The drums, and the darkness really work well here. It is about a wealthy woman named Juanita played by Dorothy Burgess who escapes an Island as a child, but is cursed and feels she must return to face her demons. Her husband Stephen ( Jack Holt), her daughter and their nanny Gail ( Wray) accompany her. As you might expect, Gail is secretly in love in love with Stephen. Spoilers ahead: When they get to the island Juanita really goes native, and becomes a murderer. How far does she go? She is willing to sacrifice her daughter, by stabbing her to death. It is up to Stephen to stop her, and he does by shooting his wife to death. I saw a poster say Stephen will be haunted by this action, but he really will not. How can I be sure? In the final scene of the movie, he kisses Gail's hand ( so not only does he save his daughter, but gets the much better looking Faye Wray). Finally, Black Moon is without question a Pre-Code movie. If you think about it, where else do you see a parent willing to murder a small child? In fact the only other movie made years ago (where the "other woman" gets the husband and kid through death), is Three On A Match ( another Pre-Code shocker with Joan Blondell ending up with Warren William and his son, while ex-wife Ann Dvorak commits suicide). Oddly enough both Three On A Match and Black Moon deal with cursed rich women. It is a good movie ( especially for Fay Wray and Pre-Code fans).

This is NOT a particularly deep film nor will it impress film snobs. After all, it's about voodoo and human sacrifice! However, in a very low-brow sort of way, it is entertaining....and a bit dumb. The film begins with Dorothy Burgess banging away on tribal drums in her home in America. She is an amazing drummer, as her arm motions and the drum sounds aren't the least bit in sync--making her very special indeed (or it makes this a sloppy B-film). It seems that this lady is a bit nutty and longs to return to the Caribbean island where she'd lived years ago. However, her husband (Jack Holt) is apprehensive--especially when her family on the island is telling her NOT to come there. But, despite the warnings, this goofy acting lady goes to the island--and immediately resumes her involvement with a local voodoo cult! It turns out she is actually well-connected with these natives and everyone around her thinks she is nuts. However, she is far, far more disturbed than everyone thought, as this strange religion practices human sacrifice--and Burgess is more than willing to comply with their orders--leading to a really cool finale. In addition to Burgess and Holt, Fay Wray was also a star in this film---though she really didn't seem to have much to do. Her part was ill-defined and rather unnecessary. As for Holt, he was more wooden than usual. In fact, none of the performances were that good. But, because the film was so cheesy and silly, it did keep my interest.

**SPOILERS*** One of the first films about voodoo and voodoo blood sacrifices to come out of Hollywood that caught the unsuspecting public by surprise. Not only does the film have human sacrifices preformed to the screaming and howling cries and chants of whipped up,to a red hot fury, local island voodoo worshiper's but in many cases these gruesome murders are preformed by the very parents, mostly mothers, or spouses of the victims themselves! In the movie "Black Moon" we see how voodoo can be implanted into a person's brain at a very young age and drive the person crazy to the point that he or she will murder their own flesh and blood to satisfy their voodoo God. This happens to Juanita Lane, Dorothy Burgess, who's mind had been messed up by voodoo since she was a little girl on the Caribbean island of St. Christopher. Now grown up married and with a little girl of her own Juanita answers the call of her Voodoo God to travel back to St. Christopher from her home in NYC to finish the job that the natives there, who made her a high priestess, demand! Murder by ritual sacrifice her seven year old daughter Nancy, Cora Sue Collis, in a blood voodoo ritual at the time of the next new moon! The tranquil and beautiful scenery of St. Christopher hide the sheer terror that lies just beneath it's surface in the island's centuries long practice of voodoo. This all come shockingly to light when Juanita arrives there as a guest at her father's Dr. Raymond Perez, Arnold Korff, villa. Dr. Perez unlike his daughter's husband Stephen Lane, Jack Holt, knows the secret behind Juanita's very strange behavior and was dead set against her coming there. With Junita now at St. Christopher she becomes attracted to the very thing that both her father and later husband were trying to get her exorcised from: Voodoo. And it's that strange fascination or addiction that would lead to a native uprising that will threaten the lives of the few remaining whites or foreigners, about a half dozen, still living in St. Christopher including Juanita herself. ***SPOILERS*** Even though the blood-letting in the film is kept at a minimum just the thought of what the movie is all about is enough to make your stomach turn. In the end Stephen finally realizes that his wife is beyond help and has to do the unthinkable in order to save his still unaffected, by the island's voodoo priest Kala (Laurence Criner) and his top aid and little Nancy's nanny Rova (Madam Sul-Te-Wan), daughter Nancy from being sacrificed to the island's voodoo God. Stephen is thus forced to commit an act of extreme violence that even if it was the right and only thing to do on his part he'll be cursed to both live and suffer with what he did for the rest of his life!

"I Walked with a Zombie" may not have been the first Voodoo film adapted from Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre," which is not surprising when you consider the West Indies was where Edward Rochester courted his mad wife. Perhaps it's a stretch, but "Black Moon" seems to contain several plot elements from Bronte's novel as Stephen Lane—whose West Indian born wife is drifting into madness—forms a close personal bond with his secretary. When the wife (Dorothy Burgess), under the influence of a Voodoo curse, returns to her childhood home in the West Indies, Lane's secretary (Fay Wray) accompanies her. Lane (Jack Holt) soon follows. Here the secretary becomes a substitute mother for Stephen's child, recalling a similar relationship between Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester's ward Adele. Also, Stephen, like Edward Rochester, can finally have the woman he truly loves only when his wife dies as a result of her madness, in this case leading a native uprising. Judging from other comments about this being a good example of pre-code horror, my expectations were high. But the director and writers never adequately explored the terror of situations. There are no build-ups of suspense. Things just happen. People are found dead after the fact. Killings and Voodoo sacrifices that happen on-screen are clumsily directed. Nevertheless, performances are uniformly good, the script is literate, and there are a few moments of cinematic art. The print I saw on Turner Classic Movies is very clean; and I was impressed by Joe August's cinematography in the scene in the tower as it filled with smoke from the burning tunnel. The interplay of light and smoke created an eerie atmosphere that I wish had been made more of.

Until only a few months ago, I had never even heard of this one – despite the involvement of director Roy William Neill (THE BLACK ROOM [1935]) and the era's foremost "Scream Queen" Fay Wray! Interestingly, it supplies the logical bridge between the distinctive Gothic and psychological backdrops of the two most notable early voodoo-related films – namely WHITE ZOMBIE (1932) and I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE (1943). The atmosphere here is similarly thick, without the need to resort to an actual prowling or possessed creature: indeed, having the lady concerned – very well played by Dorothy Burgess – actively believe in the power of voodoo (that is, until she sees the error of her ways on being asked to perform the ultimate sacrifice!), provides the biggest chill in this case! Incidentally, the two central female characters (with Wray being, naturally, the wide-eyed heroine) not only create the requisite contrast but make up for the rather uninteresting male lead – burly Jack Holt! Perhaps not a classic of the genre, then, but a perfect example of "a film that has fallen through the cracks"; in fact, the copy I acquired is a hazy VHS-sourced recording of an old TCM screening.

In my unhealthy quest to see every available Fay Wray film, I picked up a copy of this off of Ebay, and I was very happy I did. The Good: The film has a very dark mood to it, very much like the later film, "I Walked with a Zombie". Settings and locations are similar, and there are scenes and sets that look a lot like that later film. The overall feeling of doom is here, and the climactic scene is very well done. The scenes of the voodoo ceremonies really shine in this film, and although not a true horror flick, this satisfies with some eerie shots and creepy touches. The Bad: I am not a Jack Holt fan. In my opinion he is the weakest part of the film. Also, there were some very good shots in the film. Some odd angles with good lighting. There were times, however, when the direction seemed uninspired and timid with this strong material. Almost like two directors had a hand in it. Overall this is a fine film that deserves a good cleanup and DVD release.

The Castro recently ran a series of movies made by Columbia Pictures before the Hays Production Code went into effect in the 1930s. Compared to the Paramount pre-Codes the Balboa Theater was screening around the same time, the Columbia films were pretty much B-movie fare, but one film in particular stood out. Black Moon (1934), a moody suspense thriller with horror movie overtones, stars Dorothy Burgess as a New York socialite haunted by her childhood memories of growing up on a Haiti-like isle in the Caribbean. Taking her young daughter with her, she returns to visit her uncle—the only remaining white inhabitant of the island—and confront her past. As it turns out, the black natives who took care of her as a child would secretly carry her into the jungle every night to participate in ceremonial voodoo sacrifices, and upon her return as an adult she assumes the role of white voodoo priestess and begins to lead the rituals. Her businessman husband Jack Holt, with secretary Fay Wray in tow, follows her to the island and while attempting to rescue his wife and daughter is besieged by the native voodoo worshippers. The remarkable thing about the movie is its slow oppressive mood, played entirely as a serious drama with little trace of dated campiness. The atmosphere of impending dread and shadowy black and white cinematography reminded me of the original Cat People, filmed eight years later. The black islanders are solemn and menacing without being racial stereotypes, and the voodoo drums beating throughout the movie add to the ominous creepiness. Sort of has the air of an early zombie movie, but without any zombies. Definitely catch it if you get a chance.