Voodoo Man (1944)
67KVoodoo Man: Directed by William Beaudine. With Bela Lugosi, John Carradine, George Zucco, Wanda McKay. Dr. Richard Marlowe uses a combination of voodoo rite and hypnotic suggestion, attempting to revive his beautiful, but long-dead, wife, by transferring the life essences of several hapless young girls he has kidnapped and imprisoned in the dungeon beneath his mansion.
“A car pulls into a lonely country gas station. Owner George Zucco oozes out to greet the driver, a young woman. u0026quot;Stranger in this part of the country, arenu0026#39;t you?u0026quot; he inquires. She should not ask him for directions!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eYes, attractive young female motorists are disappearing, and itu0026#39;s not long before we learn that they are being misdirected onto a detour that will take them to a spooky mansion where Bela Lugosi is practicing—with Zuccou0026#39;s assistance—some very strange magic.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLugosi has most of the best lines in this goofy but entertaining quickie. For example, his introduction to his wife, who died 22 years ago: u0026quot;Sheu0026#39;s dead only in the sense that you understand that word.u0026quot; (Actually, sheu0026#39;s dead in a way I do not understand, since she seems to walk okay but just doesnu0026#39;t have much to say.)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eJohn Carradine is hilarious as a sort of nutty henchman; he is in charge of the hypnotized captives and moves from spot to spot in a sort of hippity-hop trot instead of just walking. Henry Hall is also funny as the local sheriff: u0026quot;Sheriffu0026#39;s job in this county used to be a cinch,u0026quot; he says. u0026quot;Now itu0026#39;s a pain in the necku0026quot;—meaning, all of these missing motorist reports are really eating up his time. Wanda McKay and Tod Andrews are the attractive if rather bland young couple who are drawn into the mystery.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eZucco spends most of his screen time in a sorcereru0026#39;s robe decorated with stars and crescents; Lugosi has one that matches. They look um silly. But they appear to be having fun—and although this picture is no great shakes and contains no great frights, it is indeed fun.”
