Voodoo Island *½ (1957, Boris Karloff, Elisha Cook Jr, Rhodes Reason, Beverly Tyler, Murvyn Vye) – Classic Movie Review 5596

The 1957 horror film Voodoo Island has Boris Karloff, voodoo, carnivorous plants, zombies, a lesbian subtext and Adam West’s debut.

‘SUPER-CHILL!’

Director Reginald Le Borg’s low-budget ($150,000) time-passing 1957 horror film Voodoo Island stars Boris Karloff, Elisha Cook Jr and Rhodes Reason. It is notable as Adam West’s first appearance in a film, playing an uncredited role as Weather Station number four Radio Operator. West died on 9 June 2017, at the age of 88.

Adam West, for ever Batman.

Written by Richard H Landau, it is set in the South Pacific where voodoo is going on (though it is normally associated with the Caribbean, but never mind). It was filmed on Kauai, Hawaii, back to back with Jungle Heat.

Boris Karloff stars as Phillip Knight, a renowned hoax-buster hired by a wealthy industrialist to go to the Pacific island he’s developing and show it has no voodoo curse. Human flesh-eating plants and a tribe of zombie-like natives with bizarre voodoo powers say differently!

It is all fairly daft, and pretty bad, and of course there are none of the SUPER-CHILLs that are promised. But it is quite busy, resourceful and amusingly watchable, and helped by a better cast than it deserves, and the lesbian subtext is unexpected and interesting for the day.

Beverly Tyler plays Sarah Adams, Murvyn Vye is Barney Finch, Elisha Cook Jr is Martin Schuyler, Rhodes Reason is Matthew Gunn, Jean Engstrom is Claire Winter, Friedrich von Ledebur is the Native Chief, Glenn Dixon is Mitchell, Owen Cunningham is Howard Carlton, Herbert Patterson is Dr Wilding and Jerry Frank is Vickers.

It is the first of Karloff’s three movies for producers Howard W Koch and Aubrey Schenck’s Bel-Air Productions. He was paid $25,000 per film.

Voodoo Island was released by United Artists on a double bill with Pharaoh’s Curse.

Voodoo Island is directed by Reginald Le Borg, runs 82 minutes,  is made by Bel-Air Productions, is released by United Artists, is written by Richard H Landau, shot by William Margulies, is produced by Howard W Koch and Aubrey Schenck, and scored by Les Baxter.

It was released on DVD in its home viewing debut with The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake in 2005.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5596

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com