jadflack-22130 Remember the " Mad Scientist" series of films Boris Karloff did for Columbia studios in the 1930's and 40's? Bela Lugosi did a batch of them for low budget studio Monogram in the 40's.This one is a hokey old melodrama that gets some laughs that are not always intended, and film seems to run much longer than it's just over an hour running time.Poor Bela tries, and Wanda Mckay is pretty,George Zucco spouts mumbo jumbo for most of his time on screen. As for John Carradine,he realises he is in a poor potboiler and gives the performance to accompany it. it does occasionally poke fun at itself. Fair at best and that's being generous.

bensonmum2 Voodoo Man may not be a "good" movie, but if your a fan of classic horror, it's a must see. The draw here is Bela Lugosi, George Zucco, and John Carradine in the same movie. The plot goes something like this: Zucco runs a gas station and intentionally gives young women the wrong directions so Carradine can kidnap the women for use as guinea pigs in Lugosi's voodoo ceremonies. Lugosi is trying to bring his wife back from the dead using the women's essence or life-force. It's not great, but it's enjoyable enough hokum. Be warned, however, this is a low-budget Monogram film, directed by one-shot William Beaudine.A few things I enjoyed include: the voodoo ritual has to be seen to be believed with our three stars all getting into the act; Carradine leering at and stroking the hair of the kidnapped women; the glee in Zucco's eyes as he gives the women incorrect directions; the local sheriff who seems more put-out that he's missing his dinner than concerned about the rash of missing women; Carradine's ridiculous running style (a real hoot); and all the other nonsense. As I've said, this isn't great filmmaking, but it's fun.

kapelusznik18 ****SPOILERS****The big three,Bela Lugosi John Carradine & George Zucco, of the bottom basement Monogram studio put their talents together in this flick about voodoo and kidnapping as they all are involved in kidnapping pretty women motorists to be used for experiments in the crazed Dr. Richard Marlow's, Bela Lugosi, plan to resurrect his dead wife Evelyn, Ellen Hall, back to life. Catching the confused women on the road to Twin Falls Dr. Marlow has his two goons Toby & Grego, John Carradine & Pat McGee, kidnap them and bring the women to his in his underground laboratory. It's there where Dr. Marlow's voodoo expert Nicholas or Nick the Greek, George Zucco, does his thing in a crazy and confusing ritual where he just goes plain crazy talking mombo jumbo like jive to bring the dead, Evelyn , back to life!Not much of a story but still worth watching in the way Lugosi Carradine and Zucco ham it up that make the film look more like a comedy then a horror movie.The hero Ralph Dawson, Tod Andrews, in the movie ends up getting the lights turned out on him and doesn't have anything to do with putting an end to Dr. Marlow's crimes which included him kidnapping Dawson's wife Betty, Wanda McKay. At the end when the movie finally ended it's Dawson who's a movie screen writer who suggests that star of the film he's to write about what he experienced in real life, in the movie "Voodoo Man", should be no other then actor Bela Lugosi! Thus giving Lugosi who's been down and out on his luck at the time a plug in his own film.The last film that Bela Lugosi made for Monogram Pictures before he sunk into his own real horror movie of drug abuse that almost ended up killing him. It took Bela some 10 years to get his act straighten out by kicking the habit but by then he was almost completely forgotten by the movie going public. It was that great bad movie director Ed Wood JR who resurrected Bela's career with bad movie classics like "Glen & Glenda" as well as "Bride of the Monster" that put Bela back in lights as well as on the silver screen.

zardoz-13 Prolific filmmaker William Beaudine and horror icon Bela Lugosi worked together on four films, and "Voodoo Man" was the third. Previously, they collaborated on "Ghosts on the Loose" (1943) and "The Ape Man" (1943), while their final outing occurred on the madcap comedy "Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla" (1953). In "Voodoo Man," Lugosi plays a deluded doctor, Dr. Richard Marlowe, who wrestles with spousal issues similar to those in the 1942 chiller "The Corpse Vanishes." Whereas he endeavored to restore his wife's beauty in the latter movie, he struggles to restore his wife's life in "Voodoo Man." Actually, Evelyn (Ellen Hall of "Lumberjack") looks well-preserved to have been kaput for over two decades. She ambles around in a trance but looks as if she hasn't aged a day since she died.Dr. Marlowe is in cahoots with a Mobil gas station owner, Nicholas (George Zucco of "The Black Raven") to bring his poor wife back to life. "Return of the Ape Man" scenarist Robert Charles doesn't bother to explain how Nicholas and Dr. Marlowe became so tight aside from their mutual love of all things voodoo. Indeed, many things are left up to our imagination in this modest little Monogram thriller. Nicholas helps Dr. Marlowe kidnap women when they pull into his station on Laurel Road for directions to Twin Falls. Nicholas' filling station is the only one for miles. After the gals cruise away, Nicolas calls Marlowe on the telephone and alerts him to their impending presence, and the sinister scientist dispatches his two half-witted dolts, Grego (Pat McKee of "Waterfront") and Toby (John Carradine of "Stagecoach"), to block the road with a sawhorse, creating an official looking detour so the female motorists will have to drive off the main drag onto a side road concealed by a movable hedge. Grego and Toby simply pull back a hedge to allow vehicles to pass.At this point in "Voodoo Man," three women have disappeared without a trace, and the authorities are completely baffled. Marlowe also possesses an ingenious device which enables him to shut down the engine of an automobile. While the helpless woman sits mystified in her stalled car, Grego and Toby sneak up, seize her, and then usher her down into a tunnel into Marlowe's underground laboratory where he keeps the women locked up in closets. Marlowe maintains them in a state of hypnosis. Later, during a ritualistic ceremony, Nicholas utters a chant called the Ramboona so they can transfer the spirit of the living girl into Evelyn. Unfortunately, Marlowe and his minions have not been able to get the perfect match for Evelyn.The Banner Motion Picture Company wants to capitalize on these incidents and produce a movie about these vanishing women, but scriptwriter Ralph Dawson (Tod Andrews of "Hang'em High") refuses to pen the screenplay. Instead, he plans to get married and take a two week honeymoon. Dawson drives off for Twin Falls and pulls into Nicholas' gas station to tank up. Ralph refuses to buy a can of car polish and gets so frustrated with the well-meaning attendant, Sam (Ralph Littlefield), that Sam doesn't get a chance to pump the six gallons of fuel into his car that Ralph has paid for. Consequently, Ralph runs out of gas, but he encounters one of his future wife's bridesmaids, Stella Saunders (Louise Currie) who gives him a lift. Predictably, they see the detour sawhorse and take the wrong road. Stella's car mysteriously stops operating and Ralph goes off to search for a house. While Ralph is banging on the door to Dr. Marlowe's house, Grego and Toby abduct Stella. Ralph feels doubly frustrated when he finds both Stella and her car gone. An attempt to transfer Stella's life into Evelyn fails. Things go awry when Toby lets Stella escape, and the sheriff picks her as she wanders down on the highway. The sheriff takes Stella to Ralph's fiancée's house. Later, Marlowe discovers Stella's disappearance and rushes to Betty's house to ensure her silence. When they aren't watching Stella, Nicholas chants and Marlowe is able to bring Stella back to his secluded residence.Eventually, Marlowe and Nicholas use their voodoo powers to attract Betty (Wanda McKay) who is poised to marry Ralph. Nicholas conjures up a chant that works so well that they are able lure Betty out to their roadside detour. In fact, Betty drives her car out to Laurel Road. Ralph convinces a motorist to give him a lift and they drive out to the sight of the detour. Meantime, the Sheriff (Henry Hall) and his reluctant deputy Elmer (Dan White) have grown suspicious about the good doctor and decide to break into Marlowe's house. Earlier, after the motorist had dropped Ralph off, he tried to intervene, but Grego dropped him stone cold in his tracks with a single blow. Ironically, Betty turns out to be the perfect match for Evelyn, and Dr. Marlowe achieves his long sought-after dream, only to have the sheriff barge in on them. Marlowe threatens the lawman with a knife, and the sheriff shoots him once. During his final dying moments, Marlowe learns that the ritual using Betty has worked. When Marlowe dies, not only does Evelyn finally bite the dust, but also the four girls are released from their hypnotic trances.Afterward, Ralph submits a screenplay about his adventures with Marlowe and calls it "Voodoo Man." Nobody takes anything seriously because the producer asks Ralph about the ideal actor to play the role of the mad scientist, and Ralph recommends Bela Lugosi for the role. Clocking in at a trim 62 minutes, "Voodoo Man" is as brisk as it is elemental, but there isn't a shred of horror in it. John Carradine takes top honors as one of Dr. Marlowe's slow-witted goons. Lugosi appears in an evening suit with a goatee, but he isn't in the least menacing. Nothing memorable occurs aside from the oddball voodoo ceremony.