Voodoo Man

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1944 film by William Beaudine

title: "Voodoo Man" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1944-horror-films", "1944-films", "1944-american-films", "1940s-english-language-films", "american-black-and-white-films", "american-mad-scientist-films", "american-supernatural-horror-films", "american-zombie-films", "english-language-horror-films", "films-about-voodoo", "films-directed-by-william-beaudine", "films-produced-by-sam-katzman", "monogram-pictures-films"] description: "1944 film by William Beaudine" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voodoo_Man" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 1944 film by William Beaudine ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox film"]

Field	Value
name	Voodoo Man
image	Voodoo Man.jpg
caption	Promotional release poster
director	William Beaudine
producer	Sam Katzman
Jack Dietz
writer	Robert Charles
(original story and screenplay)
starring	Bela Lugosi
John Carradine
George Zucco
music	Edward Kay
(musical director)
cinematography	Marcel LePicard
editing	Carl Pierson
studio	Banner Productions
distributor	Monogram Pictures Corp.
released
runtime	62 minutes
country	United States
language	English
::

Voodoo Man is a 1944 American horror film directed by William Beaudine, and starring Bela Lugosi, John Carradine and George Zucco.

Plot

Nicholas runs an isolated gas station in the countryside. One night, he gives a young woman driver directions to Twin Falls, but after she leaves, he notifies someone via a special telephone. Two men, Toby and Grego, block the road with a traffic barricade and uncover a previously hidden road. They capture her; she is the third woman motorist reported missing on Laurel Road that month.

Hollywood screenwriter Ralph Benton turns down his boss's suggestion that these disappearances would make a good horror script, as he is getting married soon. By chance, he stops at Nicholas's gas station, but drives off before the attendant can pump any fuel. He runs out of gas. Meanwhile, another woman driver, Stella Saunders, stops at the station and receives the same directions. This time, however, Ralph hitches a ride with her. It turns out she is to be the maid of honor at the wedding of her cousin Betty to "some sap from Hollywood": himself. Dr. Richard Marlowe watches by television as the car is mysteriously disabled. When Ralph leaves to seek help at a house visible in the distance, Marlowe orders his men to kidnap Stella.

Marlowe introduces Stella to his wife Evelyn ... who has been dead for 22 years, though she is mysteriously preserved. He tells Stella that he wants something from her to help his wife, "your will to live, your mind".

Nobody answers when Ralph knocks on the door of Marlowe's house, and he returns to find Stella and the car gone. When he eventually sees Betty, he learns that Stella is missing and goes to the sheriff.

Marlowe, Nicholas and the others prepare a voodoo ceremony. Stella, Evelyn and four women zombies are brought into the room. Marlowe tries to transfer Stella's mind and soul into Evelyn's body to bring her back to life. It works, but only briefly. Marlowe remains determined to find a woman with "perfect affinity". After a visit from the sheriff, Marlowe decides to try again with Stella, but Toby left her cell door open, and she escapes, though in a trance-like state. The sheriff and his deputy find her on the road and take her to the Benton apartment. Toby finds out where she is, and Marlowe goes there to offer his medical expertise. He says she just needs some rest.

Nicholas summons Stella using voodoo. Ralph and Betty go to see Marlowe. He shows them a portrait of his dead wife. When he telephones the sheriff, Evelyn wanders into the entrance of the room and is seen by Ralph and Betty but not Marlowe, before an older woman takes her away. After Ralph and Betty leave, Marlowe wonders if Betty might have "perfect affinity" to his wife. He has Nicholas summon Betty while Ralph is phoning the sheriff. Ralph sets out in pursuit and arrives in the middle of the ceremony, but is promptly knocked out by Grego. The sheriff and his deputy arrive just as Evelyn returns briefly to life. The sheriff shoots Marlowe, who tells his wife "Soon, we will be together," before dying. Stella and Betty come out of their trances.

Ralph turns in a script titled "The Voodoo Man" to his boss, who asks who should star in it. Ralph suggests ... Bela Lugosi.

Cast

Bela Lugosi as Dr. Marlowe
John Carradine as Toby
George Zucco as Nicholas
Wanda McKay as Betty
Louise Currie as Stella
Michael Ames as Ralph
Ellen Hall as Mrs. Marlowe
Terry Walker as Alice
Mary Currier as Mrs. Benton
Claire James as Zombie
Henry Hall as Sheriff
Dan White as Deputy
Pat McKee as Grego
Mici Goty as Housekeeper ::data[format=table title="Uncredited (in order of appearance)"] | Dennis Moore | driver in his car outside the coffee shop | |---|---| ::

Production

This film, along with Return of the Ape Man, shot in seven days beginning on October 16, 1943, were Lugosi's final Monogram features. Both films also featured John Carradine, George Zucco, Michael Ames and Mary Currier. Originally titled Tiger Man by author Andrew Colvin, it was later changed as Voodoo Man and Colvin received no screen credit.

Home media

In 2009, Rifftrax released a humorous audio commentary track satirizing the film, featuring Michael J. Nelson and other performers.

The film was subsequently released by Olive Films on DVD and Blu-ray in 2015.

References

(Spring 2016). "VOODOO MAN". [[The Phantom of the Movies' Videoscope]].
(26 June 1943). "Of Local Origin". New York Times.
"Voodoo Man". amazon.ca.
Tyner, Adam. "Voodoo Man".

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