Dec 051935
 
two reels

Gangsters assassinate a judge and frame an ex-con, John Ellman (Boris Karloff).  Two witnesses are too frightened to testify until it is too late and he is electrocuted, but fanatic scientist Evan Beaumont (Edmund Gwenn) resurrects him.  Ellman comes back without his memory, but with knowledge of who is responsible for his death.  Soon, the mobsters begin to die in strange accidents.

A combination gangster-horror film, The Walking Dead is a B-movie of the type no longer made.  I can imagine this playing with a cartoon, a news reel, and a short, along with an A-picture.  That would be the way to see it.  It’s enjoyable, but by itself, it lacks substance.

The first half is purely a crime film, with no supernatural elements.  It doesn’t even build toward or imply the later horror.  It’s a standard Warner Brothers ’30s mob film, focusing on the criminals.  The movie would have been far more powerful if it had spent that time with Ellman, letting us get to know him so that his eventual death and zombie-like rebirth had more meaning.  Once we get to the horror portion, the film is too brief.  The “accidental deaths” have little setup and again, not enough time is spent with Ellman.  More time is given to Edmund Gwenn, who doesn’t feel like a mad scientist, but just a nut who badgers undead Ellman about what being dead is like, even after it is obvious that the poor man has no idea.

While the script is hurried and weak, the directing is top notch from Michael Curtiz (The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Sea Hawk, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Casablanca).  Even in small, low budget films like this, Curtiz’s steady hand and skill makes every scene look good.

What makes The Walking Dead worth your time is Karloff, and how Curtiz films him.  Karloff mixes sinister with confused.  Even with his slight screen time, it’s hard not to care about him as he stands, sad and lost, looking at a “victim.”  The most memorable moment has the reborn Ellman playing the piano before an audience that contains his murders.  Karloff”s performance rivals his work in Bride of Frankenstein as he meets each one’s gaze.

The Walking Dead leaves us with the line “Leave the dead to their maker.  The Lord our God is a jealous god.”  A Biblical statement, but somehow unnerving given the circumstances.  In a horror film, “unnerving” is a good thing.

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