I Walked with a Zombie

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I Walked with a Zombie

Directed by	Jacques Tourneur
Produced by	Val Lewton
Written by	Inez Wallace (story) Curt Siodmak and Ardel Wray
Starring	James Ellison, Frances Dee, Tom Conway
Music by	Roy Webb
Cinematography	J. Roy Hunt
Distributed by	RKO Radio Pictures Inc.
Release date(s)	March 17, 1943 (U.S. release)
Running time	69 min.
Language	English
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I Walked with a Zombie is a 1943 horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur.

This was the second horror film from producer Val Lewton for RKO Pictures (The first was the very successful Cat People). The film was edited by Mark Robson, who would later direct The Seventh Victim and The Ghost Ship for producer Lewton.

As was typical of many of Lewton's horror films, he was given the film's title and, with the aid of credited writers, he created the story around the title. Also typical of many Lewton films, the supernatural is treated ambiguously, and it's never entirely clear how some events should be interpreted.

I Walked was a critical and financial success. It has since been acclaimed for its haunting atmosphere and nuanced performances. It is not a "zombie movie" in the common sense of the term, but it is arguably more accurate and sensitive in depicting Caribbean culture and voodoo rites and beliefs than many horror films.^[1]

1 Plot Overview
2 References to I Walked With A Zombie in other media
- 2.1 Books
- 2.2 Music
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Plot Overview

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The plot is loosely based on Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre (1847).

Betsy Connell (Francis Dee), a recently graduated nurse from Canada, is hired to take care of a "mental case" living in a remote location on St. Sebastian, a fictional island in the West Indies.

The sick woman, Jessica Holland (Christine Gordon) lives with her husband Paul Holland (Tom Conway) and his half-brother Wesley Rand (James Ellison) on a sugar cane plantation. Paul Holland blames himself for his wife's illness, as she contracted a lenghty fever after moving to St. Sebastian to be with him, and is in a near-catatonic state. The alcoholic Wesley is conflicted, wanting to leave the island but not wanting to abandon Jessica, who he loves.

With the help of a local doctor, Betsey attempts to revive the woman from her trance-like state, but nothing seems to work. Later, after hearing about a local witch doctor who can treat any ailment, the nurse takes the woman from the plantation and walks her to the witch doctor. This is one of the film's most memorable scenes, when the nurse guides the sick woman through the high sugar cane fields at night trying to find the voodoo practitioners. The only sound in the scene is the wind blowing and the distant drums.

The "witch doctor" turns out to be Mrs. Rand (Edith Barrett), the mother of Wesley and Paul. She masqerades as the voodoo priest in order to give medical advice to the natives, who otherwise deny the effectiveness of modern medicine. But when Mrs. Holland fails to bleed after being cut at the voodoo ritual, the locals think she has been turned into a zombie, and decide to cure her.

[edit] References to I Walked With A Zombie in other media

[edit] Books

This film was referenced in the novel Kiss of the Spider Woman by Argentine novelist Manuel Puig. In the book, two inmates pass the time by discussing the films one of them has seen. Though I Walked With A Zombie is not specifically mentioned, it is hinted at, as is Cat People, a previous Lewton-Tourneur film.

[edit] Music

Wednesday 13 featured a song called "I Walked With A Zombie" on their debut album
Roky Erickson released a song called "I Walked With A Zombie" on his 1981 record, The Evil One
UK Subs included a cover of Roky Erickson's song "I Walked With A Zombie" on their 1991 record Mad Cow Fever