I Walked with a Zombie

1943
PG
1h 9m

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

15K

YOUR RATING

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74 Photos

Supernatural Horror Zombie Horror Drama Fantasy Horror Romance

A nurse is hired to care for the wife of a sugar plantation owner, who has been acting strangely, on a Caribbean island.A nurse is hired to care for the wife of a sugar plantation owner, who has been acting strangely, on a Caribbean island.A nurse is hired to care for the wife of a sugar plantation owner, who has been acting strangely, on a Caribbean island.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

15K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 4 nominations total

Alma
(as Teresa Harris)

Sir Lancelot

Calypso Singer

Darby Jones

Carrefour

Jeni Le Gon

Dancer
(as Jeni LeGon)

Richard Abrams

Clement
(uncredited)

Doris Ake

Black Friend of Melise
(uncredited)

Rita Christiani

Friend of Melise
(uncredited)

Vivian Dandridge

Melisse
(uncredited)

Alan Edmiston

Job Interviewer
(uncredited)

Kathleen Hartsfield

Dancer
(uncredited)

Norman Mayes

Bayard
(uncredited)

Jieno Moxzer

Sabreur
(uncredited)

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Edith Barrett, who played the mother, was only 3 years older than James Ellison, who played her younger son, Wesley. She was 2 years younger than Tom Conway, who played her older son, Paul.

Goofs
When Besty goes to talk with Wes on the porch about an hour into the film, they are both lit by light coming through the louvered door to the left. But, in the next closer shot, that striped lighting pattern disappears.

Quotes
[first lines]
Betsy Connell: [voice over, giggling after the first line] I walked with a zombie. It does seem an odd thing to say. Had anyone said that to me a year ago, I'm not at all sure I would have known what a zombie was. Oh, I might have had some notion that they were strange and frightening... even a little funny. It all began in such an ordinary way...

Crazy credits
At the beginning, in small letters at the bottom of the screen is this disclaimer: The characters and events depicted in this photoplay are fictional. Any similarity to any persons, living, dead, OR POSSESSED, is entirely coincidental.

Connections
Featured in Aweful Movies with Deadly Earnest: I Walked with a Zombie (1969)

Soundtracks
O Marie Congo
(uncredited)
Traditional
Performed by ensemble
[Sung by the crew of the clipper ship]

User reviews143

Featured review

9/10

Lyrical and Atmospheric

"I Walked with a Zombie", besides having one of the oddest movie titles, took a different approach to the horror genre than the popular Universal movies of the day. Maybe it harkens back to the earlier Universal heavies like "Dracula" and "Bride of Frankenstein". Made by Val Lewton and Jacques Tourneur, they crafted their collaborations using a poetic, dreamlike approach to cinematic storytelling. Lyrical and atmospheric, "I Walked with a Zombie" recounts the story of a Canadian nurse sent to a small West Indian sugar island to tend for a young comatose woman, the wife of the island's plantation owner. What's wrong with her? Hints abound through the songs of the calypso singers, bits of dialogue, objects in the movie. The story, as odd as it is, is not told directly. You may think it is, but at the end of the film, you're not so certain of what's happened. Were the events the work of the supernatural? Was a crime committed? Or both? Or neither? It's difficult to say. I recommend this movie, it's important not to forget the older, off-beat films.