Trivia / White Zombie

The 1932 film:

• Actor-Inspired Element: Bela Lugosi apparently helped re-write and re-stage some scenes, and even directed some re-takes.
• Creator's Favorite Episode: According to his son, the film was a personal favorite of Bela Lugosi's.
• Dark Horse Casting: Aside from Bela Lugosi and Joseph Cawthorn, the majority of the cast were actors from the Silent Era experiencing career downturns.
• Fake Nationality: Bela Lugosi was of course Hungarian playing a white Haitian. He speaks a few sentences of French in a flawless accent, and it's unknown if he was fluent in the language.
• Follow the Leader: The film was made to cash in on America's growing fascination with voodoo, first starting with a 1929 book called The Magic Island and then a Broadway play titled Zombie. The film was heavily inspired by the play in particular.
• Missing Episode: It was thought to be completely lost, until it was suddenly rediscovered in the 1960s.
• No Budget: An independent film made for only $50,000.
• The Other Marty: Another unknown actor filmed some scenes as the coach driver before being replaced by Clarence Muse. Some footage of him survives in the finished film.
• Playing Against Type: Joseph Cawthorn was mainly known for playing the Plucky Comic Relief.
• Prop Recycling: The chair props were originally from The Cat & the Canary.
• Recycled Set: Many of the sets were recycled from other films. The great halls came from Dracula (1931), the hanging balcony from The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), the dark corridors from Frankenstein (1931), and Legendre's castle interiors from the RKO film The King of Kings.