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Obeah!

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Obeah!
Directed byF. Herrick Herrick
Written byRobert Carse[1]
Story byF. Herrick Herrick
Starring
CinematographyHarry W. Smith
Edited byLeonard Weiss
Production
company
Arcturus Pictures
Release date
  • February 1935 (1935-02)
Running time
75 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Obeah![2] is a 1935 American horror film directed by F. Herrick Herrick and starring Jean Brooks and Phillips Lord. In the United Kingdom, the film was released under the title The Mystery Ship.[1] It is believed to be a lost film, as no copies of it are known to exist.[3]

Plot

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A sailor, known as "The Adventurer," searching for a lost American explorer discovers him being held hostage on a remote island in the South Sea. The man is held captive by the island's natives, who have placed him under a voodoo spell known as "obeah." The Adventurer attempts to halt a death ritual but fails, and the explorer dies. The Adventurer is forced to flee the island, taking with him a native woman and the daughter of the dead explorer.

With the help of a map taken from the explorer, the three attempt to locate a chest of gold that has been sunk off the island shore. Meanwhile, the high priest of the island people casts a curse on the three, and a love triangle ensues between those on the ship.[a]

Cast

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Production

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The film was produced by the New York City-based production company Arcturus Pictures.[8] Based on a story by director F. Herrick Herrick,[9] the film's script was written by Robert Carse, the film's production began in June 1934[10] and lasted several weeks. The film was shot on location in Kingston, Jamaica.[11]

An additional article published in Film Daily claimed the film's shoot lasted a total of eleven months, shot on a worldwide cruise that stopped in over twenty countries.[6] Later trade reports reported the shoot had only lasted four months.[6] The ship's crew as well as various unknown performers appear in the film.[6] Scenes were filmed at Papine and Port Royal, alongside interior shots in downtown Kingston bars.[12]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ This plot summary is based entirely on a re-published article provided by the American Film Institute, extracted from The Film Daily (February 1935)[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b Polack 2017, p. 49.
  2. ^ "Obeah! (1935)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on July 30, 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  3. ^ Thomas, Hilda (7 April 2015). "Of Myth and Magic: Exploring Superstitions and Traditional Beliefs from Latin America and the Caribbean". Nearshore Americas. Archived from the original on 20 December 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  4. ^ "Obeah!". The Film Daily: 11. 13 February 1935.
  5. ^ "Obeah". American Film Institute. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d Rhodes, Gary D. (2001). White Zombie: Anatomy of a Horror Film. McFarland. p. 180. ISBN 978-0-786-42762-8.
  7. ^ Polack 2017, p. 48.
  8. ^ Polack 2017, p. 46.
  9. ^ Hanson, Patricia King, ed. (1971). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States. Vol. 1. University of California Press. p. 329. ISBN 978-0-520-07908-3.
  10. ^ Polack 2017, p. 47.
  11. ^ Polack 2017, pp. 48–9.
  12. ^ Polack, Peter. Jamaica, the Land of Film, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2017, p. 46–48.

Works cited

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