Voodoo Unto Others

 

 (themoviedb.org)

THE DISEMBODIED-1957-Dr. Carl Metz (John Wengraf) lives in the jungle with his younger, unhappy, bitchy native wife Tonda (Allison Hayes). Behind his back, she performs a type of voodoo to get rid of him. Enter two white men, Tom (Paul Burke) and Norm (Joe Marston), photo journalists with a wounded friend Joe (Robert Christopher). Tonda takes them to her husband but he can't save Joe. When they hear drums, the men decide to investigate despite the warnings from their native guide Gogi (Paul Thompson). They discover Tonda dancing erotically. She's the voodoo queen who uses servant Suba (Dean Fredericks: later the star of THE PHANTOM PLANET (1961)), a chicken and a doll to cure their friend Joe. Next day Suba is found with his heart cut out. Later Tonda tells Tom she's afraid of her husband and they embrace but a seemingly bewitched Joe attacks Tom. He says “kill the white man”. Tonda blames her husband but from the look on her face, she's probably lying. Tom confronts Metz at gunpoint and tells him to cure Joe. Tom is stopped but Metz suspects his wife. When Joe disappears, Metz warns Tom to leave. Tonda declares her love for Tom but he rejects her. He and Norm and Gogi plan to leave but they find Gogi dead, their jeep disabled and their guns missing. After Tonda stabs her husband and it's clear he's dying, Tom tries to trick Tonda into saving his life. It backfires but when Tonda is killed everything works out. 

This is just some standard jungle voodoo love triangle on a very low budget. Of course it's always nice to see Allison Hayes on any budget. This was director Walter Grauman's first job. He later went into TV (One of his early efforts was a color version of “Frankenstein” in 1957 with ex-boxer Primo Carnera as the monster!) and occasionally made a feature film (like LADY IN A CAGE (1964)). He also made some seldom seen entries into ABC's “Movie Of The Week” like THE OLD MAN WHO CRIED WOLF and CROWHAVEN FARM (both 1970).

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Not Bad For TV!

DAUGHTER OF THE MIND-20th Century Fox TV-(1969)-This TV movie (based on a Paul Gallico novel) concerns a professor (Ray Milland) who sees and talks to the ghostly apparition of his dead daughter (familiar child TV actress Pamelyn Ferdin). All signs seem to agree that the ghost child is real but government agent Edward Asner thinks it might be “Cold War Enemies” trying to get the professor to defect! Don Murray is a psychic researcher who investigates.

Not a bad little movie as pseudo-supernatural TV movies go despite a couple of outrageous plot tie-ups. Gene Tierney is Milland’s wheelchair bound wife, George Macready is his colleague and John Carradine has an enjoyable cameo. Also with Barbara Dana and Virginia Christine.

Director Walter Grauman directed episodes of many TV series including The Twilight Zone episode “Miniature”, The Fugitive, The Untouchables and V. He made other good but seldom seen TV movies including CROWHAVEN FARM (also featuring Carradine), DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES and THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO TV pilot. He made a few feature films including THE DISEMBODIED (with Alison Hayes) and  LADY IN A CAGE. Screenwriter Luther Davis wrote the Broadway play Kismet!

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