The Walking Dead

A scientist (Edmund Gwenn) revives a man (Boris Karloff) framed and executed by a group of racketeers for a crime he didn’t commit.

The Walking Dead is a surprisingly workable combination of the gangster and horror genres buoyed by a great performance from Boris Karloff.

As the lead, Karloff is both sympathetic and menacing. Although the script gives him little to do after being revived, Karloff none-the-less manages to command a strong presence.

But it’s that aforementioned problem of Karloff having little to do once he’s revived that hurts the film. From that point on, Karloff does little more than shamble toward the men who set him up. These men, so terrified by Karloff’s shambling, inevitably end up offing themselves as they try to escape. While it’s clearly meant to be a form of poetic justice, it comes across as lazy writing.

Still, there’s an awful lot of story crammed into the film’s brief 66 minute running time, and director Michael Curtiz moves thing along very efficiently, handling both the gangster and horror elements well.

Thus, while often overlooked amid the Universal horror films of the same decade, The Walking Dead is definitely recommended for Karloff fans.