By Frank Miller
The Disembodied
Brief Synopsis
African explorers discover a voodoo cult in the heart of the jungle.
Cast & Crew
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Walter Grauman
Director
Paul Burke
Tom [Maxwell]
Allison Hayes
Tonda
John E. Wengraf
Dr. [Karl] Metz
Eugenia Paul
Lara
Joel Marston
Norman [Adams]
Film Details
Also Known As
Voodoo Girl, Voodoo Woman
Genre
Horror/Science-Fiction
Horror
Release Date
Aug
25,
1957
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Allied Artists Pictures Corp.
Distribution Company
Allied Artists Pictures Corp.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 6m
Synopsis
Author-lecturer Tom Maxwell and his companions, Norman Adams and Joe Lawson, are on a photographic safari in Africa when Joe is mauled by a lion. His companions and native guide, Gogi, carry Joe on a stretcher to the jungle compound of Dr. Karl Metz, who attempts to save Joe's life. Tonda, Metz's much younger wife, who has been attempting to kill her husband by casting a voodoo spell on him, is immediately attracted to Tom and attempts to seduce him. After Metz's manservant, Suba, observes Tom and Tonda together and threatens to tell the doctor, Tonda seduces Suba, thereby incurring the wrath of Suba's wife Lara, who sees them embrace. During the night, Tonda performs a voodoo ritual on Joe then participates in a voodoo dance ceremony involving Suba. The drums awaken Tom and Norman and as they watch Tonda dancing, a frightened Gogi tells them that she is a voodoo queen. The next morning, when Tom and Norman find Joe completely cured, but still in shock, Metz cannot explain how Joe's wounds healed overnight. After Suba's body is found with his heart cut out, Tom and Norman return to the site of the voodoo ceremony and determine that Suba was killed there as part of the ritual. Norman, anxious to leave this strange place, goes with Gogi to try to bring their disabled jeep to the compound. When Metz tells Tom that he is actually a doctor of psychology, Tom asks him if he has any knowledge of voodoo, which Tom experienced while researching a book in Haiti. Metz states that he has made some notes on the local practices, but warns Tom that further inquiry would prove dangerous. Joe, now in a trance-like state, appears to be under Tonda's control. When Joe sees Tom and Tonda kissing, he attacks Tom with a knife, but Tom overpowers him. Tom then threatens to kill Metz unless he explains Joe's condition. The doctor replies that he is not responsible for Joe's state and later accuses his wife of meddling in voodoo and of being romantically involved with Tom. After Norman and Gogi return with the jeep, Tom prepares to leave and Tonda persuades him to take her with them. When Tonda insists that Tom kill her husband, Tom refuses and, after Tonda threatens him with a knife, he slaps her and tells her to stay away from him. Early the next morning, Tom and Norman find that Gogi has been stabbed to death and all their guns are missing. That night, when Tom attempts to steal some of Metz's weapons, Metz surprises him, gives him a gun and requests to accompany them. When Metz tells Tonda that he will not be returning, she stabs him. Soon after, Kabar, another servant, dies suddenly, a victim of Tonda's voodoo. As Norman is about to leave to get help for the wounded Metz, he props up Kabar's body in the jeep, making it appear that Kabar is still alive and that Tonda's voodoo has failed. Confused by her apparent failure, Tonda begins another ritual in which she commands Joe, who is still under her spell, to kill Tom. However, just as Joe is about to attack Tom, Lara appears and stabs Tonda to death, thereby releasing her control over Joe. Later, as Metz recovers, Tom, Norman and Joe head back to civilization.
Director
Walter Grauman
Director
Cast
Paul Burke
Tom [Maxwell]
Allison Hayes
Tonda
John E. Wengraf
Dr. [Karl] Metz
Eugenia Paul
Lara
Joel Marston
Norman [Adams]
Robert Christopher
Joe [Lawson]
Norman Fredric
Suba
A. E. Ukono
Voodoo drum leader
Paul Thompson
Gogi
Otis Greene
Kabar
Samadu Jackson
Witch doctor
Gloria Jean Reynolds
Dancer
Donna Jean Jones
Dancer
Cecil Penrice
Musician
Julius Chabala
Musician
Alex Koffi Ametowo
Musician
Crew
William Austin
Film Editor
Ralph Butler
Recording
Irene Caine
Wardrobe
Sam Gordon
Props
Del Harris
Sound Editing
Bert Henrikson
Wardrobe
Austen Jewell
Assistant Director
Joseph Kish
Set Decoration
Emile Lavigne
Makeup Artist
Augie Lohman
Special Effects
Richard Michaels
Set Construction
David Milton
Art Director
Alice Monte
Hairdresser
Fred Morgan
Stills
Harry Neumann
Director of Photography
Lindsley Parsons Jr.
2d Assistant Director
Herman Rotsten
Dialogue Director
Ben Schwalb
Producer
Marlin Skiles
Music
Jack Townley
Writer
James West
Constr Supervisor
Allen K. Wood
Production Manager
Film Details
Also Known As
Voodoo Girl, Voodoo Woman
Genre
Horror/Science-Fiction
Horror
Release Date
Aug
25,
1957
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Allied Artists Pictures Corp.
Distribution Company
Allied Artists Pictures Corp.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 6m
Articles
The Disembodied (1957) -
A year before she succumbed to the screen's most famous growth spurt in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958), Allison Hayes starred as Tonda, a jungle doctor's bored wife who turns to voodoo to brighten her nights. The name Tonda may have been a reference to Hedy Lamarr's jungle temptress Tondelayo in White Cargo (1942), and Hayes, a sultry brunette with a truly spectacular figure, does more than her share of tempting. She seduces her husband's native servant before turning her attention to explorer Paul Burke. When he proves to be the only man who can resist her magic spell, Hayes ups the volume, with predictably violent results. Where other jungle-set horror films of the day presented more traditional monsters -- murderous apes, medical experiments gone wrong and even a killer tree in From Hell It Came (1957), which played theatres on a double bill with THE DISEMBODIED -- this time the monster is Tonda, labeled a "fiendish tigress of the jungle" in the film's ads. Hayes was always one of the chief attractions of her low-budget films, as much for her talent as for her beauty. Though she never got to shine in more critically respectable films, she remains one of the delights of Poverty Row production.
By Frank Miller
By Frank Miller
The Disembodied (1957) -
A year before she succumbed to the screen's most famous growth spurt in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958), Allison Hayes starred as Tonda, a jungle doctor's bored wife who turns to voodoo to brighten her nights. The name Tonda may have been a reference to Hedy Lamarr's jungle temptress Tondelayo in White Cargo (1942), and Hayes, a sultry brunette with a truly spectacular figure, does more than her share of tempting. She seduces her husband's native servant before turning her attention to explorer Paul Burke. When he proves to be the only man who can resist her magic spell, Hayes ups the volume, with predictably violent results. Where other jungle-set horror films of the day presented more traditional monsters -- murderous apes, medical experiments gone wrong and even a killer tree in From Hell It Came (1957), which played theatres on a double bill with THE DISEMBODIED -- this time the monster is Tonda, labeled a "fiendish tigress of the jungle" in the film's ads. Hayes was always one of the chief attractions of her low-budget films, as much for her talent as for her beauty. Though she never got to shine in more critically respectable films, she remains one of the delights of Poverty Row production.
By Frank Miller
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
This film's working titles were Voodoo Queen and Voodoo Girl. Norman Fredric's and A. E. Ukonu's surnames are misspelled in the end cast list.
