Revolt of the Zombies 1936

On the Franco-Austrian Frontier during World War I, an Oriental priest, the chaplain of a French colonial regiment, is condemned to life imprisonment because he possesses the power to turn men into zombies, Teru Shimada. In his prison cell, the priest prepares to burn a parchment containing the location of the secret formula. Gen. Mazovia, Roy D’Arcy, kills the priest and takes the partially burned parchment. After the war, an expedition of representatives from the Allied powers with colonial interests is sent to Cambodia to find and destroy forever the so-called “Secret of the Zombies.” The group includes General Mazovia; Armand Louque, Dean Jagger, a student of dead languages; Clifford Grayson, Robert Noland, an Englishman; General Duval, George Cleveland; and his daughter Claire, Dorothy Stone.

Armand and Claire’s relationship soon grows complicated. He falls in love with her, and she agrees to marry him to spite Clifford, whom she actually loves. When Claire seeks comfort with Clifford after an accident, Armand ends the engagement, leaving her free to marry Clifford. Mazovia’s schemes trigger a series of accidents that leave the natives unwilling to work, forcing the expedition to retreat to Phnom Penh. Yet Armand discovers an overlooked clue and returns to Angkor against orders, driven by a mix of curiosity and loyalty.

After observing an ancient ceremony at a temple, Armand trails one of the high priest’s servants through a swamp to a bronze doorway. Inside, a chamber paneled in bronze holds an idol clutching a gong. A single strike on the gong triggers a hidden panel, revealing a small metal tablet. He translates the inscription and realizes that it conceals the secret they have sought. From that moment, he alone seems to wield the power to create zombies, and he tests it first on his own servant before turning his attention to Claire in the story’s dramatic climax. The discovery reshapes the expedition’s fate and rediscovers a dangerous path, where power, love, and loyalty collide in a tense confrontation that teeters between science, superstition, and the voracious pull of a forbidden secret.