Drums o' Voodoo

Hmmmmm. I don't know if I should rightfully rate or review this movie. I saw a terribly edited copy of it free on YouTube. It was so bad I know I missed entire portions including the end! Put it this way-- IMDb lists the runtime as an hour and ten minutes; the copy I watched had a runtime of just over forty-eight minutes.

"She Devil" aka "Drums O Voodoo" starred Laura Bowman, Augustus Smith, Morris McKenny, and Edna Barr. Laura Bowman played Hagar, a voodoo woman; hence the name of the movie. Augustus Smith played Amos Berry, a reverend at a church. It seemed like the church and the church goers were both at odds with Hagar and in harmony with her at the same time. It was as if they disapproved of her methods while not denying its place and its effectiveness.

Amos Berry had qualms with Tom Catt (Morris McKenny). Tom was an unrepentant disbeliever in both the church and voodoo. He was also a no-good criminal type who knew a secret about Berry that he threatened to reveal to the church thereby getting Berry run out. Tom would keep Berry's secret so long as Berry allowed him to have a relationship with his niece Myrtle (Edna Barr). As much as Berry loved being the reverend, he loved his niece more, and he couldn't bear the idea of Tom Catt being involved with her.

I really don't understand the pitifully low rating of this movie. I've seen a lot worse. The acting and stage set up is very much like a theater production instead of a movie production, but I'm not holding that against it.

By 1934 movie making was a lot further along than that depicted in "Drums O Voodoo," but it's not like it was decades behind. "Drums O Voodoo" had promise. It wasn't wholly realized, but it wasn't a total flop either.

Free on YouTube.