It had only been a year since King Kong, and so that film’s star is second-billed in 1934’s Black Moon.  I find that odd, since Fay Wray is a tertiary character in this, at best.  Curiously it is third-billed Dorothy Burgess who is the true star here.

This is a high society woman who was raised on an island plantation.  She was raised by some in the indigenous Black population after the death of her mother.  Since then, she has lived in the states with her wealthy industrialist husband (Jack Holt), with whom she has a young daughter (Cora Sue Collins). 

Now Burgess has returned to the island with her daughter to stay in the gated fortress of her uncle (Arnold Korff).  She is increasingly spending time with “her people”, raising concerns from Korff and his white house staff.  The uncle is also concerned about the potential for a revolt.  Back in the city, Holt is also increasingly worried about his wife and daughter.  Wray, as his extremely devoted secretary, had been sent by him to assist Burgess and she soon asks that he also come to help them. 

There’s good reason for everybody’s worries.  The island’s homegrown religion requires human sacrifice and Burgess has arrived just in time for that.  I doubt the term is acceptable anymore, but everybody is wondering if she has “gone native”.  It does seem odd she leaves the complex each night and doesn’t return until dawn.

It is no surprise this film’s portrayal of the local populace would be deemed unacceptable even just a couple of decades after this was released.  What did catch me off guard is Burgess’s defense of those people.  She has some good arguments in support of them; however, the perspective of the film will eventually fall on the side of her being delusional when she made such statements.  I will concede that a token effort to frame the belief system of an indigenous culture is better than no effort at all.  It also interesting to see how strong-willed Burgess is, though that’s something we wouldn’t see so starting the year after this was made, as women with agency would be another victim of the Production Code.

Speaking of which, you know this is before the code went into effect when Wray tells Holt there’s a certain married man she’s in love with, but she won’t live in sin—though only because he hasn’t asked her to.  Holt is so dim that he doesn’t seem to grasp she’s hinting he is the object of her affection.  Another bit I doubt would have survived the code is the dangling feet of the hung corpse of the compound’s radio operator.

I found it strange nobody just tries to use the radio until finally Holt steps in to do so, because he has a radio operator’s license.  It seemed daft to me that, regardless of how much or little they others know about the equipment, nobody just starts pressing buttons, turning random dials and screaming for their lives.

Black Moon is definitely a relic from its time, but it has a certain vibe to it that I liked.  It feels in many ways similar to the highly atmospheric I Walked With a Zombie.  Yes, there are many problems here with how the film regards non-Causasians.  What I found interesting while watching it is that, if one was to take the same film and change the setting to the rural England and the characters to white villagers, you would have a proper folk horror film.

Dir: Roy William Neill

Starring Dorothy Burgess, Fay Wray, Jack Holt

Watched on Imprint Australia blu-ray (region-free)