The Dead Don't Die (1975 film)

The Dead Don't Die is a 1975 made for television neo-noir horror film set in the 1930s, directed by Curtis Harrington from a screenplay by Robert Bloch. Bloch based his screenplay upon his own story of the same title that first appeared in Fantastic Adventures, July 1951.

Bloch gives his opinion of the movie in his autobiography, Once Around the Bloch. "The Dead Don't Die. Maybe they don't, but the show did. Despite Curtis's casting of accomplished character actors, their supporting roles couldn't prop up the lead. And Ray Milland, who had given such a deftly paced performance in my script for Home Away from Home, merely plodded through his part here like a zombie without a deadline."

Plot

In 1934, Don Drake returns to Chicago after a long sea voyage. He discovers that his brother has been convicted of murdering his wife. Drake is unable to save him from the electric chair, but he is convinced of his brother’s innocence and is determined to clear his name. His investigation leads him to the Loveland Ballroom, the scene of the murder, where his brother was involved in a dance marathon run by Jim Moss. Drake begins seeing his dead brother walking the foggy streets. Drake kills a man named Perdido, who later climbs out of a coffin and attacks him. Police Lieutenant Reardon doesn’t believe Drake’s story, and Reardon later finds Perdido is alive and well. As Drake presses his investigation, he learns of a mystery man named Varrick, whom no one has ever seen and who might be using Haitian voodoo to bring people back from the dead.

Cast list

• George Hamilton ... Don Drake
• Linda Cristal ... Vera LaValle
• Joan Blondell ... Levenia
• Ralph Meeker ... Lt. Reardon
• James McEachin ... Frankie Specht
• Reggie Nalder ... Perdido
• Ray Milland ... Jim Moss/Varrick
• Jerry Douglas ... Ralph Drake
• William O'Connell ... Priest
• Yvette Vickers ... Miss Adrian

See also

• List of American films of 1975

External links

• The Dead Don't Die at IMDb
• Review at Notcoming.com [1]