Zombies of Mora Tau
Zombies of Mora Tau
| 01 March 1957 (USA)
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A fortune hunter leads a search for diamonds guarded by undead sailors off the coast of Africa.

Reviews
Supelice Dreadfully Boring
Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.
Portia Hilton Blistering performances.
Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
Scott LeBrun An expedition is launched to loot the treasure of a sunken ship off the African coast. But what the participants don't know is that their expedition is just the latest in a long line of failed attempts to obtain these highly coveted diamonds. The ships' long undead crewmen now exist as zombies and will kill anyone who comes near. Among the people on this trip are pragmatic hero Jeff Clark (Gregg Palmer), Dr. Eggert (Morris Ankrum), a professor who's writing a book, George Harrison (!) (Joel Ashley), ostensibly the man in charge, and Georges' wife Mona (Allison Hayes). Area local Mrs. Peters (Marjorie Eaton) knows the score, but George and company are just too stubborn to listen.To start with, this viewer agrees that it's stupid how the surviving characters remain pretty clueless about the fate of one of them, despite Mrs. Peters' words. And those "underwater" sequences aren't exactly convincing. But otherwise, this is "good" goofy fun for lovers of silly schlock from this era. It might not have enough action for some audience members, but it has an irresistible midnight movie appeal and a sufficient amount of low budget black & white atmosphere. The zombies themselves are never too threatening. The cast gives the proceedings very straight faced performances; Palmer is a decent hero, Autumn Russell is pretty as his leading lady, Ashley is an amusing jerk, Hayes (otherwise known as the 50 foot woman) is hilariously bitchy in her part, and Ankrum as always is a delight to watch. It's a hoot to note the fact that these particular zombies are like Frankensteins' monster and have an aversion to fire.Overall, this is deliciously daft horror, guided by prolific B director of the era Edward Cahn, that at least only goes on for a fairly trim 69 minutes. Ray Corrigan, who played the alien in Cahns' well regarded "It! The Terror from Beyond Space", appears here as a sailor.Seven out of 10.
Uriah43 The year is 1894 and somewhere off the coast of Africa a crew from the ship "Susan B" raids an ancient temple and seizes a cask full of diamonds. A violent quarrel then erupts within the crew leaving around 10 of them—to include the captain—dead. However, when the crew tries to leave, the dead crew members return and kill them. The "Susan B" is sunk and the diamonds are left in her cargo hold. Many years later an American ship arrives and her captain, "George Harrison" is intent upon getting his hands on the diamonds. With him is his wife, "Mona" (Allison Hayes) and a skilled diver named "Jeff Clark" (Gregg Palmer). What they don't fully realize is that this treasure is guarded by zombies who have been resurrected by a type of voodoo. Neither do they realize just how incredibly strong the zombies are until one of them captures a pretty blonde named "Jan Peters" (Autumn Russell) and Jeff almost dies in the attempt to free her. Still, greed is a powerful force and it gets the best of them as this group continues to try to get this treasure even though 4 or 5 other European groups have died in the attempt over the past 50 years or so. Now, people who aren't accustomed to "old-style zombies" may not like or appreciate this film too much. After all, it's in black and white and the zombies are nothing like what we currently see in the movies today. They don't bite and infect anyone with a virus. And there are no graphic scenes. Additionally, the acting wasn't that great either. But this was what horror films looked like back in the 50's and while it isn't necessarily "scary" by today's standards, it does have some suspense and creepiness all the same. Again though, this film may not appeal to everyone. But I enjoyed it and I rate it as slightly above average all the same.
vtcavuoto Sam Katzman's "Zombies of Mora Tau" is a decent film. There is enough action and suspense to keep your attention. It has a good cast(Morris Ankrum, Gregg Palmer and Allison Hayes), tight direction and a chilling musical score. An expedition heads out to recover some diamonds. Previous attempts have lead to the deaths of those who have tried over the years. They are guarded by the Zombies and anyone attempting to retrieve them meets a horrible death or in the case of Allison Hayes, turns into a Zombie as well. The ending has a nice twist to it. I'm not into Zombie movies but this was fun to watch if not a bit hokey in some parts. Still, a nice little gem of a film.
Scarecrow-88 A crew seeking diamonds in an African watery tomb, encounter the zombie sailor thieves who once stole it not willing to allow their treasure into others' hands even after death. An elderly woman, Grandmother Peters(Marjorie Eaton) who lives in a home nearby, whose husband was the skipper of that unfortunate voyage and her reason for relocating roots in Africa, warns the crew that death will be their only reward for removing the diamond chest from it's underwater crypt. She believes that if the diamonds are dispersed throughout(preferably over an ocean, each individual diamond separately)then the undead crew's souls will be at rest. These zombies are afraid of fire, but can not be harmed by any form of weaponry. In a hilarious turn of events, George Harrison(Joel Ashley)who is commissioning this new voyage, loses his wife, the lecherous crude beauty, Mona(Allison Hayes)to the undead. Gregg Palmer is Jeff Clark, the flawed heroic sailor on the voyage, who often goes underwater to retrieve the treasure box despite zombie resistance. He wishes to retire from the low-income position of sailor and the allure of the diamonds puts his life in often peril. He and Grandmother Peters' granddaughter Jan(Autumn Russell)fall in love during the movie..Jeff actually saves Jan from being "zombie-fied" when captured by one of the undead.This zombie crapfest has to be seen to be believed. Quite a stupid premise isn't lifted by the cast's unbelievably moronic behavior. You have this threat..if anything, burn their bodies! Eliminate the threat the only reasonable way available. How the undead crew became zombies is never explained. How the film ends with them being released from their supposed curse is laughable. And, why Mona, no matter how mad she might be(..and, really, the situation she explodes in anger about is so silly it's hard to fathom why she'd cause such a scene), could run off into the forest with the zombie threat so present is beyond explanation. Just a really terrible zombie movie..might be worth watching for a couple of isolated laughs, at the filmmakers' expense. Certain to gain a following.