Zombies of Mora Tau

My Edward L. Cahn continues with a 1957 horror film, Zombies of Mora Tau, that was also known as The Dead That Walk.

Set in Africa, a young woman (Autumn Russell) returns to her great-grandmother's home. The old lady (Marjorie Eaton) maintains that a group of sailors, who died in a shipwreck, still walk the area--they are walking dead. One of them was the ship's captain, her husband. They guard the ship's hold, which contains a cask of diamonds. Numerous expeditions have attempted to find the diamonds, but the zombies have killed them all.

A new expedition, led by a captain (Joel Ashley), his wife (Allison Hayes), and a diver (Gregg Palmer), have arrived. Eaton shows them the graveyard, where all of the previous hunters have been buried. A group of fresh graves have been dug, awaiting their new occupiers. Hayes, who with her tight dresses and high heels didn't exactly dress for the occasion, falls into one of the graves. Foreshadowing!

The only thrills to speak of in this film is the somewhat creepy appearance of the zombies, who have super strength, move really slowly, and are afraid of fire. Why the living don't set fire to them, I don't know. The zombies can also walk underwater (they don't need to breathe, after all), and it's kind of neat to see them walking along the sea floor as Palmer, in his bulky diving suit, tries to open the safe in the ship's hold.

A note about Hayes, who made many B-films in the '50s, including the iconic title role in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. She died at the age of 46, crippled by mysterious illness. She learned that a calcium supplement was full of lead, and after her death the FDA banned its use.