May 14, 2026

This Day in Halloween: Oscar-nominated horror comedy B-Movie "King of the Zombies" opens across the U.S. in 1941. / Illusttration by Uttara Ranjit

King of the Zombies opens across the U.S. in 1941. The horror comedy from B-Movie studio Monogram Pictures is at first intended to be a vehicle for Bela Lugosi, then Peter Lorre, but neither make the movie. Regardless, the film about plane crash survivors and an island of voodoo zombies is a hit and Oscar nominee for Best Score and was followed by sequel Revenge of the Zombies two years later.

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