Poverty Row was a group of studios that were notorious for producing low budget films. They were far from the lavish major studios that created stars. They made films that were known for being short in pay for cast and crew, production days and running time. They understood that the key to survival was to not blow big bucks. They knew that they could find a market at movie theaters that need a b-movie to run with a major Hollywood feature. They also were the right price for small movie theaters that couldn’t afford the rental fee on the latest Hollywood blockbuster. They weren’t as exploitive as indie films in the late ’60s and early ’70s thanks to the Hayes Office that had its rules as to what could be show in a cinema. Poverty Row studios did well producing the multi-episode serials that ran between the features. Poverty Row Classics No. 1 – King Of The Zombies & Miss V From Moscow is a double feature of two of the better efforts. King of the Zombies is from Monogram and Miss V From Moscow is a PRC release.
King of the Zombies (1941 – 67 minutes) opens with a plane carrying James “Mac” McCarthy (The Bank Dick‘s Dick Purcell), Jefferson “Jeff” Jackson (The Shanghai Cobra‘s Mantan Moreland) and Bill Summers (Blue Hawaii‘s John Archer) crashes on a remote Carribean island. The airplane smashes into a graveyard. Somehow the three of them survive. They find an old house occupied by Dr. Miklos Sangre (Freaks‘ Henry Victor) and his wife Alyce and their servants. He offers to put the three men up until a boat arrives in two weeks. Jeff is weirded out by the place and swears there’s zombie in the house. There also seems to be a captured sailor tucked away in the basement. What’s really going on in that house? I originally saw King of the Zombies as part of the Creature Double Feature on WLVI-56 in Boston. This film stuck with me after all this time because of Mantan Moreland. He dominates the screen with his lines and physical comedy. The most memorable scene is when the house’s cook Samantha (Cadet Girl‘s Marguerite Whitten) has to prove Mantan hasn’t been turned into a real zombie during a dinner scene. King of the Zombies isn’t stiff thanks to Mantan Moreland.
Miss V From Moscow (1942 – 66 minutes) is a unique wartime movie that attempted to build up a Soviet hero for American audiences. Vera Marova (Torchy Blane in Panama‘s Lola Lane) is a Russian agent who gets smuggled into German occupied Paris to replace a German agent that has been taken out by the French resistance. Can she fool the German soldiers and complete her mission for Moscow. She uses her seductive ways to get the boys from Berlin to spill their secrets. There’s quite a bit of wartime intrigue in the film. The action is intense for the shoestring budget. Actual war footage is spliced into the climax. This film probably didn’t have too much action on TV stations’ night owl movie slot during the Cold War. What station manager wanted to be known for playing a film that glorifies a Soviet undercover age? At least now you can watch Lola Lane working her Russian accent. A great piece of trivia is that Lola Lane is where Jerry Siegel got the name Lois Lane for his new comic book called Superman.
This combination works as a double feature of World War II films. We’re given two different set ups. A female soviet spy working the streets of Paris. A German controlling zombies to get military secrets in the Carribean. You’re not going to see those plots coming from the major studios in the early ’40s. Poverty Row Classics No. 1 – King Of The Zombies & Miss V From Moscow is a double feature that plays as long as regular big studio film.

The Video is 1.33:1 full frame for both movies. The black and white transfer on King of the Zombies looks so much better than previous DVD releases. Miss V From Moscow isn’t that sharp. The Audio is LPCM 2.0 Mono for both films. They’ve cleaned up the soundtracks. Both films are subtitled in English.
DVD has both movies and the bonus features like the Blu-ray.
Audio Commentary on King of the Zombies features Tom Weaver mention how Bela Lugosi was supposed to star in the film. Bela had made 9 other horror films for Monogram at this time. We also learn where the studio recycled the plane crash effect from. Monogram would semi-remake the movie as Revenge of the Zombies with Mantan Moreland back as Jeff. Bela also bailed on this film. Perhaps Bela knew that Mantan Moreland would steal both films? Gary D. Rhodes does readings of interviews Tom Weaver had previously done.
The News Parade of the Year 1941 (9:34) is a classic newsreel. Stories covered include Japan fighting against China, the battles in North Africa, Greece getting attacked by Germany and weapons of wars under construction. There’s great footage of the U.S.S. North Carolina firing off its guns. I went onboard the battleship last spring during a trip to Wilmington. I’m going to include a few photos at the end of this review.
Poverty Row Studios: A Brief History (11:21) is a concise piece about the low budget studios in Hollywood. The focus is on Monogram, PRC and Republic Pictures. The key to studios was they didn’t own soundstages and equipment, so they rented as needed for their shoestring productions. They kept the films short so they would be perfect for cinemas that needed a b-movie for their double bills. There’s quite a bit on Detour, a classic noir from Poverty Row. this is the first part with part 2 coming on the next Poverty Row Classics release.
VCI Entertainment presents: Poverty Row Classics No. 1 – King Of The Zombies & Miss V From Moscow. Directed by Jean Yarbrough & Albert Herman. Starring Mantan Moreland, Joan Woodbury, Dick Purcell, Henry Victor, Lola Lan, Noel Madison and Howard Banks. Boxsets contains 2 movies on 1 Blu-ray disc & 1 DVD. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: January 21, 2025.
And now the U.S.S. North Carolina. Photos by Joe Corey.


