Black Zoo

Black Zoo
Black Zoo
	Film poster by Reynold Brown
Directed by	Robert Gordon
Written by	Aben Kandel; Herman Cohen
Produced by	Herman Cohen
Starring	Michael Gough; Jeanne Cooper; Rod Lauren; Virginia Grey; Jerome Cowan; Elisha Cook, Jr.
Cinematography	Floyd Crosby
Edited by	Michael Luciano
Music by	Paul Dunlap
Distributed by	Allied Artists Pictures Corporation
Release date	May 15, 1963 (U.S. premiere)
Running time	88 min.
Country	United States
Language	English

Black Zoo is a 1963 American horror film directed by Robert Gordon and starring Michael Gough, Jeanne Cooper, Rod Lauren, Virginia Grey, Jerome Cowan, and Elisha Cook, Jr. It was produced and co-written by Herman Cohen. It is a violent, gore-filled tale.

Plot[]

Michael Conrad is a private zookeeper who owns Conrad's Animal Kingdom. He leads a cult group who literally worship the animals he tends — especially the big cats: a lion, a lioness, a pair of cheetahs, a tiger, and a black panther; as well as a gorilla.^[1] Conrad plays organ music to the animals in his living room, and uses them to kill anyone who gets in his way. Conrad is married to Edna and forces his mute son Carl to assist him.

Cast[]

Michael Gough as Michael Conrad
Jeanne Cooper as Edna Conrad
Rod Lauren as Carl
Virginia Grey as Jenny
Jerome Cowan as Jeffrey Stengle
Elisha Cook Jr. as Joe
Warrene Ott as Mary Hogan
Marianna Hill as Audrey
Oren Curtis as Radu
Eilene Janssen as Bride
Eric Stone as Groom
Dani Lynn as Art Student
Susan Slavin as Art Student
Edward Platt as Detective Rivers
Douglas Henderson as Lieutenant Duggan

Production[]

Herman Cohen had the idea for the film, and hired Aben Kandel to work with him on the script.

Cohen had worked with Gough previously in Horrors of the Black Museum and Konga.

The animals were provided by Ralph Helfer. The zoo was built at (formerly ) on in Hollywood, California. The entire zoo seen in the picture was an interior set.^[2]

Publicity was done with the cats—including an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.^[2] Cohen did not like the title, preferring Horrors of the Black Zoo.^[2]

Availability[]

Black Zoo was produced on a VHS tape published by The Fang (Floral Park, NY) in 2001. OCLC 48234539

Footnotes[]

^ Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. p. 218. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
^ ^a ^b ^c Tom Weaver, Attack of the Monster Movie Makers (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co. 1994, ISBN 0-7864-0018-8, ISBN 978-0-7864-0018-8) "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-02-21. Retrieved 2007-11-01.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links[]

[1] Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. p. 218. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.

[Weaver-2] Tom Weaver, Attack of the Monster Movie Makers (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co. 1994, ISBN 0-7864-0018-8, ISBN 978-0-7864-0018-8) "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-02-21. Retrieved 2007-11-01.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

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