In its successive period of more than 20 years Monogram considered a leader among the smaller studios (Poverty Row) that able to established the idea "When the Monogram logo appeared on the screen, everyone knew they were in for action and adventure". It produced and released nearly 1,000 genre films, such as Westerns, serials, comedy shorts, and melodramas, between 1931 and 1953. The studio also produced a number of memorable horror films, ten of them starring Bela Lugosi, including
The Ape Man (1943), Invisible Ghost (1941), King of the Zombies (1941), and Voodoo Man (1944). Lugosi�s frequent co-star, Boris Karloff, also appeared in six films for Monogram, including
Mr. Wong, Detective (1938) and The Fatal Hour (1940).
Among its variety of films as an ardent fan of classic horror films I picked studio's the 1946 horror film
THE FACE OF MARBLE in response to the specified challenge/question.
The New Title:
THE VOODOO VENGEANCE
Now it's better to start with a intro of the original film to know more about the story and making the necessary changes for the required update:
Charles Randolph is an aged medical researcher, who has recently moved to an isolated mansion somewhere on the Atlantic coast in search of the privacy he needs to complete his latest project. With the help of a young doctor, one David Cochran; they are working to develop a way to restore life to dead tissue, more precisely to restore the recently dead (as in, a couple of hours or less) to life.
The introduction to Randolph�s work in the film comes late one night when he and Cochran bring into their lab the body of a drowned sailor whose ship seems to have been lost in the storm raging just off the coast. Randolph�s butler, Shadrach sees the two men sneaking the corpse inside the mansion.
Changes:
[1] The Butler character will appear with the name 'Russo' and Belga Lugosi will be in charge of that role. Russo, the butler will be the lone provider of the necessary corpses for Randolph's experiment. In this version of the movie Randolph & Cochran will not be engaged in that sort of activity (bringing corpses inside the mansion). Russo is a very devoted & royal servant of Dr. Randolph who think himself as a master in the voodoo business for his some earlier experience & knowledge in that particular trade (where in the original film the maid Maria got that attribute; her character will be very less significant in this version & will be appear in very few scene).
[2] More importantly one of the major changes will be the experiment or the research that Dr. Randolph & Cochran are conducting will be shown less significantly means...without a significant or any success or you can say with a practical point of view...more precisely, there will be no kind of 'resurrection happening' (like shown in the Face of Marble) in this version; the one or few attempt(s) of resurrection will outcome failure but Randolph will be hopeful & madly determined about the project. Though their whole research thing would be appear kinda meaningless but instead of leaving Randolph, Cochran is still working with him just to stay close to his old town/high school crush Elaine...Dr. Randolph's wife! That means there will be no character of Cochran's girlfriend Linda Sinclair in this film which was in the original.
[3] In this updated/changes version the character of Elaine will come with some negative attributes or evil intentions. As she married to old aged/quite elder Dr. Randolph just cause of his wealth/money. But like in the original film here we can also see her fall for Cochran as she thinks who really does seem to be a more logical match for her than the older, more driven Dr. Randolph.
[4] So it'll be no late when both Elaine & Cochran know each others feelings & intentions and the twists of the story will mainly starts at that point. But the more crucial point here is butler Russo will also come to know about their secret meeting(s) as he heard their conversations one night. He get stunned by hearing the idea from Elaine about even somehow killing the Doctor, inherent his properties & then runaway with Cochran. Although Cochran highly objects that idea of conspiracy & killing but Russo in the meantime already determined that he can't let any of those happen as long as he's alive & serving for his master Dr. Randolph. Then we also came to know from Russo (as he's like talking to himself) that he's already extremely devoted to his master, and never hesitates to practice his strange island magic like he believes that last time he wished & spelled his master to get married with an young & beautiful lady which he at least thinks results Randolph's marriage with Elaine.
[5] Like in the original film the character of a police detective called Inspector Peter Norton will be quite same & also appear in this version in the same way...as Russo is collecting corpses from graveyards or other unknown sources, Inspector one day stops by to talk to Randolph when he wasn't at the mansion. Although he may tell Russo & Elaine that it’s just a social call (he and her husband are old friends), and indeed, when he gets in touch with Randolph later, it turns out that Norton has found himself in the difficult position of having to investigate his old pal for murder & stealing dead bodies.
[6] Here I like to also clarify that there will be no character of or place for the Dead/resurrected dog Brutus in this version (the dog ridiculously came back to life with the ability to pass through any solid matter in the original film!).
[7] Now let's go back to the action/main storyline where Russo is now about to take advance revenge for his master as he knows Cochran & Elaine are betraying him. So one late midnight Russo whips up some kind of voodoo nerve gas potion into the lab where he thought Cochran is working. But he has miscalculated (You can see here some similarities with the original film where the scheming maid plans to get rid of the girlfriend of Cochran when she came for a visit in the mansion). Though normally Cochran works or runs some tests alone for Dr. Randolph in late at night but Russo didn't know or noticed instead of Cochran, Dr. Randolph was working late in the lab that night. Thus it is Randolph who is working in the lab when Russo’s lethally effective gas-bomb goes off and the doctor dies. His dead body then discovered by Cochran just after the incident as he comes to the lab to tell Randolph he's no more willing to work in his project. But as he find his bead body he screamed & start calling everyone. Then after few moments Russo comes to the lab & he get totally shocked & mad as he sees that his plan went totally wrong. The devastated Russo then revealed his actual intentions & plan (as he starts to tell) to Cochran. After hearing that Cochran get worried for Elaine & asks Russo whether he has done anything to her. Russo then tells him (with having kinda evil/mad smile in his face) she is already at the top of cliff just next to their mansion as he has already hypnotized her to get jump from the cliff.
Cochran then run for her to save her from the accident while treating (& give a little punch on his face) Russo that he'll be apprehended soon by the police. Cochran able to save Elaine through some moment of tensed "cliff-hanging" situation.
At the very beginning of the film it'll start with a monologue of butler Russo about how he's so much grateful to his master and at the end we'll see that he's actually telling this whole story at the police station to the Inspector Peter Norton which means at the end he really get apprehended by the police.
Production info:
The title:
The Voodoo Vengeance
Director: Edgar Georg Ulmer (The Black Cat-1934)
Cast:
George Zucco as Dr. Charles Randolph
Kent Smith as Dr. David Cochran
Anna Lee as Elaine Randolph
Tom Conway as Inspector Peter Norton
Bela Lugosi as Russo
(At the beginning, I thought Karloff & later Claude Rains for the role of Dr. Randolph but as the character provide nothing significant in the climax rather than die...which I think wouldn't be appropriate for actors with such great reputations like Karloff & Rains had at that time.)
Producer: Sam Katzman
Story editor & on a special panel of advisers: Val Lewton & Jacques Tourneur.
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Special Note regarding the involvement of Val Lewton & Jacques Tourneur into the film as advisers on a special panel: Though as far I know both Lewton & Tourneur were actually worked for RKO films but in this case for the very first time they could make a difference under special consideration/request for/from the studio; which they can use in their promotional/advertising campaign/Trailers of the film before the release.
Or the entire involvement issue may be remain unknown to the public/press at the time of its release but several years later from an interview of one of the crew members of this film it'd get revealed.