1960's "Macumba Love" was a color release from United Artists shot in Brazil, the only movie directed (and produced) by veteran bad guy actor Douglas V. Fowley, whose career dated back to the early 30s. Walter Reed plays a noted expose writer looking into a series of unsolved murders apparently caused by a feared voodoo priestess. While he romances local heiress Ziva Rodann ("Pharaoh's Curse"), his daughter shows up for a honeymoon with her new husband, both getting involved at their peril. We get Ziva's seduction of the husband and several threats against Reed but little else, besides cavorting on the beach and much discussion. Boris Karloff faced the same dilemma in "Voodoo Island," but this loser lacks the star power of his presence and wastes the attributes of its comely female cast. Fowley never directed another feature, unable to overcome a poor script and glacial pace, all talk and no action. Reed had previously starred in the 1950 Republic serial "Flying Disc Man from Mars," plus a supporting role as a cop in 1958's "How to Make a Monster."
