1935 Movie: Litany of the Saints

Litany of the Saints

 This movie starts with an immigrant woman traveling over on boat to the United States. Unknown to her, she is possessed by a demon. When she reaches the US she falls ill and dies in company of a nurse, Marian, who is now possessed by the demon. She is taken in by a priest's adopted son, who just happens to practice exorcisms. He and his father work together to try to rid Marian of the demon that is possessing her.


This movie has a pro-American and anti-immigrant message because it depicts an immigrant who comes over and is possessed by an evil spirit. Some Americans at the time believed that immigrants were the cause of many problems in the United States.

Since this is a horror movie, it will be filmed in black and white like most other horror movies of its time. It will be fairly low-budget because that is usually how horror films are made. We chose Universal Studios for this movie because it is a studio that was well-known for horror movies in the 1930's. Universal made some of the best known horror movies such as Dracula, The Mummy, and Frankenstein. By using Universal Studios, we have access to Boris Karloff, who will play the priest, and Helen Visto, who will play Marianne. These actors fit well with our movie because they are well known for horror films of their time-Karloff starred in Frankenstein and The Mummy. Alfred Edeson will be our cinematographer because he filmed Frankenstein and is linked with James Whale, our director and longtime Universal filmmaker.

Boris Karloff

Thanks to the Hays Code, we wouldn't be able to show graphic scenes from the immigrant woman's death, or we would just have to suggest it instead of showing anything. Also, we would have to be careful about how we portray Father Alfred, the priest, because we would want to be careful that we aren't offending people or their religion.

If I had worked alone, I might have added in a few lighter, more comedic scenes so maybe it would appeal to more people. Although this might change the genre significantly, it might have been more enjoyable to watch since a lot of people are going through tough times.