Woodyanders An escaped leopard terrorizes a small town in New Mexico. However, stage performer Kiki Walker (a spirited and appealing portrayal by the fetching Jean Brooks) and her dashing manager Jerry Manning (a fine and likable performance by Dennis O'Keefe) suspect that something else might be responsible for the killings that have been occurring.Director Jacques Turner relates the absorbing story at a steady pace, milks plenty of nerve-rattling tension during the murder set pieces (the first one involving a little girl looked outside of her house is positively harrowing), and nicely captures the sleepy atmosphere of the poor Mexican hamlet. Cinematographer Robert De Grasse's masterful use of light and shadow further enhances the overall spooky mood. The solid acting by the capable cast qualifies as another significant asset: Brooks and O'Keefe make for personable leads, with sound support from Margo as bitchy and ambitious dancer Clo-Clo, Isabell Jewell as cynical fortune teller Maria, James Bell as friendly museum curator Dr. Galbraith, Margaret Landry as doomed teenager Teresa Delgado, and Abner Biberman as the leopard's easygoing owner Charlie How-Come. The tight 66 minute running time ensures that this picture never gets dull or overstays its welcome. Well worth seeing.

classicsoncall When RKO Pictures hired Val Lewton to produce a series of horror flicks, they'd throw him some spare change and expect a good story. For this one, the studio came up with a hundred fifty thousand dollars and a title which Lewton managed to turn into a combination horror/mystery/murder thriller. He had to be creative since the budget didn't allow him to actually create any monsters. Through the use of shadows and imagery, Lewton was able to play on the viewers' fear of the unknown and create horror in what one imagines in place of what is actually seen.Perhaps the best example of this is the tortured walk young Teresa Delgado is forced to make to buy cornmeal by her demanding mother. On the way back from the grocery store, Teresa struggles with her thoughts on how to proceed home, while the play of light and shadow on the railroad trestle as the locomotive screams overhead provides a fascinating example of the cinematographer's skill. Then, as the face of the black leopard appears to her, Teresa is overcome with a fear that creates panic, ultimately ending in a scene in which blood is seen oozing underneath the door sill of her home, as she is unable to make her way inside.What bothered me about the story as it unfolded was the lack of concern the authorities might have shown for those who I felt most complicit in the first victim's death. The Mexican dancer Clo-Clo (Margo) incited the rather docile looking animal to break free in the night club, while the mother of Teresa had some culpability by being obstinate about the cornmeal. That Clo-Clo herself became a victim later in the story did little to negate my feeling that it was her initial action that put an entire village at risk.The story takes a decidedly different turn once promoter Jerry Manning (Dennis O'Keefe) begins to doubt the missing leopard is the cause of subsequent victims. There again, a better fleshed out story might have given more prominence to the psychological angle at play with the character of museum curator Galbraith (James Bell). Yet when you consider the limited budget and time constraints producer Lewton and director Jacques Tourneur worked under, the finished product turned out to be a fairly decent and compelling thriller.

utgard14 Jerry Manning (Dennis O'Keefe) hires a leopard as a publicity stunt for his girlfriend (Jean Brooks), a singer at a New Mexico night club. When the stunt goes awry, the leopard escapes into the night. Soon women are being mauled to death and it is assumed to be the work of the leopard. But Jerry suspects the killings are the work of a man who wants them to appear like leopard attacks. Is the real killer man or beast? The Leopard Man is the third in producer Val Lewton's series of psychological horror films made at RKO in the 1940s. It's an intelligently written and fascinating film. Often said to be one of the first films to deal with the psychology of serial killers. It's one of the more underrated Lewton thrillers. It's beautifully filmed with gorgeous cinematography from Robert de Grasse and excellent direction from Jacques Tourneur. The sequence where the first girl is stalked by an unseen predator is among the best of any of the Lewton films. The acting is solid, with weak performances from no one. Of course the real star of the film is the atmosphere. One of the trademarks of Val Lewton's films is the moody evocative atmosphere and this film has it in spades. Definitely a smart, handsomely-produced effort that I recommend you check out.

AaronCapenBanner Jacque Tourneur directed this thriller about a Leopard that escapes from a nightclub after a jealous performer lets it loose to ruin the debut of a new act. The nightclub owner(played by Dennis O'Keefe) tries to find it, but it seems to be responsible for a series of brutal killings(including a young woman on her way home, the best sequence in the film) There is other evidence pointing to another guilty party, proving the Leopard's innocence. Can the leopard be found and saved in time, and is there a real "leopard man" on the prowl? Unusual film has some atmosphere but a muddled story that never makes much sense; the least of the nine horror films produced by Val Lewton.