The Leopard Man March 18, 2006
Posted by clydefro in : Classic Films, 1940s , trackback
The Leopard Man, directed by Jacques Tourneur, is a truly creepy and somewhat frightening film produced by the legendary Val Lewton in 1943. Lewton was an RKO producer who somehow managed to turn small budgeted horror films into mini-masterpieces of psychological terror in the 1940s. In 1943 alone, Tourneur directed this film, as well as the most famous Lewton production Cat People and the Caribbean gothic classic I Walked with a Zombie. All of Lewton’s films were short and tightly paced. The Leopard Man, in particular, is a stand-out and is a testament to the power of not showing horrific acts to the audience in lieu of allowing them to create their own images from insinuation and atmosphere.
The plot of The Leopard Man is mostly straightforward. Set in New Mexico, where a showbiz promoter borrows a large black cat (the “leopard” of the title) from an Indian circus man to use in his show. The cat is frightened and escapes. Soon a young girl is killed by the cat and more murders follow. Whether the cat has also committed the subsequent murders is part of the mystery. If not the cat, then who is the murderer and why? After watching the movie a second time, this question became obvious (and not just because I already knew the answer from my initial viewing) but the first time I saw it I was so swept up in what was going on that I didn’t see the ending coming. It’s really quite a film and my favorite of the nine produced by Lewton contained in Warner Bros.’ recent DVD collection.One of the things that makes The Leopard Man so interesting is its willingness to abruptly switch to new characters after the initial introduction of the promoter and the cat’s escape. This jars the audience somewhat and removes any sense of comfort because we immediately suspect that something terrible will happen. While a little confusing at first, this change of focus to different characters is one of the many reasons to give the film multiple viewings. The Leopard Man only lasts 66 minutes, yet has a lot taking place and gives viewers few, if any, chances to catch their breath.
Unlike many of today’s blood-splattered gorefests, The Leopard Man is genuinely creepy. Using shadows and an ominous score, Tourneur never allows his audience to settle in comfortably. Even the titular cat, with its glowing eyes and dark black frame, is quite unsettling. When we see the animal’s eyes beneath the night shadows just before the first girl is killed, it’s nearly impossible not to be a little freaked out, especially if you’ve ever walked around a dark street at night. Of course this uneasiness will certainly be followed by frustration at the girl’s mother for hesitating to let her daughter in the house when she’s screaming and yelling outside!
Tourneur was a master at setting the right mood for these horror classics and it’s no surprise that he achieved a similar proficiency at film noir in the quintessential Out of the Past. Lewton’s prolific work is just as stunning and, more than sixty years later, it’s a joy to have these films together in the DVD set.
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