Really Surprised!

Absolutely Fantastic

A Disappointing Continuation

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

An atmospheric chiller from the Val Lewton stable, directed by Jacques Tourneur (the man who brought us the truly incredible NIGHT OF THE DEMON), which sadly overdoes the subtlety of the story to the point of boredom; but as with all of the Lewton-produced horrors of the 1940s, this is intelligent and suspenseful entertainment, which displays some excellent use of black and white photography and plenty of creepy moments as damsels in distress encounter malevolent big cats and greater evils in the middle of the night. There is also at least one great, horrifying moment, namely the set-piece in which the blood seeps under the door.Unfortunately the rest of the film is a little lacking, with a bare minimum of action and a reliance on subtlety throughout in terms of story, menace, death, and action. Ironically for such a subtle film this fails as an admirable whodunit, because the identity of the killer is perfectly obvious directly from his first appearance on the screen. The acting is generally of a high order, but again the actors and actresses are bound to give restrained, somewhat uninteresting performances, apart from the guy playing the killer who has a great performance to hand. Aside from the aforementioned highlight, the horror is kept to a bare minimum, but fans who can sit through the talky dialogue bits may find the heavy atmosphere and film noir appeal to their liking. More patient viewers may also find this film of a greater interest, but I definitely prefer my horrors more explicit and on-screen in films from this decade. Bring back Boris Karloff!

Publicist Dennis O'Keefe (Jerry) turns up with a leopard for his girlfriend Jean Brooks (Kiki) to use in her act and to draw attention away from her rival act Margo (Clo Clo) the castanet dancer. Bad news – the leopard escapes and a body count follows. Can the town stop the killings? This film has three memorable killing sequences that are super tense and will have you going "Oh no!" as well as many other scenes where there is killing potential and you just don't know what will happen. It's well shot, its short length keeps you interested and the cast do fine. You may guess how things will pan out but this doesn't affect the enjoyment of the story. I wouldn't say it's obvious although I did guess correct towards the end.What a bitch mother that Kate Drain Wilson (Senora Delgado) is. Imagine doing that to your daughter! Poor daughter Margaret Landry (Teresa Delgado) encounters a very real nightmare. As does the girl in the cemetery.So, get out your castanets and start clicking but don't go freaking out leopards with them. They just might remember who you are.

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.

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.