THE DANMAN CAN

"What proof can you bring that good is superior to evil?" Mark Robson Feature Films Ranked Val Lewton RKO Feature Films Ranked

"There's no beauty here, only death and decay." Jacques Tourneur Feature Films Ranked Val Lewton RKO Feature Films Ranked

More of a dramatic mystery than a horror film, Isle Of The Dead (1945) was the second to last (of eleven) features that  Val Lewton  produced at RKO and the fourth (of five) of those directed by Mark Robson . While I mostly prefer the films that  Jacques Tourneur  and  Robert Wise  made for Lewton, Robson evokes a similar mood thanks to some atmospheric cinematography and a strong lead performance by  Boris Karloff .  It's   a slow picture, especially for one that's only 71 minutes long, but it builds to a tense finale.  IOTD serves as an entertaining tale of paranoia, folklore, and control where science vs. superstition is front and center. With the themes of quarantining, hand washing and avoiding contact, it's hard not to draw parallels to the current pandemic . You can find my Mark Robson Feature Films Ranked here . You can find my  Val Lewton RKO Feature Films Ranked  list  here .

Much in the way that 1944's  The Curse Of The Cat People   ( review ) is less a "horror" film than a psychological drama, so is  The Leopard Man (1943), producer Val Lewton 's third and final collaboration with director  Jacques Tourneur  (and one of a whopping four B movies that Lewton cranked out for RKO in 1943).  In TLM there's no on-screen violence at all and no supernatural element (despite what the gorgeous poster advertises). And despite recycling the "bus" jump scare from Lewton's first collaboration with Tourneur, 1942's  Cat People   ( review ) in a tunnel scene here (honestly just as good and just as scary), the filmmakers craft an engaging serial killer picture and make wonderful use of light, shadow, and sound (or lack thereof) to create dark, beautiful imagery and tension.  TLM 's economical 66-minute run time packs more character development and story into this lean little film than your average episode of premium c...

Based on Robert Louis Stevenson 's 1884 short story of the same name, Robert Wise 's The Body Snatcher (1945) is a beautifully noir -like thriller full of pathos, atmosphere, and features a fantastic, tragic finale. This was one of nine horror features that  Val Lewton  produced at RKO and it's one of the best. Wise (with the aid of cinematographer  Robert De Grasse ) packed  TBS  with a wonderful creepiness, plenty of shadows, and indelible imagery. Boris Karloff , deliciously sinister and smirking, gives one of his very best, multifaceted performances as the titular character, John Gray (based on the Burke and Hare murders ). Graverobber Gray is the former friend and manipulative supplier of Dr. Wolfe 'Toddy' MacFarlane ( Henry Daniell ). Bela Lugosi has a small, but memorable role. In particular, the final scene that he and Karloff share is one of the film's best moments. This was to be the last film that Lugosi and Karloff made togethe...

The Curse Of The Cat People (1944), the sequel to 1942's Cat People  (my review here ), doesn't actually have a single cat in it. It really doesn't have a whole lot to do with its predecessor, which mostly works in its favor to set it apart from the first film. RKO studios wanted to cash in on the success of CP , and insisted on the Curse  title, even though producer  Val Lewton  wanted to change it to Amy And Her Friend  (which despite befitting the subject matter better is not a good title). TCOTCP  marked two directorial debuts— Gunther von Fritsch  (who had only previously directed shorts), who, when he fell behind schedule, was replaced by  Robert Wise  (who had edited Orson Welles '  The Magnificent Ambersons (my review here ) the year previous), assigned by the studio to take over. Wise went on to have a prolific and versatile career as a director, creating many classic films and his work here is great right from the get-go...

I last watched Jacques Tourneur 's Cat People (1942) just shy of four years ago when the Criterion Collection Blu-ray was released. Rewatching the film now I've come to appreciate it even more.  Val Lewton 's first feature as producer is nothing short of impressive. Lewton had a prolific but unfortunately short run as producer over nine years (1942–1951), releasing fourteen mostly great pictures, mostly in the horror/thriller genre.  Lewton would work with Tourneur two more times in 1943 for I Walked With A Zombie and The Leopard Man . Both were good movies, but neither could top the success and legacy of Cat People . All of the Lewton/Tourneur collaborations are very short features and even though CP  is the longest of the three, at a mere 73 minutes, there is no denying the efficiency and economy of this wonderful work. A big reason that the film is so excellent, of course, is  Simone Simon 's singular performance as Irena Dubrovna, a Serbian immigran...