The Leopard Man (1943)

The Leopard Man
Directed by Jacques Tourneur
Written by Ardel Wray and Edward Dein from the novel Black Alibi by Cornell Woolrich
1943/USA
RKO Radio Pictures
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Charlie How-Come: You don’t get the idea, mister. These cops banging those pans, flashing those lights, they’re gonna scare that poor cat of mine. Cats are funny, mister. They don’t want to hurt you, but if you scare them they go crazy. These cops, they don’t know what they’re doing.[/box]

Val Lewton had to use the titles the studio gave him but he used them to make atmospheric gems about our primal fears, this time the terror of being alone in the dark and with no control over one’s fate.

PR man Jerry Manning (Dennis O’Keefe) is always looking out for his client nightclub performer Ki-Ki Walter.(Jean Brooks).  He gets the brilliant idea of borrowing a panther from a travelling carnival.  The idea is that Ki-Ki will make a grand entrance with the animal on a leash, thus upstaging the act of her rival, Spanish dancer Clo Clo (Margo).  Clo Clo, unfazed, approaches the cat, her castanets clicking.  Ki-Ki loses control and the panther escapes into the streets.

The cat promptly starts stalking human prey.  Or does it?  The search is on.

With no gore and only the slightest hint of blood, this has several legitimate thrills.  Val Lewton’s team is so good at creating the sense of impending doom and nighttime terrors that we are primed to jump at the slightest noise or movement.  We also get a nice running theme about destiny.  The romance is kind of hokey but that is not the point here.  Cinematographer Robert De Grosse provided the beautiful low-key lighting.  Recommended.

Trailer – so misleading!