Horror

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The Leopard Man

RKO Radio Pictures

United States of America

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Dennis O'Keefe

Margo

Jean Brooks

Isabel Jewell

James Bell

Margaret Landry

Abner Biberman

Tuulikki Paananen

Ben Bard

Ed Agresti

Robert Andersen

Lulu Mae Bohrman

Jack Chefe

David Cota

Sidney D'Albrook

Rosita Delva

Jacqueline deWit

John Dilson

Joe Dominguez

John Eberts

Fely Franquelli

Elias Gamboa

Dick Gordon

William Halligan

Ariel Heath

Rose Higgins

Shep Houghton

Brandon Hurst

Colin Kenny

Kate Drain Lawson

Jacques Lory

Charles Lung

Mary MacLaren

Richard Martin

Belle Mitchell

Ottola Nesmith

William H. O'Brien

Bob O'Connor

Juan Ortiz

Manuel París

John Piffle

José Portugal

Fred Rapport

Paul Ravel

Betty Roadman

George Sherwood

Bobby Spindola

Marguerita Sylva

John Tettener

Rosa Rita Varella

Russell Wade

Ardel Wray

Jacques Tourneur

Cornell Woolrich

Robert De Grasse

Mark Robson

Edward Dein

Val Lewton

Walter E. Keller

Albert S. D'Agostino

Roy Webb

A. Roland Fields

Darrell Silvera

William Dorfman

John C. Grubb

Terry Kellum

James G. Stewart

Eugene Joseff

C. Bakaleinikoff

Lou L. Ostrow

Someday you'll try on my coffin and I hope it fits you just perfect.

Horror producer supreme Val Lewton teams up for the third and last time with director Jacques Tourneur to bring us The Leopard Man. Set in New Mexico, the story sees Jerry Manning (Dennis O'Keefe) hire a black leopard as a publicity stunt for his night-club performing partner, Kiki (Jean Brooks). Her rival, Clo Clo (Margo), is not impressed and promptly scares the animal into running away into the night. Pretty soon there is a panic looking as the cat appears to be mauling people to death. However, Manning & Kiki, driven by guilt, join the hunt for the rogue animal - but Manning is starting to believe the killings are not of the animal's doing...

Based on the book "Black Alibi" written by Cornell Woolrich, The Leopard Man's only crime is that it's not as great as its two predecessors, Cat People & I Walked With A Zombie. Rest assured, though, this is still a quality Lewton/Tourneur production. As a story it's simple and straight, with a running time of just over one hour keeping it lean and devoid of pointless waffle, but the piece positively thrives on its atmosphere - dealing as it does in murky shadows and unease inducing periods of silence. It also boasts a number of sequences that linger long in the memory, be it blood seeping under a door, the bend of a tree branch, or the dark under belly of a railway bridge, for such a short sharp shock of a movie there's so much to enjoy. The work of cinematographer Robert De Grasse (Vivacious Lady/The Body Snatcher) is top class and worthy of indulgence from the film noir loving crowd.

What you don't see is more effective on account of the eerie sense of dread that Messrs Lewton/Tourneur/De Grasse have built up. A fine film and proof positive that classic spookers could be made from relatively small budgets. 7/10

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The Leopard Man

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Cast

Dennis O'Keefe

Margo

Jean Brooks

Isabel Jewell

James Bell

Margaret Landry

Abner Biberman

Tuulikki Paananen

Ben Bard

Ed Agresti

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