Editor’s Note: I’m really excited to introduce another new columnist/writer to Seattle Gay Scene and he’s a man ideally suited for his chosen beat. Jason Miller is a connoisseur of all things film, from the dreck to the divine, and he’s going to pop up occasionally at SGS with essays on the films and filmmakers that he holds in the highest, (and, maybe, the lowest) esteem. He starts off at a look at a film producer very near and dear to my own celluloid heart, the master of psychological horror, Val Lewton. If you’ve never seen one of his classic RKO chillers from the 1940’s, then you’re in for a treat. (Isle of the Dead scared the bejeezus out of me as a kid…the sound design alone, is enough to terrify you.) – Michael Strangeways
Before Roger Corman. Before Wes Craven. Before John Carpenter. One horror master laid the groundwork for those that followed. Combining a love for story, an eye for detail and a healthy dose of macabre, Val Lewton was the creator behind less than 15 films before his untimely death at the age 46. Beloved by film fans for decades, Lewton is getting a new life thanks to a marvelous DVD box set released by Warner Brothers. It contains nine of his greatest films and they still influence and inspire film lovers all over the world. Lewton started out penning novelizations of popular movies of the time, when he landed a sweet but uncredited job to write the mind blowing Atlanta in ruins sequence in GONE WITH THE WIND. He quickly became a Hollywood favorite to come in and fix trouble areas in major motion pictures and found himself as the head of the horror unit at RKO Pictures. He was given three rules to follow. Each title had to be under $150,000. Each film had to have a run time of 75 minutes and the studio got to pick the title. Other than that, he had free reign. In 1942, He immediately started to work on his first project, CAT PEOPLE. He hired Jacques Tourneur (whom he would collaborate with on two other films) and got Dewitt Bodeen to write the film. What came from this triad of terror was a beautifully haunting film of sexual repression and feline tendencies. The casting of Simone Simon as Irena, was a stroke of genius. She is stunning in every single frame of the film. She captivates the audience, who cannot tell if she is an innocent victim of a family curse or if she knows exactly what she is doing. And that is the joy of CAT PEOPLE. The film is tense and suspenseful, with a not so subtle feeling of doom around every corner. One of my personal favorite movies, it manages to win over the most jaded of viewers. Remade in the early 80’s as a ick fest, the original cannot be topped.
Next up was the smash cult film I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE. Made 1943 it follows a young nurse who travels to the West Indies and finds herself trapped in a world of lies, voodoo and zombies. And the best part is that it is CRAZY AWESOME! It is an amazing addition to the Lewton legacy and is one of my favorite zombie movies. Following closely on the heels of I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE, was a tight little horror gem called THE LEOPARD MAN, but it is the fourth film that will drive you bonkers with excitement. One of four films, Lewton produced in 1943, THE SEVENTH VICTIM is full on mind bender. It is also the first film of one of my heroes, Mark Robson. He is the mastermind behind classics like VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, EARTHQUAKE and PEYTON PLACE. This man understood the meaning workin’ it and was a perfect candidate to direct Lewton’s newest film. Calling upon Dewitt Bodeen to write the nail biter, Lewton crafted another perfect team to bring to the screen a film of epic portions on a tiny budget. The film centers around the stellar Kim Hunter as she goes to New York in search of her missing sister. Once there, she realizes that there is much more to the disappearance and just about everyone in Greenwich Village is in bed with a certain fallen angel with a nasty temper. The film goes from a slow burn to a heart stopping finale that puts current horror films to shame. Done with little violence and no blood, THE SEVENTH VICTIM is perfect example of just how a horror film should be done. Val Lewton knows his suspense!
In 1943 RKO built an expensive ship for another film and told Val Lewton to come up with a project to exploit the boat a little more. He set to work and came up with the Robson directed GHOST SHIP. It is a fun film that keeps the audience on it’s toes trying to decide if the ship’s growing body count should be placed on troublesome ghost or the work of a madman. GHOST SHIP was lost for almost 50 years when a plagiarism case arose surrounding the film, but luckily the print survived and now is available for us to enjoy. Ushering in the new year, Lewton set about making 1944 the return of the cat. CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE, touted as a sequel to his masterpiece CAT PEOPLE, had theatre audiences scratching their heads as they left the movie houses. It didn’t seem to have a real connection with the original, sans Simone Simon returning in a small or vital role. The film lacks the full on scares of his previous outings, but the striking direction of an upcoming Robert Wise and an impressive child actor, Ann Carter, the film takes a life of it’s own. It becomes a visual feast of dream like sequences and a tale of loneliness and isolation. It was a departure from Lewton’s usual work, but still another mini-masterpiece. In 1945, Val Lewton teamed up with the masters of horror, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. Taking a short story from Robert Louis Stevenson, he presented an evil bit of cinema called THE BODY SNATCHER. Boris and Bela were box office gold and the movie was hit. Next, he presented ISLE OF THE DEAD. This must see movie is amazing. It centers around a small island that has been taken over by the plague. The towns folks are losing their minds and one young girl is pegged as a bloodsucker. From 71 minute you are thrust into a full scale nightmare and it does not end well.
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| Producer/writer Val Lewton. |
But it is his next movie that really made an impression. Released in 1946, BEDLAM is the finale suspense film from Val Lewton and it is AMAZING! Based on the history of the infamous Bedlam mental institution, it focuses on a young woman who is encouraging reform with the hospital. Well, what does the mean hospital director (played brilliantly by Karloff) do? He tosses her in there and she really learns just how cruel the staff is! It is shocking and thrilling and you even get a little romance for your troubles, but the film has a deep rooted message about judging people and what really does make someone a little nuts. Besides CAT PEOPLE this is my favorite Lewton film. It goes from crazy to CRAAAZZY very quickly and is a blast to watch. Val Lewton’s passed away in 1951 and the film world mourned. He was in the prime of his life an who knows what he still had up his sleeve. Thankfully, his work lives on and we are able to celebrate his amazing talents as one of the pioneers of suspense and a ViewMaster.
– Jason A. Miller
(Note: All these films are available on DVD in the Val Lewton Collection, released by Warner Home Video. )
