Val Lewton Top Seven

 

Just finished watching Val Lewton’ ouevre - he made too few films to do a top ten so I’ll put forward a top seven.

1. Cat People (1942) - a film that created its own genre in a way, suggested horror on a low budget, with lashings of literature, a remarkable combination of talent (not just Newton but his whole team) at just the right studio, some dodgy actors mixed in with some that are perfect (eg Tom Conway), beautifully shot. These sort of movies are hard to do (eg the remake). A lot of people like Curse of the Cat People, which is an interesting film, though not for me.

2. I Walked with a Zombie (1942) - Jane Eyre in the West Indies, extremely effective, wonderful use of mood. When people talk Val Lawton horror they really mean this and Cat People.

3. The Seventh Victim (1944) - Satanists in New York City, handled brilliantly, with a career defining performance from Jean Brooks, and Tom Conway also terrific. May have done better commercially with a junkier title? I know The Leopard Man and The Ghost Ship have their fans, but I don’t count them as good as the others.

4. Isle of the Dead (1945) - my favourite Lewton movie title and setting (the Balkan War of 1912!), it shows Lewton learned from his mistakes making Mademoiselle Fifi (1944) (differentiate your characters more, if making a heavily European film have an American character to help American audiences)... great atmosphere, a brilliant Karloff showcase (as all his Lewton films were).

5. The Body Snatcher (1945) - more conventional in some ways than other Lewton horrors but splendidly done, a real actors showcase for Karloff and Henry Daniels, a lovely part for Bela Lugosi (it’s a shame Lewton didn’t use Lugosi on Isle of the Dead and Bedlam as well... may have helped him commercially)

6. Bedlam (1946) - it lost money, in part because it cost a lot, and doesn’t seem as beloved as the others but I think it’s fabulous - smart, literate, twisty, thrilling, Lewton’s most progressive work (thank you writer Ardel Wray), visually sumptuous, Karloff was never better. Goldfinger (1963) rips this off. I cannot believe RKO would not finance Lewton’s Blackbeard project starring Karloff, it would’ve been amazing.

7. Apache Drums (1951) - I’ve seen all the non horror films Lewton produced: Youth Runs Wild, Mademoiselle Fifi, My Own True Love, Please Believe Me and this. I know Lewton fans get defensive, and yes, the were cut, but most of them are not very good. I think the cuts may have made them worse but all had inherent problems: Youth Runs Wild didn’t have enough youth running wild, Fifi (though very interesting) had a wonky story and really needed a bigger budget, and My Own True Love and Please Believe Me demonstrate a spectacular inability to understand their genres, melodrama and rom com respectively (Common problem in the bad Lewton films - too many characters you can’t tell apart). Apache Drums is a solid B western, a siege story with an excellent climax that includes people singing ‘Me n of Harlech’ which the Apaches attach - Zulu ripped off this film.