Monday, August 25, 2014

VAL LEWTON & HORROR NOIR

Val Lewton was a producer at RKO in the 1940s.  His B-movie unit was responsible for turning out 9 classic horror movies.  Many consider these to be strongly in the tradition of Film Noir.  The first three were helmed by Jacques Tourneur who directed last week's in-class viewing, "Out of the Past."  The following scene is from the initial outing in this horror/noir cycle, "Cat People."  (The quality of this clip is good enough to be enjoyed on "full screen" mode.



We are watching a Lewton film in class this week, "The Seventh Victim."  Here is a trailer.


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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousAugust 29, 2014 at 8:13 AM

    Nice movie liked it because it was short.

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  2. AnonymousAugust 31, 2014 at 12:03 AM

    For a horror film the film was not very scary. I understand this era was a sign of the times with its cinematography in its infancy (relatively speaking), and low budget. However, these variables did lend themselves to the writers and producers creativity. Overall, this was a good example of a film noir/historical film. Also noted is Kim Hunter's introduction as an actor.

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  3. emilySeptember 1, 2014 at 10:54 AM

    i enjoyed the suspense and mystery of this film. i wonder though if the satanic cult in the movie was just that or if the "secret evil club" symbolized and paralleled communistic groups in America in 1943.

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