The Leopard Man

The escape of nightclub performer's leopard is followed by a series of mutilations--but are these the work of the leopard or of a serial killer stalking a small southwestern town? Although not one of producer Val Lewton's better known films, director Tourner endows the story with considerable atmosphere, and the result is a moody and intriguing film that holds it own with the more celebrated CAT PEOPLE and I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE.

Like other Lewton films, THE LEOPARD MAN relies more upon what it suggests than upon what it actually shows. This film is particularly effective in building suspense in a series of scenes that show various characters walking--a saucy Spanish dancer strolling along the street, a frightened teenager making a night-time trip to the grocer, a young woman rushing through a cemetery at night. The cinematography is elegant in its simplicity, and the sound design is quite remarkable. Hard to find, but Lewton fans will find it worth seeking out.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Jerry Manning (Dennis O'Keefe) decides to build some PR for his girlfriend's act by having her walk into the bistro where she performs with a black leopard on a leash. Her rival, Clo-Clo, retaliates by getting close to the leopard and clicking her castanets. The leopard is scared, pulls free of Kiki, and runs off.

Later that night, a girl coming home from the grocery store is mauled and killed by the leopard. Then two more mauling deaths occur - one a young girl, one a young woman. The leopard's owner, Charlie How-Come, says that he can't figure out why the leopard would kill the second and third victims rather than hide out away from the town. Manning agrees with him, and they search for the truth of what is happening in these maulings.

This film is full of brief but indelible little characterizations tangential to the storyline. There's so often an emphasis on the primitive, uncontrollable sides of our nature, that gives a deeper feeling to the sometimes over-busy plotting.

There's some strange characterization going on here too, For example, the first victim is a victim precisely because she has the world's worst mom. First she sends the girl out late at night to get groceries, and then when she returns, terrified because the leopard is after her, mom teases her and won't unlock the front door. Mom's mood and sense of urgency doesn't change until she hears the girl scream and sees her blood pool under the front door. And mom has the nerve to wear black at the funeral.

I think 'The Leopard Man' is the most memorable and frightening of the three Lewton-Tourneur collaborations. While it may be more straightforward than 'I Walked With a Zombie' or 'Cat People,' it's more atmospheric and more effective because its chills are predicated on agoraphobic horror. 'I Walked With a Zombie' was confined to a tropical island setting, while 'The Leopard Man' takes place in a New Mexico border town, on the edge of town, so that we travel along the desolate and wide open spaces of the sleepy Southwest at nighttime.

Early in the film, a young Mexican girl is sent on a late-night errand by her mother to buy some tortilla. Being that the shop is closed, she must traverse the sandy expanse between town and the nearest open shop. During this trek, she must pass under a bridge, and the shadows and sounds that stalk her are terrifying. Recalling this scene, right now, gives me goosebumps.

Horror is the most cinematic of all genres, because it works directly on the viewer's emotions and fears, using atmosphere, sound, and montage as its tools. Most horror films are either exploitative or slick and empty, unfortunately, but to watch 'The Leopard Man' is to encounter the full potential of the horror genre, as Tourneur paints with shadows and not entrails. Forgive its plot holes and its lunkheaded denouement, because the journey there is a hair-raising walk in the dark.

Dennis O'Keefe and Jean Brooks decide to elevate their act in New Mexico by having Brooks walk on-stage with a black leopard. The Mexican castanet dancer, Clo Clo(deliciously played by Margo), mashes the castanets menacingly at the cat, it flees, and a panic spreads amongst the people of the little village. Soon, one girl dies, then another, and another...and evidence points that a cat did it and later to something completely different. The Leopard Man is one of those rare films that is very effective with shadows and fog without showing anything. We never see any of the deaths happen "on-stage" so to speak. The imaginations of the viewers are enlisted to conjure up what might be the scene of each murder. Director Jacques Tournier and producer Val Lewton probably team up for their best collaboration. This film is laced with moody atmosphere, great pacing, quality performances, and a script worked over by the camera that enforces theme and symbolic meaning throughout. I found this film haunting, eerie, and poetic in its own way. O' Keefe, James Bell, Margo, Brooks, and the entire cast give credible turns and enforce our ability to accept what is going on.Some scenes are quite memorable: the young girl walking back home from the store is a classic scene of terror, the cemetery scene, and the procession of the monks allowed Tournier to work his magic with the lens. Tournier was always able to tell so much story with so little dialog. Though some might find the ending a bit of a letdown, I thoroughly enjoyed The Leopard Man.

Slimly-plotted but handsomely-produced second-biller about an escaped leopard in a small dirt town in New Mexico that may be the cause of several horrific deaths...or maybe not! Intriguing premise given stylish film-noir treatment. Performances are solid, and Jacques Tourneur's crafty direction allows viewers to see just enough before fading to black. Val Lewton produced, giving the proceedings his customary spooky polish; Roy Webb's background score is predictably dramatic, though the intermittent use of dead silence is even more effective (and the castanets were a nice touch). Story tails off near the end, but film is still a minor gem. Fantastically atmospheric and fun. Based on the book "Black Alibi" by Cornell Woolrich. *** from ****