I first really discovered Val Lewton when I was in college. I had already seen some of his films on TV in my childhood. I remembered I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE (which makes today’s flesh eating zombies very hard to take) and THE BODY SNATCHER because it had Boris Karloff whose 1960s THRILLER program I never missed. There was also CAT PEOPLE and it’s sequel CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE which wasn’t really a horror film at all.
However in 1973 I came across Joel Siegel’s book VAL LEWTON: THE REALITY OF TERROR which provided not only a thoughtful but concise analysis of the 9 Lewton RKO horror films but it contained a number of photos and stills like the cover shot of hands reaching out of their cells in BEDLAM. Unfortunately I loaned that book to someone many years ago and never saw it again. There is a later book called FEARING THE DARK: THE VAL LEWTON CAREER by Edmund G. Bansak which is more comprehensive but not as engaging.
In 2005 Warner Brothers, who now own the rights to all of Lewton’s RKO films, issued a 5 DVD set with all 9 films plus a documentary SHADOWS IN THE DARK; THE VAL LEWTON LEGACY. While this set is indispensable and well worth the price when you consider that you are getting 9 movies plus a standard documentary, this new bio-documentary which came out 3 years later as a separate release is essential to a fully realized understanding of who Lewton was and the impact that he had.
It is a must for Val Lewton enthusiasts. Director Martin Scorsese, who is also one of Hollywood’s foremost historians and an outspoken proponent of film preservation, not only produced VAL LEWTON: THE MAN IN THE SHADOWS, he also narrated it. It captures the essence of Val Lewton by tracing his childhood in Russia to his upbringing in the United States.
Lewton was raised by his independent mother and his strong willed aunt, the actress Alla Nazimova. This gave him an appreciation for strong women characters who are to be found in most of his films. His amazing storehouse of arcane facts and situations gathered from endless reading make his screenplays unlike anyone else’s. That combined with his unerring artistic sense regarding the use of light and shadow and sound for psychological effect are what make his movies unique.
Scorsese contends that it was the limitations Lewton had to work with plus his own inner demons that made his movies what they are. After seeing VAL LEWTON: THE MAN IN THE SHADOWS, it’s hard to argue with him. The only drawback is that if you haven’t seen the films then there are several spoilers here. However since Lewton’s movies are not so much about what happens but how his characters get to where they’re going, then knowing the endings really doesn’t matter all that much.
The Capsule Critic 