Start Your Own Val Lewton Collection
During the month of October on Turner Classic Movies, viewers with a taste for the spookier, atmospheric, creepy end of the horror movie spectrum can begin (and virtually complete) a collection of the works of filmmaker Val Lewton. Apparently, the auteur theory holds true for Lewton who had a pervasive influence over the films he produced. They are among the best horror films ever made. TCM will replay their excellent bio of Lewton, Martin Scorsese Presents, Val Lewton: The Man In The Shadows (2007). Here are the films coming up this month. All that’s missing are The Curse of the Cat People and The Leopard Man — both of which are among Lewton’s best. Fortunately, the former will show on TCM on 12/10/2008 at 7:30 AM. Keep your fingers crossed for the latter, which has shown on TCM in the past. I have included Curse of the Demon because of Lewton’s influence on director Jacques Tourneur.
20 Monday
7:45 AM Ghost Ship, The (1943)
A young innocent signs on with a ship whose captain is going mad. Cast: Richard Dix, Russell Wade, Edith Barrett. Dir: Mark Robson. BW-69 mins, TV-PG, CC
9:00 AM Seventh Victim, The (1943)
A girl’s search for her missing sister puts her in conflict with a band of satanists. Cast: Kim Hunter, Tom Conway, Jean Brooks. Dir: Mark Robson. BW-71 mins, TV-G, CC
22 Wednesday
12:15 AM Martin Scorsese Presents, Val Lewton: The Man In The Shadows (2007)
This TCM original documentary looks at the imaginative producer who fashioned a lasting body of beautiful and unsettling films on meager budgets. Cast: Martin Scorsese Narrates. BW-77 mins, TV-PG, CC
1:45 AM Cat People (1942)
A newlywed fears that an ancient curse will turn her into a bloodthirsty beast. Cast: Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Tom Conway. Dir: Jacques Tourneur. BW-73 mins, TV-PG, CC, DVS
3:00 AM I Walked With A Zombie (1943)
A nurse in the Caribbean resorts to voodoo to cure her patient, even though she’s in love with the woman’s husband. Cast: Frances Dee, Tom Conway, James Ellison. Dir: Jacques Tourneur. BW-69 mins, TV-PG, CC, DVS
4:15 AM Isle Of The Dead (1945)
The inhabitants of a Balkans island under quarantine fear that one of their number is a vampire. Cast: Boris Karloff, Ellen Drew, Helene Thimig. Dir: Mark Robson. BW-72 mins, TV-PG, CC
5:30 AM Body Snatcher, The (1945)
To continue his medical experiments, a doctor must buy corpses from a grave robber. Cast: Boris Karloff, Henry Daniell, Bela Lugosi. Dir: Robert Wise. BW-78 mins, TV-PG, CC
30 Thursday
10:15 AM Curse of the Demon (1958)
An anthropologist investigates a devil worshipper who commands a deadly demon. Cast: Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins, Niall MacGinnis. Dir: Jacques Tourneur. BW-82 mins, TV-PG, CC
31 Friday
3:30 PM Body Snatcher, The (1945)
To continue his medical experiments, a doctor must buy corpses from a grave robber. Cast: Boris Karloff, Henry Daniell, Bela Lugosi. Dir: Robert Wise. BW-78 mins, TV-PG, CC
5:00 PM Bedlam (1946)
When an actress tries to reform an asylum, its corrupt keeper has her committed. Cast: Boris Karloff, Anna Lee, Billy House. Dir: Mark Robson. BW-79 mins, TV-PG, CC
