First (and most profitable) in the line of horror films produced by Val Lewton for RKO in the early Forties, as competition with Universal Studios, at that time dominating the horror field. This one set the pattern for those to follow: no more than seventy-five minutes in length (ideal for double bills), under half-a-million in budget, a title that shrieks and a style that whispers. Often, as here, the story straddles the fence between outright supernaturalism, on one side, and superstition/psychology/ambiguity on the other; and indeed Lewton here blazed an important new trail by attempting (with a couple of damaging lapses) to keep the creature concealed at all times in cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca's artfully arranged shadows. In particular, the after-dark walk to the bus-stop and the solitary dip in the indoor swimming pool are classic terror sequences, but the whole show is beautifully tooled. The rather salacious premise, to do with a virgin wife who may be sexually repressed and mentally unbalanced, or who may actually turn into a lethal leopard under an ancient Serbian curse, blazes an additional new trail in giving the female sex their own counterpart to werewolves, and thus giving them due credit for their animalistic side. The accompanying set decoration of fetishistic feline icons is a gold mine for cat fanciers. Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Jane Randolph, and Tom Conway; directed by Jacques Tourneur. (1942) — Duncan Shepherd
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