The film Body Snatcher was directed by Robert Wise and the plot structure of the film is based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s short story “The Body Snatcher”.
The film was produced by Val Lewton and the screenplay was written by Philip MacDonald and Val Lewton.
Boris Karloff performs the part of Cabman John Cray (the main male character), Bela Lugosi plays the part of Joseph, Henry Daniell performs the part Dr. Woffe Mac Farlane, Russell Wade performs the part of Donald Fettes and Edith Atwater performs the part of Meg Camden. In film participates also Rita Corday, Shary Moffet and Donna Lee.
The plot structure of the film is developed in Scotland’s capital and one of the most beautiful cities on earth Edinbrugh in 1831, the main character is Dr. Wolfe Mc Farlane who is director of the medical school and he has a very active student Donald Fettes.
Donald Fettes is promoted to Dr. Mac Farlanes assistant and he wants to help a local Scottish girl who has a lost one of hers legs. He believes that Mac Farlane’s surgical skill’s could help her.
Donald Fettes will discover very soon the dark side of Dr Wolfe Mac Farlane, medicine school’s director has a very well kept secret he pays money to a local cabbie John Gray to supply him with dead bodies for “academic research”. Fetter discovers that John Cray does not only robe graves but he kills human beings to supply Dr. Wolfe McFarlane with bodies. You can see on youtube 'The Body Snatcher" full movie:
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Val Lewton in 1930 published a short story with the title “The Baghette”. The story is about a girl who believes that she belongs to a special kid of people who can transform into cats.
In 1942, twelve years after the initial publishing of the story, the story was adapted by De Witt Bodeen for the silver screen and Val Lewton was offered the change to produce a film based on De Witt’s screenplay. Actually, the film Cat People it is not just a good film it’s one of the most significant works of horror cinema.
Director of Photography in film “Cat People” is Nicholas Musuraca, the soundtrack of the film was composed by Roy Webb and it the film was edited by Mark Robson.
The film “Cat People” was distributed by RKO Pictures and it was a huge box office success. According to financial data the ”Cat People” film crossed about $ 4 million and it’s production and distribution planet was about $ 134.000. The ratio of sales / production cost is about 29, 8 and it is among the most attractive in film business.
The main female character is Dubrova Reed and her part was performed by Simone Simon. The main male character Oliver Reed is played by Kent Smith. Also in film participate Tom Conway as Dr. Louis Judd, Jane Randolph plays the part of The Cammrode and finally participate in film Elizabeth Rusell, Alan Napier, Theresa Hains, May Hasley and Elizabeth Dunn.
The Serbian born fashion designer Irena Dubrova (Simone Simon) draws sketches of a black panther. She attacks the interest of a marine engineer Oliver Reed, who starts a conversation with her. Irena invites Oliver to her apartment, Oliver likes the statue of a medieval warrior on horseback impaling a large cat with a sword. Irena informs Oliver that the statue figure is King John of Serbia and the cat represents evil. According to Serbian legends, centuries ago the Christain residents of her home village in Serbia, turned their faith from Christianity to witchcraft or devil worship during their enslaving by the Mamelukes. During the war against Mamelukes, King John of Serbia drove his enemies out of the village and saw what her village residence had become and decided to kill all Satan believers. But a small number of village residents “the wisest and the most wicked” according to legend escaped into the mountains.
Later, Oliver will buy her a kitten but upon their meetings, kitten attacks her. They go to a pet shop to exchange it but as they enter into the shop the animals go wild in her presence. The pet shop owner comments that animals can sense things about people.
Day by day Irena believes that she is descend from the Satan believers of her home village in Serbia. Irena fears that she will transform into a panther when her passion arises. She remembers from her childhood when other children called her mother a cat person and the mysterious death of hers father
Despite all the above incidents, Oliver marries Irena. Few days after their wedding at a Serbian restaurant a woman walks over ans asks Irena if she is “moja cetra” (my sister). This incident created anxiety and fear to Irena. Their marriage is ready to be destroyed, Irena denies to sleep with her husband. Oliver persuades her to visit a psychiatrist. Dr Judd tries to convince Irean that there is no reason to worry. Oliver has spoken to her attractive assistant about their marriage problems.
Oliver starts a relationship with his beautiful assistant Alice Moore. Irena sees her husband Oliver with Alice seated together at a restaurant. Irena follows Alice as she walks home alone through one of the Central Park’s pathways. Irena is walking behind Alice. Alice becomes increasingly uneasy. She’s feeling that something is behind her. She hears a menacing sound a bus pulls up, and she hastily bouds it. Soon after, several sheeps are killed. There are paw paths with blood and away turn into imprints of a woman’s shoes.
After hours later Alice is taking a dip in the basement swimming pool, she sees the shadow of an animal and she fears. Alice, jumps into the pool, using the water to keep creature at bay. Alce screams for help, Irena turns on the lights and claims that she was looking for Oliver.
Alice is not sure, she believes that she has imagined the whole thing, but she convinced only when she finds her robe torn to shreds.
Finally Irena will announce to her husband that she doesn’t fear anymore. Unfortunately, for her Oliver has decided to take divorce and to marry Alice.
to be continued
You can see on the following video (youtube) the classic pool scene from the film “Cat people”
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"If you make the screen dark enough, the mind's eye will read anything it you want! We are great ones for dark patches" - Val Lewton
Val Lewton had an
different idea about the classic films of Universal Monster films, he believed
that they were old fashioned and they used to recycle the same film techniques
and shock effects. Val Lewton re established the horror genre in an entirely
different way with a series of films that change the horror genre for ever and
by presenting a different face of horror.
Val Lewton believed
that by withholding a certain amounts of visual information the audience would
fill in the nasty details. The box office success of his films are empirical
evidence of the correct approach to his believes. Val Lewton worked with other
filmmakers (directors, editors and writers) who shared the same vision about
cinema with him. Among them I can mentioned Jacques Tourneur, Robert Wise and
Mark Robson.
Val Lewton was born
in Russia in 1904 as
Vladimir Ivan Leventon and he was raised in New York . His mother Nina was actress. He
started at MGM department of publicity and he became an experienced fiction
writer (one of his book is the notorious Weird Tales). Then he moved to California and started
as editorial assistant to “Gone with the Wind”. In 1942 Val Lewton joined the
RKO Pictures and he was allowed complete creative control – with conditions as
to use the studio’s already tested sensational titles, to avoid messages, to
spend less than $ 150.000 per picture or per month on shooting and to limit the
length to around 75 minutes. Working on those guidelines and his own professed
terror formula – “a love story, three scenes of suggested horror and one of
actual violence” – Val Lewton rethought and revitalized the genre, though a
series of revered nightmares that rejected mad scientists and monster make –
up.
Lewton wrote “Cat People” (1942) inspired by the initial plot of Algernon Blackwood's story
“Ancient Socceries” and it was a huge success saving RKO from a very difficult
situation just a step before the bankruptcy. The he produced the unforgettable
film “I walked with a Zombie” (1943). The same year 1943 Val Lewton produced
“The Leopard Man” (1943) based on the thriller “Black Alibi” by Cornell
Woolrich. The plot structure of the film is about a supernatural leopard overtones
are redhearings and the invention of a psychopath to mask his murders,
Then Val Lewnton
produced the film “The Seventh Victim” (Mark Robson, 1943) and the plot
structure of the film is about an orphaned schoolgirl in New York discovering that her sister is a
devil worshipper.
According to a large
number of critiques Val Lewton is a significant film producer and among his
best works are “The Body Snatchers” (1945), “Isle of the Dead” (1945) and
Bedlam (1946).
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The film “I Walked with a Zombie” is considered one of the best horror films ever and it’s among the most significant films in Zombie sub – genre. The concept of the film is based on an article which was published published in American Weekly magazine by Columnist Inez Wallace “I walked with a Zombie”. The rights of the article were acquired by RKO Pictures head Charles Koerner and he asked the producer Val Lewton to start the preproduction of a film based on the article.
At the beginning Val Lewton had a different idea and wanted to change the title of the film but finally he and the film director Jacques Tourneur produced a masterpiece of horror cinema and now days is considered one of the greatest achievements in the genre. According to Alan Jones is a rare piece of visual poetry, constructed as a haunting symphony of elegant nightmare imagery.
As I have already mentioned earlier the film “I walked with a Zombie” was directed by Jacques Tourneur and produced by Val Lewton, the screenplay of the film was directed by Curt Siodmak and Adrel Wray. The story of the film is based on an article with the same name written by Inez Wallace and published in American Weekly Magazine. The film “I walked with a Zombie” it was distributed by RKO Radio Pictures and Director of Photography was Roy Hunt and the unforgettable soundtrack of the film eas composed by J. Roy Hunt.
Cast of the film “I walked with a Zombie”
James Ellison performs the part of Wesley Rand, France Dee performs the part of Betsy Connell (the main female character) Tom Conway performs the part of Paul Holland and Edith Barrett performs the part of Mrs. Rand. In the film participate also Jame Bell, Christine Gordon, Theresa Harris, Sir Lancelot, Darby Jones and Jeni Le Gon.
The plot structure of the film “I walked with a Zombie”
The film “I walked with a Zombie” is about the most common question – the powers of reason struggling against the powers of unknown.
The plot of the film is developed in the exotic background of a tropical island in West Indies. Jessica (the role performed by Christine Gordon) is catatonic and her husband is a rich American plantation owner Paul Holland (the part performed by Tom Conway). There is a strong belief among the local habitants of the small island that Jessica suffers because the mother of her husband Mrs Rand (Edith Barret) has placed a voodoo curse on her because Jessica had a love affair with her half – brother Wesley (part is performed by James Ellison).
Holland the husband of Jessica can’t accept the rumors and the superstitions beliefs of locals and he believes that his wife is mentally ill. The main character of the film is Betsy (role played by Frances Dee) a Canadian nurse who arrives in the island to look after Jessica. Betsy tries to solve the various problems of Jessica. Betsy takes Jessica in a voodoo ceremony in an effort to help Jessica return back to her normal life.
The film is known to audience, to film industry and to all media for the amazing, unforgettable and unique nocturnal walk of Betsy and Jessica through a sugar cane field as they walking to get to Houmfort, the island’s voodoo centre. During their walk they will meet various talisman, a tree hung goat carcass, a horse’s skull garlanded with faded flowers and they are approaching drums drown out the sound of the rustling wind.
You can see om youtube the legendary sugar cane scene from the film “I walked with a Zombie”
I need to mention that this article tries to provide information to reader using all the available data on the day of its publishing. New information and data for this subject and issue are published every day. It’s been highly recommended to the reader to search on Google for more information. World is moving searching is the driving force. Searching is the source of inspiration and the source of truth.
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