Val Lewton Horror Film Producer (1904 – 1951)

The Master of Horror films : Val Lewton 

"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.

A few words about the personal life of Val Lewton

 

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).  

You can see a video tribute to Val Lewton 

You can follow as on twitter (horror2112)

Elias Stoikos

Relative Articles 

I walked with a Zombie

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Resources

Val Lewton - Wikipedia

Val Lewton - Internet Movies Data Base

Val Lewton - The Man in the shadows

Val Lewton - Bright Films Journal 

Val Lewton - University of California, Berkeley

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.                                    

I walked with a Zombie (1943, Jacues Tourner)

I Walked with a Zombie - Who said the dead don't walk

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.

The main persons behind the success of film “I walked with a Zombie”

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”

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Elias Stoikos

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Resources

I Walked with a Zombie - Wikipedia

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I walked with a Zombies - Rotten Tomatoes

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.     

Les Diaboliques - Diaboliques (Clouzot, 1955)

Les Diaboliques the great suspense film that shocked the world , …, and became a classic

The official poster of  Les Diaboliques

The film Les Diaboliques is one of the most significant suspense and horror films in the history of global cinema. The film “Les Diaboliques” it’s a French film but it’s quality and it’s unique style, cinematography and camera work are the main reasons for the global recognition.

The main persons behind the success of “Les Diabliques”

Les Diaboliques was directed by Henri Georges Clouzot, the screenplay was co written George Clouzot, Jerome Gemini, Frederic Grendel and Rene Mason. The score of the film was composed by Georges Van Parys, Director of Photography was ArmanThirand and the film was distributed by Cinedis, UMPO, Gala Film Distribution, Criterion and Arrow Films. The film is based on the French novel Celle qui n' etait plus (She She Who Was No More) by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac. Les Diaboliques shares elements of horror genre and suspense and the main character of the film is a woman who suggers because of his husband, with the help of her husband mistress she kills him. but his body disappears.  

Les Diaboliques was a very successful film according to critiques and box office revenue and it was the 10th highest crossing film of the year in France.  

Highlights of Diaboliques film  

The plot structure is not usual for horror film and it is developed step by step by creating strong suspense and by living enough fictional place to characters to be developed. The film has an unforgettable twist ending and at the final scene an enigmatic question is asked to audience. Is this the end or is just the beginning for another film?

The headmistress of a Parisian School, Vera Delasalle, because of her husband Michel’s brutish behaviour and teams up with his lover Nicole to kill him. They think they have committed the perfect crime, only for the body to disappear. Has Michael returned from his watery grave? Clouzot, served the rights to Boileuar and Narcelac’s source (writers of the initial book) a month before Sir Alfred Hitchcock attempted to do the same. It’s international success triggered Hitchock’s desire to make Psycho. But beyond all the similarities between Hitchock and Clouzot’s most famous film was Psycho. The most significant element in an effort of a comparative study is that Psycho is losing it’s momentum after the murder of maron crane, Les Diaboloques crank ups the tension to a near unbearable pitch by the end of relies solely on judicious editing and a superb cast for its effects - there are no shrieking strings here, indeed no conventional score at all.

The minute attention to physical detail - a ran spring up when the weight of a wicker box is removed and a tap trips on the waterproof tablecloth covering Michel’s body - roots the film in a ubby authenticity that makes its horrors still more shocking. Clouzot alse expertly manipulates the viewers sympathiest by presenting Michel’s murder as justifiable : he rapes his wife, beats his lover and routinely feeds the schoolboys rotting food.

Cast of the film “Les Diaboliques”

The part of Michel Delassale (the husband and main male character is performed by Paul Meurisse. The role of Christina Delassale (wife of Michel and main female character) is played by Vera Clouzot and the part of Nicole Horner (the lover of Michel) is played by Simone Signoret. In film “Les Diaboliques” participate also Charles Vanel, Jean Brochard, Pierre Larquey, Michel Serrault, Therese Dorny, Noel Roquevert and Gorge Poujouly.

Remakes of “Les Diaboliques”

The success of initial film is the main factor for to tv movies remakes and a film remake.  The first was an American version with the title “Reflections of Murder” (1974) and “The House of Secret’s” (1993). Three years later Jeramiah A. Chechik directs the film Diaboliques which was just an adaption of the first film.

You can see on youtube the trailer of “Les Diaboliques”

Also I need to highlight the recognition of film “Les Diaboliques / Diaboliques” of the film industry. Clouzot’s idea to acquire the film rights from the novel “Celle qui n’ etait plus” was so wise movement, because as I have already mentioned the master of Suspense Sir Alfred Hitchcock was looking to acquire the film rights of the same book. Finally, the film “Les Diaboliques / Diaboliques” was a source of inspiration for Sir Alfred Hitchcock to direct Psycho. The writer of Psycho Robert Bloch has recognized the value of Diaboliques as film and he has stated in an interview that his all – time favorite horror film is Les Diaboliques / Diaboliques.

The film gained a large publicity five years after its initial release in France when Vera Clouzot who performs the role of Christina Delassale (the main female character)died of a heart attack at age 46, mirroring her character in the film, Christina who was suffering also from her heart.

Les Diaboliques / Diabolique was also the favorite film on Turner Classic Movies channel. Later in 1999 it was released on DVD in the Criterion Collection and twelve years later on 2011 it was re- released on DVD by Criterion for second time.

Les Diaboliques / Diaboliques awards and recognition

The film “Les Diaboliques / Diaboliques” in 1954 won the Louis Delluc Prize and one year later in 1955 won the award for best foreign film at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards in 1955.

Les Diaboliques / Diaboliques now days is considered a classic masterpiece of horror cinema and it’s ranked 46th on Bravo’s list of 100 Scariest Movie Moments, Time in 2007 honored the film “Les Diaboliques / Diaboliques” by placing it on the list of Top 25 Horror films. On the web site Rotten Tomatoes the film “Les Diaboliques / Diaboliques” hold a 97% approval rate based on 36 reviews.

The Plot Structure of the film “Les Diaboliques / Diaboliques”

The basic story line of the narration is not as the majority of other horror films – the plot structure is developed step by step around a murder and the relationship of three humans. The main character is Michel Delassale a tyrannical, brutal and sadistic man who is Director of a second – rate boarding school. The school is private and it’s owned by his wife the frail Christina Delassale (the main female character) who is raped and injured physically and mentally by her husband Michel. There is also another one character, another woman, the lover of Michel Delassale because the main character flaunts his marriage relationship with Nicole Horner a teacher at the school, too.

There is no antagonism between the woman, the brutal behavior of Michel Dellasale has united the two women who unable to accept and stand him anymore, Nicole devises a plan. At first the plan wasn’t accept by Christina, but after thinking and discussing Christina consents to help Nicole. Christina and Nicole go to an apartment in a remote village several hundred kilometers away and Nicole invites Michele there. Christina sedates him and then the two women drown Michele in a bathtub. They carried Michele’s body in a box by the school’s car back to school and they dump his body in scholl’s neglected swimming pool. According to their plan, when Michele corpse floats to the surface students, other teachers and police will believe that he was drown by accident. The plan goes well as it was scheduled, until, until …..

The body fails to appear on the water surface of the swimming pool, Christine and Nicole decide to drain water from the pool but there is no corpse.

Christine is ready to collapse. Nicole reads on the newspaper that police has found a corpse. Christina goes to the morgue, looking to recognize the body of her husband, but the body is not Michel. During her visit at morgue Christina meets Alfred Fichet a retired private detective and he gets involved in the case.

Christina and Alfred Fichet return to school while a student is punished for breaking a window, Christina asks the student who has decided the punishment and the boy answerers that Michel (her dead husband) punished him. After this incident Christina becomes very ill and she collapses, she is unable to be photographed of the school photo. But in the school photo in the background at the buildings window is a shadow and it seems that is Michele. Nicole becomes nervous and decides to leave from school.

Christina decides to tell the truth to Alfred Fichet but the retired detective does not believe her and he investigates the building and the swimming pool of the school. At the same time Christina hears strange sounds in the building and decides to search for the source of the strange sounds. According to her someone is in the school and she runs back to her room, but she finds Michel’s corpse in the bathtub and Michel rises from the tub, Christina can not stand the view of her husband rising from the “dead” (from the bathtub) and has a heart attack and dies.

The plan was to set up Christina and Michel with Nicole had organized it to trap Christina, they have succeeded. Michael is not dead but he was acting the dead to scare Christina to death in an effort to kill her by causing heart attack because it was known that Christina was suffering from serious heart condition. Nicole and Michel are ready to escape but unfortunately for them Alfred (retired detective) is there to arrest them.

Great story, but the writers have another twist at the final scene. The boy who was punished by Michel, because he had broken a window, he has his slingshot back, two older teachers asked him who gave to him the slingshot. The boy answers “Christina Delassale”.

FIN

There is also another innovation by filmmakers, at the final screen they ask from audience not to reveal the ending to others.   

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Elias Stoikos

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Resources

Les Diaboliques Wikipedia

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You can watch Les Diaboliques free on Internet Archives

Essay about Les Diaboliques

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.     

Abraham (Bram) Stoker the author of Gothic - Vampire masterpiece Dracula

Bram Stoker one of the most significant horror authors ! 

“I who served the Cross. I who commanded nations hundreads of years before you were born - I was betrayed. Look what your God has done to me“

From Dracula novel by Bram Stoker

Bram Stoker is one of the most significant and important authors of this century, he conquered the horror literature with his memorable and all time horror classic masterpiece novel “Dracula” (Bram Stoker, 1897). He was born before 165 years on 8 November 1847 at 15 Marno Crescent in Dublin, Ireland. Bram Stoker was the third of seven children of Stoker family.

Significant Facts about Bram Stoker’s life

Bram Stoker faced health problems at his childhood and he was bedridden until he started school at the age of seven. It’s important to use his own words to describe the situation “I was naturally throughtful and the leisure of long illness gave opportunity for many thoughts which were fruitful according to their kind in later years”.

He studied at the private schoool of Rev. Willimas Wood and later he attended and graduated from the prestigious Trinity College with honors in mathematics. He worked as auditor at the College Historical Society and then he became president of the University Philosophical Society, but the activities and interests of Bram Stoker were beyond science and auditing.

During his studies at University he became interested in theater and he started writing theater critics for the  Irish newspaper Dublin Evening Mail. But, sometimes destiny rules the faith of creative men and the Daily Evening Mial was co - owned by the famous author of Gothic Tales Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. The quality of Stoker’s articles and his unique point of view were the main reasons for mass attraction of interest from audience. Stroke through his exceptional articles became became friend with Henry Irving. During that period of time Bram Stoker wrote “The Crystal Ball” which was published by the London Society also he wrote books like “The Chain of Destiny” and also a non - fiction book with the title “The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland” published in 1879.

In 1879 Stoker married Florence Belcombe and on 31 December 1879, their only child was born,a son named later Irving Noel Thornley Stoker.

Stoker’s relocation in London

Later in 1879 Bram Stoker moved to London, where he was employed s acting manager of Irving’s Lyceum Theater and later as business manager. The collaboration of Bram Stoker with Irvine was very important for his career because he was involved in London’s high society, where he had the change to meet James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and finally the author Hall Caine (Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine). Also I need to highlight the fact that with Irwing Bram Stoker traveled in a large number of countries and especially in United States of America, its known that Stoker created fictional characters with American background in two of his novels.

Bram Stroker on writting

While Bram Stroker was working for living as manager in London’s Lyceum Theater he started writing fictional books the first of them was “The snake’s pass” (1890) and later “The Watter’s Mou” (1895), “The Shoulder of Shasta (1895), Dracula (1895), Miss Betty (1898), The Jewel of Seven Stars (1903), The Man (1895), Lady Athlyne (1908), The Lady of the Shroud” (1898) and finally “The Lair of the white wom” (1911).

During that period Bram Stoker was part of the literary staff of the London Daily Telegraph and also after Irving’s death he wrote a non - fiction book about the life of his loved friend with the title “Personal Reminiscence of Henry Irving” (1906).

The Dracula Novel a masterpiece of horror fiction

The inspiration for the novel was Mr. Armin Vambery a Hungarian writer and traveller. It’ s believed that the fictional character of Dracula was born from Vambery’s dark stories about Carpathian mountains.  Also, Stoker was researcher and student of European folk-ore, mythological stories of vampires. Finally Bram Stroker created a masterpiece by using a multidimensional narration structure. Historian of fiction use to say that Dracula is a an epistolary novel written as a collection of realistic but completely fictional diary entries, telegraphs, letters, ship’s logs, newspaper clippings all of which added a level of detailed realism to his story, a skill that was developed as a newspaper writer.   

  

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External Resources

Bram Stoker - Wikipedia

Bram Stoker - Internet Movies Data Base

Download Bram Stoker's books 

Bram Stoker - Gutenberg online project

Bram Stoker Online

Bram Stoker - Open Library

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.     

The thing from another world (1951)

The Thing “Where did it came from ? How did it get here ? What is it ?”

The Thing is not just a horror film is one of the most successful crossovers between horror and science fiction genres. The plot structure of the film is based on the book “who goes there” by John W. Campell. The Thing is a very successful film according to box office statistics it was the 46th biggest earner in 1951 beating all other science fiction films among them the film of Robert Wise “The Day the earth stood still” and the film of Rudolph Mate “When Words Collide”. “The thing from another world” received a large number of very good critiques and it holds on 89% “fresh” rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes. In 2001 the United States Library of Congress deemed the film “The thing from another world” as “culturally significant” and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.

The main persons behind the film “The Thing”

The film was directed by Christian Nyby and Howard Hawks and as it was mentioned earlier the plot structure of the film is based on John W. Campell’s book “Who goes there?” and it was adapted for screen by Charles Laderer, Howard Hawks and Ben Hecht. The score of the film was composed by Dimitri Tiomkin and Director of Photography was Russell Haulain, the film was distributed by RKO Radio Pictures.

The plot structure of the film “The thing from another world”

The story is about an unexpected visitor from space “The Thing", the place of its landing is the North Pole. The first human beings who will interact with him will be a United States Air Force re - supply crew and a scientific mission in North Pole.

By using a Geiger counter the scientific team will find a spaceship under the frozen ice. The scientists and the air crew unheat the ice with thermite heat bombs, but they ignite by accident the ship’s metal alloy causing the explosion and destruction of the space ship. But the Geiser counter shows another spot where is the frozen body of an allien.

The scientific team will excavate a block of ice around the tall body of the alien and transfer it at the scientific base. After their arrival at the base a blizzard will ct of their communication with the US Air Force headquarters in Anchorage, Alaska.  Scientists want to thaw out the body but the head officer of the Air crew issues orders for everyone to wait until he receives new orders from US Air Force base. The ice block was covered by an electric blanket and as the ice melts the alien creature revives and finally escapes into the darkness of the night into the blizzard into a sub - zero environment.

to be continued

American Film Institute and “The Thing”

“The thing from another world is included in the following lists of American Film Institute

AFI's 100 years …. 100 Thrills - placed at 87th position

AFI’s 100 years …. 100 Heroes and Villains (The Thing was nominated)

AFI’s 100 years …. 100 Movie Quotes “Watch the skies, everywhere, keep looking! Keep watching the skies!” - It was nominated

AFI's 100 years … 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) it was nominated

AFI’s 10 Top 10 - Nominated Sci - Fiction film.

The cast of “The Thing”

The part of Nikki Nicholson (main woman role) is played by Margaret Sheridan, the role of Captain Patrick Henry (main male character) is played by Kenneth Tobey. The part of head scientist (Dr. Arthur Carringhton) is played by Robert Cornthwaite.

Also, Douglas Spencer played the part of Ned “Scotty” Scott, Dewey Martin played the part of Crew Chief Bob and finally in the thing participate Willam Self, Edward Franz, Sally Creighton, James Arness, Paul Frees, John Decker, George Fenneman and David McManon.

You can on the following video the trailer of the film on Youtube - (click here)

Also you can see the legendary scene with fire on the film "The Thing" (click here)

Elias Stoikos

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Resources

The Thing - Internet Movies Data Base

The Thing from Another World - Wikipedia

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.