OCTOBER 10: Val Lewton and his Legacy - 9:35pm
The Leopard Man
Jacques Tourneur USA (1943) 66 mins
The Leopard Man
Jacques Tourneur USA (1943) 66 mins
Is it an escaped leopard or something more sinister that is responsible for killings in a Mexican border town? A mystery thriller by Cornell Woolrich is the basis for a disturbingly haunting film noir notable for the expressive use of sound and off-screen space and pools of light in darkness. A fascinating by-product of the embryonic noir genre. As the title of Woolrich's source material suggests (Black Alibi), and although truncated, the film is a faithful adaptation, the leopard is merely a black alibi: not only for the killer, but also for the human greed, ambition & lust that preys on the world.
Screens after I Walked with a Zombie & Cat People (8.10pm).