The Leopard Man

"Woman alone the victims of strange, savage killer!"

1943 1h 6m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 134

HorrorMysteryCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When a leopard escapes during a publicity stunt, it triggers a series of murders.

“Woman alone the victims of strange, savage killer!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Dennis O'Keefe
Jerry Manning
Margo
Clo-Clo, aka Gabriella
Jean Brooks
Kiki Walker
Isabel Jewell
Maria the Fortune Teller
James Bell
Dr. Galbraith
Margaret Landry
Teresa Delgado
Abner Biberman
Charlie How-Come
Tuulikki Paananen
Consuelo Contreras

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jacques Tourneur
Writers: Ardel Wray
Languages: Spanish, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 66-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

83 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Spanish, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jacques Tourneur, shot by Robert De Grasse. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Roy Webb. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Mark Robson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Dennis O'Keefe and Margo and Jean Brooks carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jacques Tourneur directs. Robert De Grasse behind the camera. Roy Webb scores. Mark Robson cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Spanish, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 66-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
2Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
383 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Spanish, English.
5Directed by Jacques Tourneur, shot by Robert De Grasse. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Roy Webb. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Mark Robson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Dennis O'Keefe and Margo and Jean Brooks carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Woman alone the victims of strange, savage killer!".
10IMDB entry: tt0036104 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Robert De Grasse
Original score: Roy Webb
Editing: Mark Robson
Runtime: 66 min · 1h 6m
Status: Released
Budget: $150,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Leopard Man (1943)

Also by

Jacques Tourneur

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-09-15
★ 7/10
Someday you'll try on my coffin and I hope it fits you just perfect. Horror producer supreme Val Lewton teams up for the third and last time with director Jacques Tourneur to bring us The Leopard Man. Set in New Mexico, the story sees Jerry Manning (Dennis O'Keefe) hire a black leopard as a publicity stunt for his night-club performing partner, Kiki (Jean Brooks). Her rival, Clo Clo (Margo), is not impressed and promptly scares the animal into running away into the night. Pretty soon there is a panic looking as the cat appears to be mauling people to death. However, Manning & Kiki, driven by guilt, join the hunt for the rogue animal - but Manning is starting to believe the killings are not of the animal's doing... Based on the book "Black Alibi" written by Cornell Woolrich, The Leopard Man's only crime is that it's not as great as its two predecessors, Cat People & I Walked With A Zombie. Rest assured, though, this is still a quality Lewton/Tourneur production. As a story it's simple and straight, with a running time of just over one hour keeping it lean and devoid of pointless waffle, but the piece positively thrives on its atmosphere - dealing as it does in murky shadows and unease inducing periods of silence. It also boasts a number of sequences that linger long in the memory, be it blood seeping under a door, the bend of a tree branch, or the dark under belly of a railway bridge, for such a short sharp shock of a movie there's so much to enjoy. The work of cinematographer Robert De Grasse (Vivacious Lady/The Body Snatcher) is top class and worthy of indulgence from the film noir loving crowd. What you don't see is more effective on account of the eerie sense of dread that Messrs Lewton/Tourneur/De Grasse have built up. A fine film and proof positive that classic spookers could be made from relatively small budgets. 7/10

Production companies