With a title like 1943's THE LEOPARD MAN, you
know it must be a Val Lewton production. Lewton, the genius producer behind
such Horrorfest classics as CAT PEOPLE, CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE and I WALKED
WITH A ZOMBIE never met a wacky title he couldn't turn into a classy horror
flick.
This time out, Jacques Tourneur takes over
directing duties and Abner Biberman stars as the titular Leopard Man.
Biberman's a sideshow performer who owns a leopard and rents it out to be used
as an attraction in a night club performance. The leopard promptly escapes and
mauled bodies start piling up.
At first the cops think it's the leopard, then
they think it's someone killing people and using the leopard as a cover up.
Biberman, who loves booze and drinks to black out on the reg, begins to wonder
if he's the one behind everything!
Crazy, huh? Where do they come up with this
stuff? What a weird premise. And so nicely executed, too. If you've never seen
a Val Lewton flick, start with CAT PEOPLE, but don't stop until you get to THE
LEOPARD MAN.
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