Val Lewton

Production

Biography

Born in the Russian Empire in 1904, Val Lewton (born Vladimir Ivanovich Leventon) moved with his mother and sister to Berlin in 1906, then to the United States in 1909. He wrote for newspapers, magazines, novels, pornography, etc. —often using pseudonyms to disguise their origin (the name Val Lewton was one such pseudonym, used first for some novels in the 1930s, then revived later in his career to take writing credit for two movies). In 1933 he got a job with David O. Selznick, where he spent many years as a story editor and jack-of-all-trades. Then in 1942 RKO hired him to head their new horror unit, where he made many famous and well-respected B-movies, for very low costs and high profits. In 1946, he “graduated” to A-movies, but increasing health problems, trouble working with big-money Hollywood, and other factors combined to force him to produce only three more movies before his death in 1951.

Filmography Movies

Acting

MOVIE

Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy

9.4(0.0K)

Documentary about the great 1940s horror movie producer Val Lewton, featured on the 2005 DVD release "The Val Lewton Horror Collection."

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Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy

MOVIE

Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows

6.9(0.0K)

Martin Scorsese narrates this tribute to Val Lewton, the producer of a series of memorable low-budget horror films for RKO Studios. Raised by his mother and his aunt, his films often included strong female characters who find themselves in difficult situations and who have to grow up quickly. He is best remembered for the horror films he made at RKO starting in 1940. Starting with only a title - his first was The Cat People - he would meticulously oversee every aspect of the film's completion. Although categorized as horror films, his films never showed a monster, leaving it all to the viewers imagination, assisted by music, mood and lighting.

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Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows

Self

Production

MOVIE

The Seventh Victim

6.5(0.2K)

After young Mary Gibson discovers that her older sister Jacqueline has disappeared, she leaves her boarding school and heads to New York City to track down her sibling. But Mary gets drawn deeper into the mystery.

The Body Snatcher

7.0(0.2K)

Edinburgh, 1831. Among those who undertake the illegal trade of grave robbery is Gray, ostensibly a cab driver. Formerly a medical student convicted of grave robbery, Gray holds a grudge against Dr. MacFarlane who had escaped detection and punishment.

The Body Snatcher

Isle of the Dead

6.1(0.1K)

On a Greek island during the 1912 war, several people are trapped by quarantine for the plague. If that isn't enough worry, one of the people—a superstitious old peasant—suspects a young woman of being a vampiric demon.

Bedlam

6.6(0.1K)

London, 1761. St. Mary's of Bethlehem, a sinister madhouse, is visited by wealthy people who enjoy watching the patients confined there as if they were caged animals. Nell Bowen, one of the visitors, is horrified by the deplorable living conditions of the unfortunate inhabitants of this godforsaken place, better known as Bedlam.

Bedlam

Cat People

6.9(0.7K)

A Serbian émigré in Manhattan believes that, because of an ancient curse, any physical intimacy with the man she loves will turn her into a feline predator.

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Cat People

Producer