Val Lewton, Horror Noir & The Seventh Victim

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Жыл бұрын

Val Lewton's B horror classic 1943's THE SEVENTH VICTIM is a beautifully dark and melancholic film that gives the viewer horror with an existential bent.
Born in Ukraine and the nephew of the great theater and silent film star Alla Nazimoa, Val Lewton had tastes that leaned more towards the artistic than the commercial and those tastes were on display with his artful and beautiful horror films that examined the dark side of life.
RKO studio, looking to find success with cheap horror thrills, hired Lewton to lead its newly formed B horror unit and to produce a series of short, cheap films and ended up inadvertently making legitimate classics.
If you want to watch some of the films in this video, the internet archive has them available for free to WATCH HERE:
Cat People (1942) archive.org/details/cat-people
The Leopard Man (1943) archive.org/details/the-leopa...
I Walked With A Zombie (1943) archive.org/details/i-walked-...
The Seventh Victim (1943) archive.org/details/the-7th-v...
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Пікірлер: 89

@OuterGalaxyLounge Жыл бұрын

His movies, made as they were out of economic necessities, have stood the test of time so beautifully, because he made them thoughtfully, with poetry, enigma, the disturbances of dreams, the uncertainties of the unanswerable big questions, the struggles with faith or lack thereof, the mysteries of death, the ordinary confronting the extraordinary -- they provide us no easy answers and I love that so much about them. They merit and earn countless re-watches and re-thinks. Thank you for honoring him and the amazing The Seventh Victim, a movie that I've been pushing on people for 30 years.

@bobtaylor170 9 ай бұрын

I have, too! What a great film!

@VamshiOhgs Жыл бұрын

The collection of niche horror titles you choose to showcase and shine a light onto is really refreshing to witness

@CinemaCities1978 Жыл бұрын

I’m so glad you’re enjoying them!

@maartenlemmens8628 Жыл бұрын

I have a dvd box set of his films, which i watch several times a year. The melancholic mood , the stunning visual look, often imitated , never surpassed.

@CinemaCities1978 Жыл бұрын

We’re really lucky the censors didn’t think about it too much and approved the script. I think I saw it for the first time as a teen. It definitely hits harder and sadder the older I get.

@josephyearwood1179 Жыл бұрын

Upload the whole film to KZfaq.

@MothGirl007 Жыл бұрын

@@CinemaCities1978 I find that's so true with many films.

@ksmax6310 Жыл бұрын

The Seventh Victim - I have been looking for this film for years but I didnt know what it was called thank you..... 💗💗💗

@neilcoligan8621 Жыл бұрын

I (and millions of other fans) are in debt to Val Lewton for giving Boris Karloff screen time outside of his classic Universal pictures. His role in The Body Snatcher is a particular favourite. It's been reported Karloff credited Lewton as "the man who rescued him from the living dead and restored, so to speak, his soul". On another note, your presentation of these gems of darkness is stellar. Your style is urbanely polished with a slight rise of the eyebrow that speaks to an educated fan base. Well done.

@stephenvelez9710 10 ай бұрын

❤

@CinemaCities1978 Жыл бұрын

Although Val Lewton's unit at RKO made 9 films, I'm focusing on the first four they made starting with Cat People through to the Seventh Victim. Later Boris Karloff arrived on the lot and they made 3 films together (those may get it's own video). Also, Curse of the Cat People, the sequel to Cat People, which I don't really talk about, is an amazing film.

@findlesplurb Жыл бұрын

The interesting thing about the Lewton RKO films is that they were really the only thing going when it came to SERIOUS horror films, as opposed to absurd monster movie mash-ups, or endless sequels to The Mummy and The Invisible Man. Lewton basically carried the torch for the entire genre, at least in the US, throughout the decade. I love the classification of 'noir horror', and believe it perfectly describes the Lewton aesthetic. In addition to Out of the Past -- one of the greatest of all noir films -- Tourneur would go on to direct Night of the Demon, aka Curse of the Demon, with Dana Andrews; you can tell that Tourneur leans on his years directing horror films for Lewton in that film, which comes close to replicating the greatness of Cat People and I Walked With a Zombie. But in spite of its slightly higher budget, Curse of the Demon is still missing something...a bit of that old- school Lewton inspiration. It's hard to put into words, but these films really are special. I just discovered your channel but I'm REALLY digging it! You just earned yourself another subscriber. 🤙

@Cor6196 Жыл бұрын

If Curse of the Cat People is the one with Simone Simone standing in the snow outside a window singing “Il est né le Divin Enfant,” I agree! That scene is engraved on my memory, but that was so long ago I’m probably misremembering.

@dbarker7794 Жыл бұрын

A video of those three Karloff films would be much appreciated.

@1feloniouspunk Жыл бұрын

ICONIC is right. Nice job!!!!!

@leoinsf Жыл бұрын

In my book Val Lewton's best movie was "The Leopard Man". When you realize that it came out in the early 40's when romance movies and a few mysteries were mostly done. It is so surprisingly gory without showing the gore. The story is so-so, but the opening where the little girl needs to get the flour and is killed by the leopard at the door is beyond anything done previously. I saw it as a 6 year old when my Mom took me to a Monday Dish Night at the Lyceum Theater in San Francisco in the early 40's. When the blood creeps under the door at the beginning of the movie, the audience of women stood up and shouted in terror while the dish on their lap fell to the ground. I am sure this night, the janitor had to sweep up many broken dishes. Nuff said!

@qtandem Жыл бұрын

I re-watched it a few days ago and I liked it much more than the first time. Jacqueline's character is fascinating.

@CinemaCities1978 Жыл бұрын

She is an interesting mix of mysterious, alluring, doomed and tragic. Jean Brooks is just wonderful in that role.

@drewsimpson5967 Жыл бұрын

@Cinema Cities those adjectives perfectly describe Jean Brooks herself.

@Icarais69 Ай бұрын

A beautifully felt and sensitive analysis of Lewton's films, and THE SEVENTH VICTIM in particular. You do good work--really good work. Keep it up!

@TheSaltydog07 Жыл бұрын

Kim Hunter - Stella!! Lewton was a genius. See "Cat People."

@betamaxblocker Жыл бұрын

Like many of Lewton's films, this one was way ahead of its time. I'm glad it was made in the 40s though as it could have been pretty schlocky if they had waited to the 60s or 70s.

@robs9237 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for introducing me to this film 👍

@CinemaCities1978 Жыл бұрын

You’re welcome!

@mrkurtlovesmovies Жыл бұрын

What I love about your channel is how you choose such unique and unexpected films to dive into. I'd heard about a number of these pictures, but have never seen any of them. I assumed, with their cheesy drive-in-movie style titles, that they were mildly amusing schlock. The nugget that the studios fed the filmmaker the titles while he worked to make art is a game changer. Fascinating! Your affection for these films is contagious and you never fail to make a compelling case for their value. Thanks!

@CinemaCities1978 Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much! I’m so glad I’ve been able to introduce new viewers to some of these classics! I’ve linked the movies in the description so you can watch them for free. They are so beautifully sad and eerie it’s too bad the titles sometimes give the wrong impression.

@gilgameshofuruk4060 Жыл бұрын

@@CinemaCities1978 I know this may sound daft, but the quality of the black and white photography and the forlorn melancholic atmosphere of these movies remind me of the visual aesthetic of Charles Addams's cartoons for The New Yorker magazine. Works of art, both.

@naftalibendavid Жыл бұрын

Val Lewton was awesome.

@willieluncheonette5843 6 ай бұрын

I Walked with a Zombie is one of 13 all time favorite films. And as a filmmaker myself I feel closest in spirit to two directors, Tourneur and Sam Fuller

@frankb821 4 ай бұрын

The most tragic aspect is that Lewton died so young...imagine all the films we missed out on

@pommelhorsepommelhorse8731 Жыл бұрын

you videos are so much fun. thank you. I also think Curse of the Cat People is one of the most weirdly beautiful films ever made

@CinemaCities1978 Жыл бұрын

I agree 100% about Curse of the Cat People

@russandtracy3887 Ай бұрын

That was really well done. So nice to hear a female voice talk about Val! Thanks

@mgconlan Жыл бұрын

Actually Val Lewton made 11 films at RKO and three after he left. Besides the nine horror films at RKO, he also made "Mademoiselle Fifi" (based on the same Guy de Maupassant short story, "Boule de Suif," that inspired John Ford's "Stagecoach") and "Youth Run Wild" (a juvenile-delinquency drama 10 years before that became a film genre). "The Seventh Victim" is one of Lewton's masterpieces, a brilliant, despairing film full of richness and disquiet. It's one I'd love to see remade, especially by filmmakers who'd bring to it the same artistry and subtlety Lewton, director Mark Robson (in his debut in that job) and writers DeWitt Bodeen and Charles "Blackie" O'Neal (Ryan O'Neal's father) did with the original.

@tombaker4586 Жыл бұрын

I wonder how it would be like to walk the New York streets at night in 1945 ! Love your channel. Greetings, Tom, Belgium.

@aprilcanipe2614 Жыл бұрын

Just found this channel last night and I'm absolutely hooked! Awesome content! 👌

@CinemaCities1978 Жыл бұрын

Fantastic! I'm so glad you're enjoying the videos.

@williamisley1880 11 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for the excellent video on Lewton. I have enjoyed his movies very much and believe that your descriptions capture their feel or mood exactly. I didn't know that he helped save RKO for a time.

@dearbrad1996 Жыл бұрын

Oh my gosh. I've got to see these movies I'm in a cinematic funk after enduring television for too long and didn't know what exciting films such as the ones mentioned actually exist. Thanks for your education. Now, I have to figure out how to track down these gems.

@rybigbee01 14 күн бұрын

Fantastic video. Love Lewton.

@alexkalish8288 Жыл бұрын

My fathers first wife was Louis B.Meyers private secretary (in the 40's, he worked for republic) and my mom worked the Oscars for SAG from the mid-fifties to 1965. I grew up in Hollywood and love noir. That was the best movie review I've ever ( not read) heard. Really great knowledge of Hollywood film, and great taste . So what's your favorite movie ?

@stephenvelez9710 10 ай бұрын

The Seventh Victim is an amazing film. I always appreciate the agency Lewton assured for ALL his characters. Great video. And Hugh Beaumont!

@CannonfireVideo Жыл бұрын

You didn't mention that Mimi came into this story from the opera "La Boheme." Lewton always liked to remind the audience that he was a man of culture. The film means a great deal to me because I once dated a woman just like Jacqueline -- same hair, same attitude, and she even belonged to a notorious group of occultists. (They couldn't hurt a fly, just like the group in this movie.) The problem with this film is structural: It abandons its protagonist in the final act. But the finale is amazingly grim.

@bobtaylor170 9 ай бұрын

Oh, I beg to differ. It's clear that for the cult, manipulating the victim to commit suicide is much more satisfying than mere murder.

@dreaboi 8 ай бұрын

I love this channel so much.

@joannesuzieburlison7128 Жыл бұрын

Thank you! I've heard that name but I didn't know who it was and I hadn't really thought of watching the very old horror films but I will now. Anyway that was very interesting.

@CinemaCities1978 Жыл бұрын

You're welcome. Let me know if you end up watching any Val Lewton films. I'd love to know what you think!

@niamhmckinney4027 Жыл бұрын

Definitely checking this out thanks so much! This is YOUR time of year 😍

@CinemaCities1978 Жыл бұрын

Yes! I live for this time of year! 😂I’ve put a link to the film in the description if you want to watch it.

@niamhmckinney4027 Жыл бұрын

@@CinemaCities1978 thanks so much!😍

@marymitchell8625 9 ай бұрын

Val Lewton never made a bad movie. My first Lewton film was The Leopard Man. My classmates and I made fun of "old" movies. Then The Leooard Man came on TV one night. The next day at least half my homeroom was talking about it! My favorite of his films? Curse Of The Cat People, which still doesn't get enough love. The girl actress grew up to be a therapist in my home state of Washington! All of his films have something to offer, and I appreciate his casting of Black actors in good roles. Theresa Harris deserves a story (hint, hint). ❤

@rybigbee01 14 күн бұрын

Wonderful video!

@westernnoir4808 Жыл бұрын

Her name is Jean Brooks and she has a Louise Brooks' helmet? (As Louise called her hairstyle.) I guess someone wanted to do a subliminal nod to the silent star. Or is it just a coincidence?

@dalangilbert Жыл бұрын

I love this channel; it's a film history course. What was with the little, "I don't know", in the last three seconds?

@eddiereedbigband1 Жыл бұрын

Good afternoon Ms CC. Thank you for another fun and informative video ! Why can't I find a video by you starring the divine Louise Brooks ? You surely have made one. CHEERS !

@onetrickpony381 Жыл бұрын

I C O N I C video essay too!❤

@Whippets Жыл бұрын

It's rather hard for me to categorize Val Lewton's films as "B" films when the artistry is "A" all the way. Now how is it you only have 17.7k subscribers?!?

@CinemaCities1978 Жыл бұрын

Artistically his films are exceptional. Imagine if RKO had given him a larger budget to make these films.

@lallancashire2201 Жыл бұрын

Great appreciation of this classic chiller 👍

@reesetorwad8346 Жыл бұрын

👍 "...more noir than "The Maltese Falcon..." I confess I'm too lazy to look up exact numbers, but near certain Hammet wrote that in the '20s. And in "Curse of the Cat People," every time that little girl says "my friend" it chokes me up.

@nickimontie 11 ай бұрын

Can't wait to watch this one!

@DanielOrme Жыл бұрын

"I Walked with a Zombie" is one of my favorite movies, but the unfortunate title can make it difficult to recommend to people. When I tell people how much I love it, I also have to explain that it's not in any ironic way, as if it was some kind of campy piece of crap (I hate camp! 😠). When I tell them that it's the best adaptation of Jane Eyre ever filmed, I'm always afraid they'll think I'm kidding. It's like when I tell people that I love the TV series 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer.' Damned awful titles!

@CinemaCities1978 Жыл бұрын

That’s so interesting that people consider the title as camp. I always think of the title as a serious and sincere description of a personal experience. Also, Buffy is one my all time favorite shows and I will fight anyone who talks trash about it.

@DanielOrme Жыл бұрын

@@CinemaCities1978 Buffy! Yes! Best series ever! *fist bump*

@CinemaCities1978 Жыл бұрын

@@DanielOrme 👊🏽

@mgconlan Жыл бұрын

@@DanielOrme Even Val Lewton, in a letter to his sister after she wrote him complaining about the awful review "I Walked with a Zombie" got from a New York critic, acknowledged that nobody in the world was going to give a film called "I Walked with a Zombie" a sympathetic review.

@MothGirl007 Жыл бұрын

I Walked With A Zombie has such an incredibly eerie atmosphere and claustrophobic feel to it. I find it truly scary and disturbing and fantastic. I LOVE Val Lewton films.

@dougmann777 Жыл бұрын

Great channel - I just discovered it, as a fan of noir mainly. Have you done a video on "what is noir?" Or how about the obligatory "top ten classic noir"? For me, it has to include The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon, Out of the Past, and The Third Man are the core minimum.

@CinemaCities1978 Жыл бұрын

I have not done a top ten video. Maybe I should with my personal favorites. . . thank you for the suggestion.

@johnrunion5357 11 ай бұрын

my all time favorite movie critic is danny peary. in his review of the film he states the movie trasnpires in the underworld...basically hell. having lewis judd who was killed in the cat people appear in this later film only confirms this theory.

@mrkurtlovesmovies Жыл бұрын

Oh, I also wanted to ask: Was it raining when recorded your VO? I listened with earbuds on, but wasn't sure. Whatever I was hearing, it certainly added to the melancholy of the presentation.

@CinemaCities1978 Жыл бұрын

No, but I’m terrible at audio so if my mistake enhances rather then takes away from the overall mood I’ll take that win! 😂

@nunyabizness6595 Жыл бұрын

No one can tell me that season one of the 1960s Outer Limits wasn't trying to ape what Val Lewton was doing decades. Horror sf nor. It's a shame that they moved the show to a crap time slot. If they hadn't done that, the original team would have stayed and the show might have lasted five years.😮

@Chiller01 Жыл бұрын

Hey the secret husband is Wally and Beaver’s dad!

@jamesallard7223 8 ай бұрын

I don't know, either. Never take that out!

@jalopez1748 Жыл бұрын

When in Blu Ray?

@coyoteartist Жыл бұрын

I don't get what people see in Psycho. I found it more confusing than anything. While I've not seen this particular movie, I've heard of it and I've seen several of Lewton's other movies. While there have been plenty of low budget so much with so little kinds of movies, to do so with only black and white to work with is a special art. More has to be asked of the audience when the clues must be in lighting or lack of it, then in colors.

@tomherron1377 Жыл бұрын

just DLD 8 of Lewtons movies could not find The Seventh Victim anywhere if anyone has any info please post here

@CinemaCities1978 Жыл бұрын

It's available for free on the Internet Archive archive.org/details/the-7th-victim

@tomherron1377 Жыл бұрын

just tried to watch-SURPRISE hard coded spanish subs--for an 80 year old thats not great news--will try to turn sound up and watch-easy to ignore those subs--thanks for tip anyhow i will probably enjoy the movie anyway---oh FYI the canadian person who had torrent only produced 99.9 percent of movie--my luck is VLC can still play that

@richardking3206 Жыл бұрын

I’ve not heard of this one. If I can find it, it’s a definite watch for me! I love all of his films that I’ve seen. Out of the Past is my fave Noir.

@alpha-omega2362 Жыл бұрын

@@richardking3206 just watched it on MOVIES! channel..if that helps, I presume they will be showing it again in the next few days.

@richardking3206 Жыл бұрын

@@alpha-omega2362 Sorry, what’s the ‘Movies’ channel? How can it be accessed? TIA.