Quick Review - Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows

Forgive the brevity of this review, but Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows is a captivating glance into the working process of what can best be described an auteur producer, a man of whom there is no audio, no home movies, but who influenced horror in a more profound way than anyone not named James Whale or Tod Browning. Val Lewton's inventive approaches to overcome budget limitations resulted in hypnotic, uncanny, and suggestively disturbing films, and The Man in the Shadows covers his story, the films, and analyzes themes and recurring motifs in 76 minutes - just a little longer than most of his RKO pictures.

Narrated by Martin Scorsese (who also "presents" the film above the title), Kent Jones' The Man in the Shadows begins with the regime change in RKO that effectively sullied Orson Welles' The Magnificent Ambersons forever. In the wake of this shift, however, RKO also decided they wanted to compete with Universal's successful horror division. They hired a script editor and assistant of David O. Selznick, Val Lewton. Lewton, the child of Russian immigrants, was raised by his mother (a script editor) and aunt (a star of stage and film), and the film hints the impact of their upbringing has something to do with the female protagonists of most of his films.

When he joined RKO, the creatively frustrated Lewton decided to build his own team to make "A pictures with B budgets," so he brought in director Jacques Tourneur, editors Mark Robson and Robert Wise in order to make the best of hectic schedules and little money - a run that included Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie, The Seventh Victim, and The Leopard Man. The result, as The Man in the Shadows examines film by film, are ethereal, suggestive films where characters wander into danger rather than recoiling in terror. His working relationship with Boris Karloff in Isle of the Dead, The Body Snatcher, and Bedlam are given ample examination, particularly into the question of how much "horror" really exists in the horror films. The documentary also covers his two non-horror films at RKO (Mademoiselle Fifi and Youth Runs Wild), before briefly covering the change in regime that swept Lewton (like Welles before him) out, and his troubled period of bouncing from studio to studio prior to his death at age 46.

Because there is no footage of Lewton, or audio recordings, excerpts from his correspondences with studio executives are read by Elias Koteas, the only glimpse into the mind of a man highly critical of his own work. The documentary also includes interviews with Robert Wise, film historians Alexander Nemerov and Geoffrey O'Brien, psychologist Dr. Glen Gabbard, Lewton's son, and admirers Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Pulse, Cure) and producer Roger Corman. Much of the interview footage is devoted to exploring themes, rather than specific technique, of delving into Lewton's melancholic stories and uncanny subtexts, and the film could be regarded as much a psychological sketch of the producer as it is a Hollywood narrative. The documentary is never dull, and feels greater than its slight running time might suggest.

A word of warning: the documentary features a considerable number of clips from Lewton produced films, including scenes that are more than likely going to spoil Cat People and I Walked with a Zombie for first time viewers, as well as giving away major plot points in Curse of the Cat People, Isle of the Dead, and Bedlam. I'm not sure how many horror fans that don't know who Lewton is (or, more importantly, haven't seen many of these films) are going to seek out a documentary about his impact on horror, but I advise you save The Man in the Shadows until after watching at least I Walked with a Zombie, Cat People, and The Seventh Victim. The films are all worth your time and will only enhance watching what is already a fine documentary.