''The Leopard Man'' is a 1943 American
horror film
Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes.
Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...
directed by
Jacques Tourneur
Jacques Tourneur (; November 12, 1904 – December 19, 1977) was a French film director known for the classic film noir ''Out of the Past'' and a series of low-budget horror films he made for RKO Studios, including ''Cat People (1942 film), Cat ...
, and starring
Dennis O'Keefe
Dennis O'Keefe (born Edward Vanes Flanagan, Jr., March 29, 1908 – August 31, 1968) was an American actor and writer.
Early years
Born in Fort Madison, Iowa, O'Keefe was the son of Edward Flanagan and Charlotte Flanagan, Irish vaudevill ...
,
Jean Brooks
Jean Brooks (born Ruby Matilda Kelly; December 23, 1915November 25, 1963) was an American film actress and singer who appeared in over thirty films. Though she never achieved major stardom in Hollywood, she had several prominent roles in the ea ...
, and
Margo *** People
* Margo (actress) (1917–1985), Mexican-American actress and dancer
* Margo (magician), American magic performer and actress
* Margo (singer), Irish singer
* Margo (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name
P ...
. Based on the book ''Black Alibi'' by
Cornell Woolrich
Cornell George Hopley Woolrich ( ; December 4, 1903 – September 25, 1968) was an American novelist and short story writer. He sometimes used the pseudonyms William Irish and George Hopley.
His biographer, Francis Nevins Jr., rated Woolrich th ...
, it follows a series of violent murders in a small
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
town, which coincide with the escape of a
leopard
The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...
from a nightclub.
It is one of the first American films to attempt an even remotely realistic portrayal of a
serial killer
A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A
*
*
*
* with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
(although that term was yet to be used).
Plot
In a sleepy
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
town, nightclub promoter Jerry Manning hires a
black leopard
A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been ...
as a publicity stunt for his girlfriend, Kiki Walker, a performer there. Kiki uses the opportunity to interrupt the act of her rival, Clo-Clo, by storming into the restaurant with the leopard on a leash. Angered, Clo-Clo frightens the leopard with her
castanets
Castanets, also known as ''clackers'' or ''palillos'', are a percussion instrument (idiophone), used in Spanish, Kalo, Moorish, Ottoman, Italian, Sephardic, Swiss, and Portuguese music. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome there was a similar ...
, and it escapes, fleeing into the night. Charlie, the
Native American owner of the leopard who leased it to Jerry, begins pestering him for money to replace the cat.
That night, a young local woman, Teresa, goes to purchase corn meal for her family's dinner. Under a bridge in an
arroyo
Arroyo often refers to:
* Arroyo (creek), an intermittently dry creek
Arroyo may also refer to:
People
* Arroyo (surname)
Places United States
;California
* Arroyo Burro Beach, a public beach park in Santa Barbara County, California
* Arroyo ...
, she encounters the leopard, and flees to her house. She is killed at the door just before her family is able to let her back in the house. The medical examiner rules Teresa's death an accident, presuming she was mauled by the leopard. Shortly after, Consuela, another local, goes to visit her father's grave in the cemetery on her birthday. Lost in thought, Consuela fails to leave before the gatekeeper locks the gate, and finds herself trapped within the cemetery's stone walls. When help arrives, Consuela is found, another apparent victim of the leopard.
After learning of the second murder, Jerry inquires to the police as to why the leopard has remained within the city, as he was informed it would naturally flee to the wilderness. Charlie also questions whether the leopard killed Consuela, but is
gaslit by the local historian and museum curator Galbraith, into believing he may be responsible, committing the murders during his nightly alcohol binges in which he
blacks out. At his request, Charlie is kept in a jail cell overnight. Clo-Clo spends the night with an elderly wealthy man at the nightclub, who gifts her a hundred-dollar bill. After, she visits Maria, a
fortune teller
Fortune telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life. Melton, J. Gordon. (2008). ''The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena''. Visible Ink Press. pp. 115-116. The scope of fortune telling is in principle identical w ...
, who warns her that "something black" is coming to claim her. En route home, Clo-Clo loses the hundred-dollar bill. When she goes back out to find it, she is attacked and murdered.
Kiki and Jerry prepare to leave on a trip to
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, coinciding with an annual
procession
A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner.
History
Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...
that occurs in the town, commemorating the mass murder of the Natives by the
conquistador
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...
s. As they depart for their train, Kiki and Jerry are gifted a bouquet of flowers from Galbraith, which Kiki wishes to place on Consuela's grave before they leave town. At the cemetery, they are met by Charlie, who notifies them his leopard has been found shot dead in the arroyo, and its fur taken; he presumes the cat has been dead for at least a week, suggesting a human may be responsible for the murders. Charlie recalls having seen Galbraith in the area, and suspects he killed the leopard. Jerry attempts to turn Galbraith in to the police, but they do not believe him.
During the procession that night, Galbraith hears a woman's scream at the cemetery. He subsequently enters the museum, where he hears the sound of the castanets echoing. Shortly after, Kiki arrives at the museum, where she offers to accompany Galbraith in viewing the procession. She convinces Galbraith to turn off the lights, remarking they will better be able to watch the procession. Galbraith agrees and, once the lights are off, Kiki drops a pair of castanets. Galbraith attacks her, but she is saved by Jerry. Galbraith flees into the street, where he is eventually stopped amongst the procession marchers. Confronted by Jerry and Raoul, Consuela's fiancé, Galbraith confesses to having murdered both Consuelo and Clo-Clo. He admits to having been inspired to do so after witnessing the leopard maul Teresa to death. Seeking vengeance, Raoul shoots Galbraith to death.
Later, while at the funeral parlor, Jerry and Kiki reaffirm their love for one another.
Cast
Critical reaction
Initial response
Upon the its initial theatrical release, ''The Leopard Man'' received mixed reviews.
In their 1943 review of the film,
Bosley Crowther
Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...
of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' called the film "Half-baked", and wrote, "''The Leopard Man'' is nothing but a feeble and obvious attempt to frighten and shock the audience with a few exercises in mayhem."
Reassessment
In the subsequent years, following the film's release, modern critical response has been mostly positive, with many critics praising the film's atmosphere, direction, and suspense. On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, ''The Leopard Man'' holds an approval rating of 89% based on , with a
weighted average
The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
rating of 7.37/10.
Ed Gonzalez of ''
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
'' awarded the film four out of four stars, praising Tourneur's use of sound and shadows to create tension.
Dennis Schwartz of ''Ozus' World Movie Reviews'' rated the film a grade A, writing, "Tourneur's fast-paced film is armed with a taut and intelligent script, and is one of those memorable films that gets even better with age like a good wine."
Legacy
''The Leopard Man'' has gradually acquired a cult following over the years, and is now considered a
cult classic
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
.
It has been included in multiple lists at various media publications as one of the greatest horror films ever made. ''
Indiewire
IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...
'' placed it at #90 in their "The 100 Greatest Horror Movies of All-Time".
''
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
'' listed it at #30 in their "The 100 Best Horror Movies of All Time".
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
*
*
*
*
Screenplay for film by Ardel Wray and Edward Dein
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leopard Man, The
1943 films
1943 horror films
1940s serial killer films
American horror films
American black-and-white films
1940s English-language films
Films scored by Roy Webb
Films based on American novels
Films based on works by Cornell Woolrich
Films directed by Jacques Tourneur
Films produced by Val Lewton
Films set in New Mexico
American serial killer films
Publicity stunts in fiction
RKO Pictures films
American exploitation films
1940s American films