Most horror movies treat murder victims in a trivial way.  Consider slasher films, which usually provide little background for those who only seem to exist so they can die horribly.

1943’s The Leopard Man takes a different, though rather bizarre, tact.  This is a film which seems to keep forgetting to follow its leads (Dennis O’Keefe and Jean Brooks), and instead constantly diverts its attention to different women who will inevitably turn out to be the next to die.

The primary suspect here is a black leopard.  When we first see the cat, it is being walked into the nightclub dressing room of Brooks, courtesy of O’Keefe, her agent.  The two have been looking for something to distinguish her act, as she is unable to compete with the Spanish dancer (Margo) practicing in the adjacent room. 

There is some humor in this first scene, with Brooks so irritated by the dancer’s incessant castanets that she wonders what the appeal is: “My teeth can do the same thing in a cold shower.”  Then there’s this exchange between her and a jealous friend who is always trying to replace her as an act: “I can wear your red dress.  It fits me just fine.”  “I bet some day you’ll try on my coffin, and it will fit you just fine.”  Curiously, we never see Brooks perform, and we never learn exactly what it is she does.

Instead of integrating the cat into her act, O’Keefe only has Brooks walk the leopard into the club, so as to disrupt Margo’s performance.  This succeeds, though only momentarily.  Margo quickly regains her composure and, clicking her castanets, chases the cat out of the club.

Now there’s a ferocious animal on the loose.  One would think Margo would the first victim, as a fortune teller lurking in the shadows invites her to choose a card and she draws the death card, the ace of spades.  But her number isn’t up that night. 

Instead, she passes by a young woman in an open window (Margaret Landry).  This poor kid is forced by her mother to go get corn flour late at night.  The film’s most horrific moment is when she has returned home and is banging on the door to get in.  The door slightly buckles inward as there’s a loud thunk.  Soon, a trail of blood is seeping under the door.  Rather strong stuff for 1943.

What is odd is how long that entire sequence takes to play out.  I actually forgot about the main characters by the time the movie’s focus returns to them.  Soon, there is an even longer sequence where we follow a woman who brings roses to the mistress of the house (Tula Parma) for her birthday.  Parma takes the roses to her grave of her father and ends up locked inside the cemetery walls, only to become the next victim.

There is much speculation about why a leopard is staying in the town instead of heading for open country.  Also, it is curious why it isn’t eating those it kills. Hmmm…

The Leopard Man is the work of producer Val Lewton and Jacques Tourneur, who gave us the similarly titled Cat People, in addition to I Walk With a Zombie.  Similar to those pictures, there are some strongly atmospheric moments, though not as many as I hoped for.  There is also one incredibly effective jump scare.  But it is telling this film isn’t regarded as highly as those other works.  For all of these films, the creative team were obligated to create a film that would be appropriate for a mandated title.  This is the first of those films to feel like the material was struggling to rise to that challenge.

Dir: Jacques Tourneur

Watching Dennis O’Keefe, Margo, Jean Brooks

Watched on Shout Factory blu-ray