Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows (2007) (TV)

Director:

Kent Jones

Writer:

Kent Jones (written by)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

Martin Scorsese narrates this tribute to Val Lewton, the producer of a series of memorable low-budget horror films for RKO Studios...

Cast

Martin Scorsese	...	Narrator (voice)
Elias Koteas	...	Voice of Val Lewton (voice)
Roger Corman	...	Himself - Interviewee
Glen Gabbard	...	Himself - Interviewee (as Dr. Glen Gabbard)
Kiyoshi Kurosawa	...	Himself - Interviewee
Val E. Lewton	...	Himself - Interviewee
Alexander Nemerov	...	Himself - Interviewee
Ann Carter	...	Herself - Interviewee (as Ann Carter Newton)
Geoffrey O'Brien	...	Himself - Interviewee
Jacques Tourneur	...	Himself - Interviewee (archive footage)
Robert Wise	...	Himself - Interviewee (archive footage)
Alla Nazimova	...	(archive footage) (as Nazimova)
Simone Simon	...	(archive footage)
Ben Bard	...	(archive footage)
Sir Lancelot	...	(archive footage)
Elizabeth Russell	...	(archive footage)
Billy House	...	(archive footage)
Skelton Knaggs	...	(archive footage)
Richard Dix	...	(archive footage)
Frances Dee	...	(archive footage)
Tom Conway	...	(archive footage)
Anna Lee	...	(archive footage)
James Bell	...	(archive footage)
Helene Thimig	...	(archive footage)
Kate Drain Lawson	...	(archive footage)
Ian Wolfe	...	(archive footage)
Donna Lee	...	(archive footage)
Dewey Robinson	...	(archive footage)
Lou Lubin	...	(archive footage)
Edith Barrett	...	(archive footage)
Abner Biberman	...	(archive footage)
Theresa Harris	...	(archive footage)
Edith Atwater	...	(archive footage)
Jack Holt	...	(archive footage)
Alan Napier	...	(archive footage)
Evelyn Brent	...	(archive footage)
Boris Karloff	...	(archive footage)
Henry Daniell	...	(archive footage)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Val Lewton	...	Himself (archive footage)
Kent Smith	...	Various roles (uncredited) (archive footage)
Orson Welles	...	Himself (uncredited) (archive sound)

Directed by
Kent Jones

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Kent Jones		written by

Produced by
Mikaela Beardsley	....	line producer
Margaret Bodde	....	producer
Tom Brown	....	executive producer: Turner Classic Movies
Martin Scorsese	....	producer
Emma Tillinger Koskoff	....	executive producer: Sikelia Productions (as Emma Tillinger)

Cinematography by
Robert Shepard		(director of photography) (as Bobby Shepard)

Film Editing by
Kristen Huntley

Art Department
Tony Aramburu	....	graphic artist

Sound Department
James Baker	....	sound recordist
Chris Fielder	....	assistant sound editor
Steuart Pearce	....	sound recordist
Reilly Steele	....	sound mixer
Philip Stockton	....	sound editor
Jimmy Williams	....	sound recordist (as James Williams)

Visual Effects by
Tony Aramburu	....	title design

Camera and Electrical Department
Hirohisa Ota	....	additional camerawork
Richard Pearce	....	additional camerawork

Editorial Department
Mikaela Beardsley	....	additional assistant editor
Will Cox	....	colorist
Will Cox	....	on-line editor
Chris Pressler	....	additional assistant editor
Bryan Quinn	....	additional assistant editor
Kristin Rodriguez	....	additional assistant editor
Tyler H. Walk	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Ralph P. Brescia	....	legal services
Maria Franzese	....	production accountant
Shigehiko Hasumi	....	interviewer: Japanese
Arnie Herrmann	....	accounting services
Michael Mann	....	accounting services
John Migliore	....	researcher
Allison Niedermeier	....	production associate
Freida Orange	....	assistant: Martin Scorsese
Robert Stein	....	legal services (as F. Robert Stein)
James Yeagashi	....	translator

Thanks
Marianne Bower	....	special thanks
Scott Brock	....	special thanks
Bruni Burres	....	special thanks
John Carpenter	....	special thanks
Ned Comstock	....	special thanks
Nick Damiano	....	special thanks
George Feltenstein	....	special thanks
Don Fleming	....	special thanks
Greg Ford	....	special thanks
Amanda Gabbard	....	special thanks
Pattie Giordan	....	special thanks
Peter Gizzi	....	special thanks
Bruce Goldstein	....	special thanks
Carter Gunn	....	special thanks
Hadley Gwin	....	special thanks
Kristen Hassell	....	special thanks
Shigehiko Hasumi	....	special thanks
Linda Hoaglund	....	special thanks
Madoka Imura	....	special thanks
Andrézj Jones	....	special thanks
Ethan Jones	....	special thanks
Tom Karsch	....	special thanks
Val E. Lewton	....	very special thanks
Bryan McKenzie	....	special thanks
Kristen Molina	....	special thanks
Stephen Newton	....	special thanks
Sandy Patch	....	special thanks
Mark Raker	....	special thanks
Laura Rosenthal	....	special thanks
Nicolas Saada	....	special thanks
Richard Schickel	....	special thanks
Joel E. Siegel	....	very special thanks
Airi Suzuki	....	special thanks
Charles Tabesh	....	special thanks
David Tedeschi	....	special thanks
Tom Weaver	....	special thanks
Elizabeth Willis	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Turner Classic Movies (TCM)
• Turner Entertainment
• Sikelia Productions

Distributors

• Turner Classic Movies (TCM) (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• Warner Bros. Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Bros. (2007) (worldwide) (all media)

Other Companies

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)  archival material courtesy of
• Bison Archives  archival material courtesy of
• Classic Images  archival material courtesy of
• Corbis  archival material courtesy of
• Film Preservation Associates  archival material courtesy of
• Final Frame  special thanks
• Getty Images  archival material courtesy of
• Hollywood Reporter, The  archival material courtesy of
• Humanities Research Center - The University of Texas at Austin  archival material courtesy of (as Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin)
• Institut National de l'Audiovisuel (INA)  archival material courtesy of
• Lorac Productions  archival material courtesy of
• Metropolitan Museum of Art  archival material courtesy of
• Photo Fest  archival material courtesy of (as Photofest)
• Reed Business Information  archival material courtesy of (as Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier)
• University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)  archival material courtesy of (as University of California at Los Angeles)
• University of Southern California (USC)  archival material courtesy of
• WPA Film Library  archival material courtesy of

Also Known As:

"Martin Scorsese Presents: Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows" - USA (complete title)

Runtime:

USA:77 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:TV-PG (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Turner Classic Movies (TCM)

Trivia:

Orson Welles' voice is heard narrating the trailer of Citizen Kane (1941) as a brief clip of it is shown.

Movie Connections:

Features The Body Snatcher (1945)

Interesting documentary

Martin Scorcese waxes poetic over one of his favorite talents, Val Lewton, the producer of cult classics such as The Cat People, The Seventh Victim, I Walked with a Zombie, etc. Lewton's unique outlook on life was present in all of his dark films, which were actually B horror movies with some heavy messages. The most interesting of these for me was The Cat People, which I first saw as a child, and Curse of the Cat People, which I saw recently, and these were my main reasons for watching this documentary, that and the fact that Nazimova was his aunt. I confess that I saw The Seventh Victim and either I wasn't paying attention or I'm thick or both, but I didn't get it. I'm not a horror person so I definitely wouldn't be able to get through anything else of his.

Of interest was the fact that he started off in movies working for David O. Selznick, so he learned from a master. The other interesting thing is that not much is really known about Lewton himself, evidently a very private person. Like many artists, he wasn't fully appreciated while he was alive - which wasn't long. He died when he was 46.

The Cat People remains one of the most fascinating movies ever made, and it was good to hear one person comment that the Kent Smith character seems like a really nice guy but actually isn't -- my feelings exactly; and what a treat to see the child Veronica Lake lookalike, Ann Carter Newton, all grown up, and hear what she had to say about making The Curse of the Cat People.

Viewers should find this interesting, and if you like the genre and aren't familiar with Lewton's work, you will be inspired to see it.