Val Lewton(1904-1951)
- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Born in Russia in 1904, Lewton moved with his mother and sister to
Berlin in 1906, then to USA in 1909. He wrote for newspapers,
magazines, novels, pornography, etc.- often using pseudonyms to
disguise their origin (the name Val Lewton was one such pseudonym, used
first for some novels in the 1930's, then revived later in his career
to take writing credit for two movies). In 1933, he got a job with
David O. Selznick where he spent many years as a story editor and
jack-of-all-trades. Then in 1942, RKO hired him to head their new
horror unit, where he made many famous and well-respected B-movies, for
very low costs and high profits. In 1946, he "graduated" to A-movies,
but increasing health problems, trouble working with big-money
Hollywood, and other factors combined to force him to produce only
three more movies before his death in 1951.
