Val Lewton

Vladimir Ivan Leventon (7 May, 1904-14 March, 1951) was an American screenwriter and producer who was born in what is now Yalta, Ukraine. He was a nephew of the actress Alla Nazimova. In 1909, he immigrated to the USA with his sister and mother (where his name was changed to Val Lewton). He was raised in suburban Port Chester, New York. Val Lewton This is a copyrighted promotional photo with a known source. ... Val Lewton This is a copyrighted promotional photo with a known source. ... May 7 is the 127th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (128th in leap years). ... For the Lebanese political coalition, see March 14 Alliance. ... Yalta (Ukrainian: , Russian: , Crimean Tatar: ) is a city in Crimea, southern Ukraine, on the north coast of the Black Sea. ... Alla Nazimova, born Mariam Edez Adelaida Leventon (May 22, 1879 – July 14, 1945) was an American theater and film actress, scriptwriter, and producer. ... Port Chester is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. ...

Prior to beginning his film career in the early 1930s (as an MGM publicist and assistant to David O. Selznick), he studied journalism at Columbia University and authored eighteen works of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. MGM logo Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer or MGM, is a large media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of cinema and television programs. ... David O. Selznick David Oliver Selznick (May 10, 1902–June 22, 1965), was one of the icon Hollywood producers of the Golden Age. ... Columbia University is a private research university in the United States. ...

Lewton once lost his job as a reporter for the Darien-Stamford Review after it was discovered that a story he wrote about a truckload of kosher chickens dying in a New York heat wave was a total fabrication.

In 1932 he wrote a best-selling pulp novel No Bed of Her Own. The book was later made into the film No Man of Her Own, with Clark Gable and Carole Lombard. His first screen credit was "revolutionary sequences arranged by" in David O. Selznick’s 1935 version of A Tale of Two Cities. Lewton also worked as an uncredited writer for Selznick’s Gone with the Wind, including writing the scene where the camera pulls back to reveal hundreds of wounded soldiers at the Atlanta Depot. No Man of Her Own is the second film Barbara Stanwyck made with director Mitchell Leisen. ... William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901 – November 16, 1960) was an Academy Award-winning American film actor. ... Carole Lombard (October 6, 1908 – January 16, 1942) was an American actress. ... David O. Selznick David Oliver Selznick (May 10, 1902–June 22, 1965), was one of the icon Hollywood producers of the Golden Age. ... A Tale of Two Cities is a 1935 film directed by Jack Conway and Robert Z. Leonard (uncredited), adapted by W.P. Lipscomb and S.N. Behrman from Charles Dickens novel A Tale of Two Cities. ... Gone with the Wind, one of the most popular films of all time, and the most enduring symbol of the golden age of Hollywood, is a 1939 film adapted from Margaret Mitchells 1936 novel of the same name. ...

In 1942, Lewton was named head of the horror unit at RKO studios. He was paid $250 a week. And as head of the B-horror unit he would have to follow three rules: each film had to come in under a $150,000 budget; each film was to run under 75 minutes; and Lewton's supervisors would supply the title for each film. RKO could stand for: RKO Pictures The R.K.O. - finishing manoever (and initials) of WWE professional wrestler Randy Orton. ...

Lewton's first production was Cat People, with Simone Simon. Made for $134,000, the film went on to earn nearly $4 million, and was the top moneymaker for RKO that year. Simone Simon (April 23, 1910 – February 22, 2005) was a French film actress who began her film career in 1931. ...

Lewton died of a heart attack on March 14, 1951, at the age of 46. For the Lebanese political coalition, see March 14 Alliance. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ...

Val Lewton's RKO Films

• Cat People (1942)
• I Walked with a Zombie (1943)
• The Leopard Man (1943) based on the novel by Cornell Woolrich
• The Seventh Victim (1943)
• The Ghost Ship (1943)
• The Curse of the Cat People (1944)
• Mademoiselle Fifi (1944)
• Youth Runs Wild (1944)
• The Body Snatcher (1945)
• Isle of the Dead (1945)
• Bedlam (1946)

In two cases (The Body Snatcher and Bedlam) Lewton also accepted co-writing credit, but used the pseudonym "Carlos Keith" in the films' credits. He also wrote a novel, Where the Cobra Sings under the Carlos Keith pen name. This article is about the 1942 film; Cat People is also the name of a 1982 film. ... I Walked with a Zombie is a 1943 horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur. ... The Leopard Man is a 1943 horror movie directed by Jacques Tourneur based on book Black Alibi by Cornell Woolrich. ... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative, typically in prose. ... Cornell George Hopley-Woolrich (December 4, 1903 - September 25, 1968) was an American novelist and short story writer. ... See also the unreleated science fiction short Seventh Victim (short story) The Seventh Victim is a black-and-white film produced by now famed film producer Val Lewton. ... The Ghost Ship starring Richard Dix The Ghost Ship is a black-and-white 1943 film starring Richard Dix. ... The Curse of the Cat People is a 1944 film directed by Gunther von Fritsch and Robert Wise and produced by Cat People producer Val Lewton. ... Mademoiselle Fifi can refer to: Mademoiselle Fifi (book) - by Guy de Maupassant Mademoiselle Fifi (Cui) - an opera by César Cui Mademoiselle Fifi (film) - a 1944 film This is a disambiguation page—a list of articles associated with the same title. ... The Body Snatcher (also known as Robert Louis Stevensons The Body Snatcher) is a 1945 horror directed by Robert Wise based on the short story The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson. ... Isle of the Dead is the title of many films. ... Bedlam is a 1946 film starring Boris Karloff and Anna Lee. ...

References

• Val Lewton Horror Collection DVD documentary 2005
• The Val Lewton B-Unit Page Bio, Photos, Lewton Books