It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Absolutely the worst movie.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Blistering performances.

No, it's not another one of those Dr. Moreau things. In this one, a real leopard is the central figure. A man rents a leopard for an act for his female singer, but her rival lets the thing go. Soon there is a killing and there is great remorse for ever having had the thing in the first place. Now, the leopard has to be found. There is a whole lot of effort to locate the animal; meanwhile the first girl is killed. The location of the leopard and the time of its death are significant to the conclusion of this movie. This pairing of Lewton and Tourneur has brought us some of the most atmospheric thrillers ever made. Even B movies come to life because of a master's touch.

An escaped leopard terrorizes a small town in New Mexico. However, stage performer Kiki Walker (a spirited and appealing portrayal by the fetching Jean Brooks) and her dashing manager Jerry Manning (a fine and likable performance by Dennis O'Keefe) suspect that something else might be responsible for the killings that have been occurring.Director Jacques Turner relates the absorbing story at a steady pace, milks plenty of nerve-rattling tension during the murder set pieces (the first one involving a little girl looked outside of her house is positively harrowing), and nicely captures the sleepy atmosphere of the poor Mexican hamlet. Cinematographer Robert De Grasse's masterful use of light and shadow further enhances the overall spooky mood. The solid acting by the capable cast qualifies as another significant asset: Brooks and O'Keefe make for personable leads, with sound support from Margo as bitchy and ambitious dancer Clo-Clo, Isabell Jewell as cynical fortune teller Maria, James Bell as friendly museum curator Dr. Galbraith, Margaret Landry as doomed teenager Teresa Delgado, and Abner Biberman as the leopard's easygoing owner Charlie How-Come. The tight 66 minute running time ensures that this picture never gets dull or overstays its welcome. Well worth seeing.

Comparisons to the Other Two Val Lewton Films Directed by Tourneur This is Perhaps the Third Best. Although the Ranking is Highly Subjective. This One Has Its Moments For Sure, but Also Contains Some Clunky and Forced Dialog and a Sloppy Ending. That is Not to Say that This Film is Anything but an Excellent Exercise in Style and Minimalism.The Thrills are Undeniable and the Opening Murder is Quite Unsettling. There are a Number of Scenes that are Memorable and Creepy. The Use of Sound and Lighting with Sharp Editing in These Things Virtually Wrote the Textbook on B-Movie Scariness.The Cast are All Very Good and Come from the Lewton and RKO Stock Company. All of the Films in the Lewton Series Have an Overlay of Dread and Foreboding. Gloomy and Depressing, This Adds an Atmosphere of Overwhelming Frightening Fate. You Could Accurately Call the Series Horror/Noir. This One is Also Given Credit as an Early Serial Killer Film. Fortune Tellers, Philosophical Musings, Graveyards, and Funerals are Lurking Throughout This Moody Melancholy Picture.

The Leopard Man proved a bit disappointing on a first viewing. Dennis O'Keefe isn't exactly our idea of a swizzy leading man and the leopard itself looks pretty harmless too. Also the support cast is not much, and some of the action scenes, while they have plenty of atmospheric build-up, fade out before the punch. Even the climax, which should have been visually very exciting with all the hooded figures marching around, seems a bit flat. On a second viewing, however, we can really appreciate the atmosphere and ambiance of the piece, de Grasse's sharp, moody, shadowy lighting, Tourneur's extremely fluid camera-work and Roy Webb's innovating music score with its intriguing use of castanets as a leitmotif for the Margo character. The film was obviously all made on the back lot; but as an example of skilled film-making on a very limited budget, The Leopard Man would be hard to beat for its slick production values and gripping atmosphere. We can appreciate all the more the clever way the film is constructed — it's really four stories deftly condensed into only 66 minutes. The film actually seems to run longer because it covers so much territory, — though the additional dialogue, whilst reasonably adroit, does tend to slow scenes down by making them more talky. Still it's good to see James Bell in a major role. In fact all the players have grand opportunities — and the film is so attractively lit, it is always a pleasure to watch — if you don't mind three genuinely frightening sequences!