Val Lewton Overview:

Producer, Val Lewton, was born Vladimir Leventon on May 7, 1904 in Yalta, Russian Empire. Lewton died at the age of 46 on Mar 14, 1951 in Los Angeles, CA .

HONORS and AWARDS:

.

BlogHub Articles:

AND THE OSCAR DOESN’T GO TO…

By Carol Martinheira on Oct 20, 2023 From The Old Hollywood Garden

AND THE OSCAR DOESN’T GO TO… On October 20, 2023 By CarolIn Uncategorized Image from TCM It is perhaps no coincidence the Horror Month’s AND THE OSCAR DOESN’T GO TO? features the very first person that was never nominated for an Osc... Read full article


Five Favorite Films:

By Jennifer Garlen on Sep 16, 2021 From Virtual Virago

I wouldn't normally think about making a five favorite films list for a producer, but is special. Born Vladimir Leventon in what is now Ukraine, Lewton headed the horror unit for RKO in the 1940s and made brilliant, moody horror pictures on shoestring budgets. He eschewed gimmicks and gor... Read full article


Warner Archive: Four Atmospheric Horror Classics Produced by

By KC on Oct 14, 2016 From Classic Movies

In the early forties, Russian-American film producer was head of horror production at RKO Studios. In a precise agreement with the studio, for each film he was given a strictly limited budget, a title and instructions to keep the running time short. With these basic elements, an efficien... Read full article


: His Brand of Fear

By minooallen on Oct 29, 2015 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

His Brand of Fear In the magical world of movie making, it?s the director that usually gets all the creative glory. Heck, there?s even a popular notion in film criticism called the auteur theory that rests on that very idea. And while, yes, the director is often the most important creati... Read full article


The Blogathon: The 7th Victim

By Caftan Woman on Oct 31, 2012 From Caftan Woman

"In case of emergency I'm grabbing the box set. The cats can fend for themselves." - Caftan Woman Producer/writer ran his own B unit at RKO Studios for four years from 1942 to 1946 and left movie fans a slate of interesting and entertaining movies such as The Cat People,... Read full article


See all articles

Val Lewton Quotes:

No Quote for this person.



Share this page:
Visit the Classic Movie Hub Blog CMH
Also a Taurus






See All Tauruses >>
Val Lewton Facts
Although two of his most famous films concerned cats--Cat People (1942) and The Curse of the Cat People (1944)--he in fact suffered from ailurophobia, a morbid fear of cats. He came up with the idea for "Curse of the Cat People" when he was swimming in a lake one night, saw some cats sitting on the shore staring at him, panicked and almost drowned.

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

David O. Selznick had a story that nobody would make. Lewton was assigned to turn around and pitch it to Samuel Goldwyn to try to dump it. Lewton gave a dramatic, heartfelt retelling of the story that had Goldwyn in tears. Goldwyn asked for a moment to recollect himself. He wiped his eyes, then said, "It stinks." Selznick couldn't believe that it took Goldwyn to tears so he asked Lewton to pitch it to him so that he could see how it sounded. Lewton again gave the same heartfelt, dramatic retelling. Selznick, through his tears and sobbing, managed to say, "Goldwyn's right. This does stink!"

See All Related Facts >>