7.2 Val Lewton

 Val Lewton

Val Lewton


Val Lewton was a Hollywood film producer who broke the rules on what a "producer" can do during movie production. Uniquely experienced as a professional writer in almost every aspect of the trade, he then worked for nearly a decade as an assistant to David O. Selznick, one of the most successful independent film makers in Hollywood history. As Selznick's assistant, Lewton doctored scripts and acted as an all-purpose literary expert, especially regarding Russian literature. He was instrumental in most of Selznick's projects during his time there from 1934 - 1942. For example, Lewton contributed scenes to Selznick's most famous drama, Gone with the Wind - and like most of his work with Selznick, without screen credit. Other efforts by Lewton impacted Selznick's film company, for example Lewton first noticed Ingrid Bergman (in the stage play version of Intermezzo) and that led to Selznick bringing her under contract. Lewton also performed more mundane chores such as using a stop watch to test how long movie audiences spent in the bathroom during screenings of Selznick movies. Lewton put his experience from his Selznick years to work at RKO where he was given his own special unit to make a string of eleven films, some so profitable they are credited with saving the financially strapped company from bankruptcy.

Lewton's filmmaking contains a unique sensitivity to human characterization, an emphasis on quality on the screen and in the writing, and all achieved despite limited resources. Lewton always prepared the final shooting script himself and detailed it with visual information to make sure the director he chose would emphasize the elements Lewton most wanted to form the cinematic experience for his audience.

When films are examined they are generally grouped by who the director was, or the star, or the studio, but in this one instance films are grouped according to their producer: Val Lewton.

- vallewton.org

The Films of Val Lewton - "Shadows and Suspense"
Link to video here  6:49 minutes




Straying later from horror into other types of films:

Got declining profits
started working with Boris Karloff

1940's - raised the bar of the B-Movie
He died at 56. 


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