Bibliography

Val Lewton: The Reality of Terror by Joel Siegel

Outstanding source of biographical information on Lewton, as well as factual information on all his projects (including the post-RKO ones.)

Dreams of Darkness: Fantasy and the Films of Val Lewton by J.P. Telotte

Detailed analysis and criticism of the fantastic elements of many of Lewton's RKO films.

Horror Film Directors, 1931-1990 by Dennis Fischer

Contains chapters on each of Lewton's three major directors: Jacques Tourneur, Robert Wise, and Mark Robson.

Aspects of Fantasy: Selected Essays from the Second International Conference on the Fantastic in Literature and Film, William Coyle

One essay is Children of Horror, by J.P. Telotte (see above)

Cinema and the Realms of Enchantment by Duncan Petrie

Essay Cat Personae by John O. Thompson

Fearing the Dark: the Val Lewton Career by Edmund G. Bansak

Biographical information on Lewton, lots of historical information on the movie personalities and projects which influenced or were influenced by him. An excellent book.

Robert Wise on his Films: From Editing Room to Director's Chair, by Sergio Leemann

Lots of information on, and comments from, Robert Wise on the many films he worked on. Biographical information on Wise also.

The RKO Story, Richard B. Jewell with Vernon Harbin.

Lewton films from the context of the whole studio.

The Celluloid Muse ed. Charles Higham and Joel Greenberg.

Contains interviews with, among others, Jacques Tourneur and Mark Robson.

Scarlet Street: The Magazine of Mystery and Horror ed. Richard Valley (see their site below)

A particularly relevant issue is #20 (Fall 1995) which, among other interesting things, has articles on some Lewton merchendise (the LD set, the Bansak book above, and a CD of Roy Webb music), Robert Wise's The Haunting, and an interview with Elizabeth Russell. And #27 (Jan-Feb 1998) has an interview with Wise and an article on The Curse of the Cat People.

The Rise and Fall of the Horror Film by Dr. David Soren

Midnight Marquee Press offers a re-print of this 1977 book. One chapter on American horror films in the 1940's is, unsurprisingly, mostly Val Lewton.

Boris Karloff ed. Gary J. and Susan Svehla

Another from Midnight Marquee Press, this is a series of essays on various films in Boris Karloff's career. One chapter is on The Body Snatcher (by John E. Parnum).

Karloff and Lugosi: The Story of a Haunting Collaboration by Gregory W. Mank

Chap. 13 is on The Body Snatcher.

Bitches, Bimbos, and Virgins ed. Gary J. and Susan Svehla

Still more Midnight Marquee Press, here are essays on women in horror films, including Gary J. Svehla's Empowered Women in the Universe of Val Lewton

To "B" or Not To "B": a Film Actor's Odyssey by Robert Clarke and Tom Weaver

Midnight Marquee Press again, see a pattern here? Clarke remembers from his decades in movies, beginning in the 1940's as a contract player for RKO (chapter 3 deals with his days in the Lewton unit - Clarke appeared in The Body Snatcher and Bedlam) and including such credits as producer/director/writer/star of The Hideous Sun Demon in 1959.

Jacques Tourneur: The Cinema of Nightfall by Chris Fujiwara

Tourneur in detail, including sections on all his feature and short films

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