The Leopard Man (1943)

26k jpg of Kiki Walker and the leopard in The Leopard Man
25k jpg of the procession in The Leopard Man

Kiki Walker, a nightclub performer in New Mexico, uses a leopard as a publicity gimmick to upstage her rival. But the leopard escapes, and a local girl is killed. Then two other people are also mauled, and Kiki and her agent join the hunt for the leopard- but was it the leopard that did the killing?

Director: Jacques Tourneur. Assistant Director: William Dorfman. Script: Ardel Wray. Based on the novel Black Alibi by Cornell Woolrich. Additional Dialog: Edward Dein. Photography: Robert de Grasse. Editor: Mark Robson. Art Directors: Albert S. D'Agostino, Walter E. Keller. Set Decorators: Darrell Silvera, Al Fields. Music: Roy Webb. Musical Director: C. Bakaleinikoff. Sound Recordist: John C. Grubb.

Dennis O'Keefe (Jerry Manning), Margo (Clo-Clo), Jean Brooks (Kiki Walker), Isabel Jewell (Maria), James Bell (Dr. Galbraith), Margaret Landry (Teresa Delgado), Abner Biberman (Charlie How-Come), Richard Martin (Raoul Belmonte), Tula Parma (Consuelo Contreras), Ben Bard (Chief Robles), Ariel Heath (Eloise), Fely Franquelli (Rosita), Robert Anderson (Dwight), Jacqueline De Witt (Helene), Bobby Spindola (Pedro), William Halligan (Brunton), Kate Lawson (Senora Delgado), Russell Wade (Man in Car), Jacques Lory (Philippe), Tola Nesmith (Senora Contreras), Margaret Sylva (Marta), Charles Lung (Manuel), John Dilson (Coroner), Mary Maclaren (Nun), Tom Orosco (Window Cleaner), Eliso Gamboa (Senor Delgado), Joe Dominguez (Cop), Betty Roadman (Clo-Clo's Mother), Rosa Rita Varella (Clo-Clo's Sister), John Piffle (Flower Vendor), Rene Pedrini (Frightened Waiter), Brandon Hurst (Gatekeeper), Rose Higgins (Indian Weaver), George Sherwood (Police Lieutenant), John Tettemer (Minister).

• When the movie was released, the leopard Dynamite was claimed to be the only trained leopard in the world. (Dynamite also appeared in Lewton's first movie Cat People.)
• A common opinion is that despite some outstanding moments, the structure of the movie (which for example did not have a central character) worked against it. Director Jacques Tourneur said it was "too exotic, it was neither fish nor fowl: a series of vignettes, and it didn't hold together."

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