Val Lewton

Val Lewton

  • Birthday: 1904-05-07
  • Deathday: 1951-03-14
  • Place of birth: Yalta, Taurida Governorate, Russian Empire [now Crimea, Ukraine]
  • Also know as: Vladimir Ivanovich Leventon

Biography

Born in the Russian Empire in 1904, Val Lewton (born Vladimir Ivanovich Leventon) moved with his mother and sister to Berlin in 1906, then to the United States in 1909. He wrote for newspapers, magazines, novels, pornography, etc. —often using pseudonyms to disguise their origin (the name Val Lewton was one such pseudonym, used first for some novels in the 1930s, then revived later in his career to take writing credit for two movies). In 1933 he got a job with David O. Selznick, where he spent many years as a story editor and jack-of-all-trades. Then in 1942 RKO hired him to head their new horror unit, where he made many famous and well-respected B-movies, for very low costs and high profits. In 1946, he “graduated” to A-movies, but increasing health problems, trouble working with big-money Hollywood, and other factors combined to force him to produce only three more movies before his death in 1951.

Filmography

Production

A Star Is Born

1937

As Editorial Staff

The Seventh Victim

1943

As Producer

Isle of the Dead

1945

As Producer

The Body Snatcher

1945

As Producer

Bedlam

1946

As Producer

Cat People

1942

As Producer

I Walked with a Zombie

1943

As Producer

The Leopard Man

1943

As Producer

The Ghost Ship

1943

As Producer

Apache Drums

1951

As Producer

Youth Runs Wild

1944

As Producer

My Own True Love

1948

As Producer

Please Believe Me

1950

As Producer

Mademoiselle Fifi

1944

As Producer

The Leopard Man

1943

As Original Music Composer

The Body Snatcher

1945

As Screenplay

Bedlam

1946

As Screenplay

No Man of Her Own

1932

As Novel

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