At a time when streaming video is the dominant format for home video its awesome to see companies like Shout Factory, Kino, Criterion, Arrow and more putting out older awesome movies in high definition on Blu-ray.
If the big studios have zero interest in maintaining their library of films at least these companies will pick up the slack.
A perfect example is this 2k release of Val Lewton and Jacques Tourneu’s The Leopard Man from 1943. Warner Bros. originally released the film on DVD un 2005 and haven’t bothered with the films since. Fortunately Shout Factory has neen awesome work releasing Val Lewton’s films on Blu-ray.
Based on a 1942 novel called Black Alibi by Cornell Woolrich The Leopard Man is set in a New Mexican town where Jerry Manning (Dennis O’Keefe), a promoter, hires a black leopard for his girlfriend Kiki (Jean Brooks) to perform with. Fellow performer Clo-Clo (Margo) doesn’t want to be upstaged and scares the leopard while its on stage causing it to run off.
Shortly after a young woman is found dead from the leopard. A search begins and another woman is killed. Manning starts to doubt that this killer is the leopard.
Val Lewton produces several B movie horror films for RKO and all of them are excellent moody thrillers. This is an excellent film and its awesome that its on Blu-ray now.
