Tag Archives: Mark Robson

DtH Podcast Episode 88: Val Lewton Part 2

by in Discover the Horror Podcast and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Leopard Man (1943), The Seventh Victim (1943), Isle of the Dead (1945)

Back in episode 23, we covered producer Val Lewton and three of his films. While Lewton only produced about a dozen film, and a really only a handful of them being horror, what he did give us made a huge impact on the genre. That is why we have decided to cover three more of his films, in hopes that other fans will seek out not only the ones that we’ve covered, but the other titles as well.

With the help of a group very talented craftsmen, such as directors Jacques Tourneur and Mark Robson, screenwriter Ardel Wray, and a wide and talented cast of actors that he used more than once, Lewton was able to produce films that were very different than not only what he was hired to do, but ones that were different than what most horror fans would have expected at the time. They had style, they had interesting stories, and very unique and well-developed characters. His films are ones that show how effective just a walk down the street can be, when executed by the right people.

Films mentioned in this episode:

Continue reading →

Discover the Horror Podcast: Episode 23 – Val Lewton

by in Discover the Horror Podcast and tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

While we all love monsters, there is something about films that can still be creepy in what they don’t show us instead. Producer Val Lewton was a genius at that. In this episode, we delved into the light within the darkness, deep into the shadows, where atmosphere is king. We cover three titles from the talented producer, but Lewton was so much more than just that. While he only produced a handful of films, the ones he did in the early ’40s remain not only classics but set the standard for what a low budget horror film could look like when you had the talent behind it.

Sit back, turn the light down low, and get ready to learn about how you can show very little onscreen, but still make some well-acted, smart, and scary little films.

The films mentioned in this episode are:

The Body Snatcher (1945), The Cat People (1942), Cat People (1982), The Curse of the Cat People (1944), Curse of the Demon (1957), The Haunting (1963), House of Frankenstein (1944), Isle of the Dead (1945), I Walked with a Zombie (1943), King of the Zombies (1941), The Last Patrol (1934), Revenge of the Zombies (1943), Revolt of the Zombies (1936), The Tale of Two Cities (1935), White Zombie (1932), Zombie (1979)

Horror History: Mark Robson

by in Horror History and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

MarkRobsonMark Robson
Born Dec. 4th, 1913 – Died June 20th, 1978

Robson started his career in the film industry at 20th Century Fox in the prop department. The rumor goes that his career there was ended when he asked studio head Darryl Zanuck for a promotion, which got him fired. He then moved to RKO Pictures and was trained how to be an editor, becoming an assistant to Robert Wise on editing Orson Wells’ Citizen Kane. He was later assigned to work as the editor on the B-horror films of Val Lewton, where he did that for two years, working on films like The Cat People, Journey into Fear, I Walked with a Zombie, and The Leopard Man.

After the success of those films, RKO was going to move Lewton up to the A-picture budgets, but only if he uses their choice of directors on his next picture, The Seventh Victim. But Lewton had already decided that he wanted to give Robson a shot at directing. And because Lewton stood behind his people, he sacrificed his chance to increase his budgets and gave Robson that chance. Robson would go on to direct three more titles for Lewton: The Ghost Ship, Isle of the Dead, and Bedlam.

A short time after that, RKO didn’t pick up Robson’s contract and he was out of work for two years. Then an independent producer hired him to direct the boxing movie Champion, which got its star,  Kirk Douglas, an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. After that film, he was sought after for bigger budgeted films. In his career, Robson directed seven different actors in Oscar nominated performances, such as Susan Hayword and Russ Tamblyn.

Robson was credited or at least co-credited with creating the famous “Lewton Bus” technique in the film The Cat People, which is still referred to today in the industry.