We’ve all heard of the so-called B movie, the low budget films, churned out at speed by studios, usually with pretty terrible plots and casts. Often that is quite true. Sometimes, however, these second-class films can produce something impressive, such as a selection of movies produced in the forties for RKO studios by Val Lewton.

Lewton became head of the Horror Unit at RKO in 1942. Each film had a budget of under $150000, they were not allowed to exceed 75 minutes runtime, and the studio heads would give him the titles of the movies they wanted him to make. This sounds like a recipe for some very bad movies. Lewton, however, proved he was able to make some real gold with these limited resources.

“Cat People” was released in 1942. (Please see my separate review for this.) It was directed by Jacques Tourneur, a director who, like Lewton, proved capable of making good movies with small means. There is an expert use of shadows and sound to suggest rather than show the danger, and this successfully heightens tension. It’s a movie that leaves you asking who is really the villain? (It’s not who you think.)

“I walked with a zombie” is a title suggesting shambling zombies and victims screaming, like other later zombie movies. It was made in 1943 and is nothing like what you might imagine. In fact, the plot is loosely based on ‘Jane Eyre’! (Remember, Lewton was given these movie titles, no plot, and instructed to go and make a movie.) Tourneur directed again, and it is another film expertly raising tension with the use of suggestions and hints (though this time in terms of what the various characters have been up to.)

“The Ghost Ship” also came out in 1943. (The studio expected the movies to be made quickly in order to keep costs down). The viewer might expect they will be watching a movie about ghosts. They will be wrong. What the story is really about is a ship captain who is losing his mind, and a third officer (the main character) who is trying to report this, stymied by the crew who want to keep their jobs. There is also some superstition about haunting being responsible for the mishaps on the ship, rather than any person. I like the fact that the title is misleading – it makes for a surprising story rather than a run of the mill ghost story.

“Isle of the Dead” (1945) stars the always watchable Boris Karloff, as a general fighting in the Balkan Wars of 1912. The titular isle of the dead is off the coast of where the army is camped, and the general goes there to visit his wife’s grave, accompanied by an American reporter travelling with his army. They find an archaeologist living in a house there, along with a housekeeper, a British couple with a Greek servant, and another British traveller. The housekeeper has decided that the Greek girl is a Vorvolaka, (a type of vampire). While several deaths ensue, there is no indication that the girl is anything other than a girl. This is something I really liked about this movie – it looks like it’s going to be about vampires and it turns out to be about superstition and madness.

“The Body Snatcher” also came out in 1945, and again stars Boris Karloff, with the added bonus of Bela Lugosi in a supporting role. I have also reviewed this movie separately, and I am of the opinion that it is Karloff’s best film. This is a great picture, dealing with body snatching as a crime and the escalation of crime that it could lead to. The historical Burke and Hare are mentioned in this film, with Karloff’s character implying that the doctor (played by Henry Danielle) was implicated in their crimes. It’s a really good movie, Karloff is the nastiest most sinister villain ever (moreso as there is nothing supernatural about him at all, he’s just really dangerous), and the rest of the cast are equally as good. Interestingly this is directed by Robert Wise, who started his directorial career with RKO, and his talent that is put to great use on later bigger films can certainly be seen here.

It is very easy to imagine that small budget films with lurid titles are going to be terrible. Often you would be absolutely correct. I haven’t seen all of Val Lewton’s films, but the ones I have watched prove that careful use of small resources can make something really worth watching.