Movie Review: The Leopard Man (1943)

Synopsis: New Mexico nightclub owner Jerry Manning rents a black leopard for his girlfriend, Kiki Walker, to use in her stage performance. The cat escapes and soon after a child is found killed. As more leopard-related deaths occur however, Manning begins to suspect the animal is just a red herring and a human is using it to cover murders.

Who's in it? The movie stars Dennis O'Keefe, Jean Brooks, Margo, Isabel Jewell and James Bell.


Review: My cat, Stormcloud, has become my movie watching partner in the mornings and since I figured she'd enjoy a movie featuring another black cat (albeit a larger one), I decided to give The Leopard Man a try. This wound up being a surprisingly good choice.

At first this seemed like it would be a simple monster movie, not unlike others from this time period that featured giant spiders, escaped gorillas, etc. Instead, it turned out to be an intriguing mystery. There was absolutely nothing to indicate it wasn't a big cat killing the various victims, hairs, claw marks, etc. all pointed in that direction. Yet, Manning (O'Keefe) was so determined that wasn't the case. 

Some of his theories did make sense, such as cats not normally attacking unless they are frightened or hungry (neither seemed to be the case) and very unlikely to hang around an urban area when there is all sorts of countryside to hide in. However, he and Kiki (Brooks) were the ones responsible for the cat getting away in the first place, which meant he could also just be feeling guilty and grasping at straws as a result.

At the same time, even if he was correct, it was unclear who the killer was. Two of the obvious suspects were either quickly cleared or murdered and the one I sort of suspected didn't seem to have a whole lot of motive. I also had some questions about whether it was someone who was turning into a cat or if it was someone who was just insane. I couldn't rule anyone out, including the main protagonists, as a result, making the movie interesting from start to finish.

The ending was a little weird and I think I might have missed something relating to how they figured out who the killer was. I'm also a little confused about why the killer committed the murders. However, it was still decent enough to give the movie closure without taking away from the plot.

Final Opinion: This is a good murder mystery with an interesting plot and a few surprises. I don't know if my cat (who fell asleep on my lap) enjoyed it, but I did.

My Grade: A


Here are some reviews for other movies from 1943:

Movie Review: The Ghost Ship (1943)

Movie Review: Ghosts on the Loose (1943)

Movie Review: The Spider Woman (1943)

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