Music in the Horror Films of Val Lewton

Michael Lee is Professor of Musicology at the University of Oklahoma. He is the author of numerous articles on film music in horror films from studio-era Hollywood. His earlier work focuses on the American postwar avant-garde and the Ballets Russes in the 1920s.

• Introduction“Happy Mood Over This, Roy”: Webb’s Score for Cat People as Film AnalysisFractured Reasons and Fractured Reason in I Walked with a ZombieThe Leopard Man as Penitential Horror FilmSearching for Meaning in The Seventh VictimA Wartime Fable in the Sounds of The Ghost ShipMusic for Amy and Her Friend: Webb’s Score for The Curse of the Cat PeopleBoris Karloff and the Soundtrack of The Body SnatcherValidating Uncertainty on the Isle of the Dead“Dainty Little Notes, Ain’t They?”: Roy Webb’s Age of Reason in BedlamA Closing Argument

The saying "Music makes up 50% of a film" has never been more true than that of Roy Webb’s contributions to Val Lewton’s horror pictures. Michael Lee, in his meticulous research and interpretative analysis, makes clear that we must listen to these movies in order to fully appreciate their richness.