Fright School Recap

Lewton’s Legacy
My presentation of I Walked With A Zombie at midnight on October 15, 2011 was well-received by the Facets Fright School attendees. Although many in the audience were familiar with director Jacques Tourneur, most had never heard of producer Val Lewton, or his horror film legacy.

Fright School audience

I enjoy introducing classic films to folks who have never seen them before and last night was no exception. I also enjoyed the reactions and comments from first-time viewers of I Walked With A Zombie.

Literate Audience
The audiences at Facets are generally very literate when it comes to film and last night’s attendees didn't disappoint me. Several made insightful observations and brought to light things I hadn’t noticed, which gives me some more reasons to watch the film again (like I needed any)!

Dee Delights

Frances Dee and Tom Conway in Zombie

Many admired the production and the complexity of the plot for what was supposed to be a horror “programmer” for RKO. One viewer was impressed with Frances Dee’s (1909-2004) performance, which is one of her best in a long film career that started in 1929.

For more information on the rest of the films in the Fright School series, please check the Facets Film School Web site.