The Leopard Man

1943 film by Jacques Tourneur

The Leopard Man is a 1943 film about a seemingly tame leopard used for a publicity stunt that escapes and kills a young girl, spreading panic throughout a sleepy New Mexico town.

Directed by Jacques Tourneur. Written by Ardel Wray, based on Black Alibi by Cornell Woolrich.
Strange Savage Murder... Striking At Women Only!  (taglines)

Kiki Walker

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  • It may sound like music to her. I can do better with my teeth in a cold shower.
  • We're not going to catch a train, Darling - we're going to stay right here and catch a murderer.

Other

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  • Charlie: You don't get the idea, mister. These cops banging those pans, flashing those lights, they're gonna scare that poor cat of mine. Cats are funny, mister. They don't want to hurt you, but if you scare them they go crazy. These cops, they don't know what they're doing.

Dialogue

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Teresa Delgado: I'll pay you tomorrow.
Manuel: Next time you come. Poor don't cheat one another. We're all poor together.

Eloise: Don't take this personally Miss Walker, but it's ironic - I mean, you being a big star and me being a cigarette girl.
Kiki Walker: I know, I know. You got the talent and I got the breaks. I heard it in every nightclub.

Eloise: If you got cold feet honey, I'll take over for you. That little red dress of yours fits me just perfect.
Kiki Walker: Someday you'll try on my coffin and I hope it fits you just perfect.

Jerry Manning: Must get lonely here.
Cemetery Gatekeeper: No. I have many friends... but they don't bother me with talk.

Maria: You will meet a rich man and he will give you money.
Clo-Clo: You and your cards! 'Meet a rich man'. I look for them with money. And what rich man hasn't money? And for what was I born, if not for money? You're not telling me anything.

Brunton: When you marry champagne, you can't trade it in for beer. You're stuck with it.
Clo-Clo: I don't understand that fancy talk.

Cemetery Gatekeeper: You're late this evening, señorita.
Consuelo Contreras: I have brought my birthday flowers for my father's grave. It will only take a moment.
Cemetery Gatekeeper: Time is strange. A moment can be as short as a breath or as long as eternity. Don't linger. The gates are locked at six!

Jerry Manning: So you still think it was the leopard.
Dr. Galbraith: Is there anything in Clo-Clo's death, Jerry, to suggest it wasn't the leopard?
Jerry Manning: Yes, the lipstick.
Police Chief: Why?
Jerry Manning: Well, ask Kiki, ask any woman. Girls don't put on lipstick in the middle of the night on a dark, lonely street unless they're with a man, or going to meet a man.

Jerry Manning: There's something wrong with this whole setup.
Police Chief: Yes, there is something wrong. People who want publicity and don't mind how they get it. What risks they make other people run. What agony and sorrow they bring to other people.

Taglines

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  • Women Alone the Victims of Strange, Savage Killer!
  • Strange Savage Murder... Striking At Women Only!
  • A shriek in the night—another victim torn to pieces by claw and fang! Is it man-like beast or beast-like man that picks only beauty as prey—and why?
  • Don't Be Afraid To Know the Truth about the Monster That Killed For a Thrill!

Cast

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