Jacques Tourneur

Jacques Tourneur

on set, date unknown
Born November 12, 1904
Paris, France
Died December 19, 1977 (aged 73)
Bergerac, France
Occupation Director
Years active 1931–1965

Jacques Tourneur (November 12, 1904 – December 19, 1977) was a French film director known for a series of low-budget horror films he made for RKO Studios, including Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie and The Leopard Man.

Life

Born in Paris, France, Tourneur was the son of film director Maurice Tourneur.[1] At age 10, Jacques moved to the United States with his father.[1] He started a career in cinema while still attending high school as an extra and later as a script clerk in various silent films.[1] Both Maurice and Jacques returned to France after his father worked on the film The Mysterious Island in 1925.[1] Tourneur died in 1977 in Bergerac, Dordogne, France.

Career

Tourneur began work as an editor and assistant director. He made his debut as a director on French short film Tout ca ne vaut pas l'amour in 1931.[1]

Tourneur went back to Hollywood in 1934 where he had a contract with MGM Studios.[1] While working as the second unit director on the film A Tale of Two Cities he met film producer Val Lewton.[1] Tourneur made his feature debut as director in the 1939 film They All Come Out.[1] After Tourneur was dropped by MGM in 1941, he was picked up by Lewton to film several acclaimed low-budget horror films for RKO Studios including Cat People and I Walked with a Zombie.[1] Cat People was considered to be a B movie and didn’t have a very big budget, yet the style of lighting and cinematography gave it an edge that has been imitated countless times.Tourneur was promoted to the A-list at RKO, directing films including Out of the Past and Berlin Express.[1] In the 1950s, Tourneur became a freelance director, filming various genre films including The Flame and the Arrow, Stars In My Crown and Night of the Demon.[1] His last films both starred Vincent Price, with The Comedy of Terrors (1963) and War-Gods of the Deep (1965) for American International Pictures.[1]

After his final days working for film, Tourneur began directing television episodes.[1] Tourneur filmed episodes of The Barbara Stanwyck Show, Bonanza, The Twilight Zone and The Alaskans. Tourneur's final director credit was for an episode of T.H.E. Cat in 1966.[1] Tourneur then retired and returned to France.[1]

Filmography

Director

Short films

  • 1931 – Tout ça ne vaut pas l'amour (French)
  • 1936 – The Jonker Diamond
  • 1936 – Harnessed Rhythm
  • 1936 – Master Will Shakespeare
  • 1936 – Killer Dog
  • 1937 – The Grand Bounce
  • 1937 – The Boss Didn't Say Good Morning
  • 1937 – The King Without a Crown
  • 1937 – The Rainbow Pass
  • 1937 – Romance of Radium
  • 1937 – The Man in the Barn
  • 1937 – What Do You Think?
  • 1938 – What Do You Think? (Number Three)           
  • 1938 – The Ship That Died
  • 1938 – The Face Behind the Mask
  • 1938 – What Do You Think?: Tupapaoo
  • 1938 – Strange Glory
  • 1938 – Think It Over
  • 1939 – Yankee Doodle Goes to Town
  • 1942 – The Incredible Stranger
  • 1942 – The Magic Alphabet
  • 1944 – Reward Unlimited

Feature films

Editor

References

Notes
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 Earnshaw 2004, p. 102
Bibliography
Further reading

External links