Jacques Tourneur

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Jacques Tourneur
Tourneur on set of Canyon Passage.[1]
Born	(1904-11-12)November 12, 1904 Paris, France
Died	December 19, 1977(1977-12-19) (aged 73) Bergerac, France
Occupation	film director
Years active	1931–1965

Jacques Tourneur (French: [tuʁnœʁ]; November 12, 1904 – December 19, 1977) was a French film director known for the classic film noir Out of the Past and a series of low-budget horror films he made for RKO Studios, including Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie, and The Leopard Man. He is also known for directing Night of the Demon, which was released by Columbia Pictures. While in Hollywood, he was usually addressed by his anglicized name "Jack Turner", a literal and phonetic translation of his name in English.

Life[]

Born in Paris, France, Tourneur was the son of Fernande Petit and film director Maurice Tourneur.^[2] At age 10, Jacques moved to the United States with his father.^[2] He started a career in cinema while still attending high school as an extra and later as a script clerk in various silent films.^[2] Both Maurice and Jacques returned to France after his father worked on the film The Mysterious Island in 1925.^[2] 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 the French film Tout ça ne vaut pas l'amour [fr] in 1931.^[2]

Tourneur went back to Hollywood in 1934 where he had a contract with MGM Studios.^[2] While working as the second unit director on the film A Tale of Two Cities he met film producer Val Lewton.^[2] Tourneur made his feature debut as director in the 1939 film They All Come Out.^[2] 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.^[2] Cat People, although considered a B movie and made on a limited budget, was distinguished by a style of lighting and cinematography 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.^[2] In the 1950s, Tourneur became a freelance director, filming various genre films including Wichita, Anne of the Indies, Way of a Gaucho, Nightfall, The Flame and the Arrow, Stars In My Crown and Night of the Demon.^[2] His last two films, made for American International Pictures and starring Vincent Price, were The Comedy of Terrors (1963) and War-Gods of the Deep (1965).^[2]

After his final days working for film, Tourneur began directing television episodes.^[2] 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.^[2] Tourneur then retired and returned to France.^[2]

Filmography[]

Director[]

Feature films

Short films

TV[]

• 1955-1961 : General Electric Theater, 4 episodes
  • 1955 : The Martyr
  • 1955 : Into the Night
  • 1960 : Aftermath
  • 1961 : Star Witness: The Lili Parrish Story
• 1956 : Fireside Theater, 3 episodes
  • 1956 : A Hero Returns
  • 1956 : Kirsti
  • 1956 : The Mirror
• 1957 : Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, 1 episode
  • 1957 : Outlaw's Boots
• 1957 : The Walter Winchell File, 3 episodes
  • 1957 : The Steep Hill
  • 1958 : House on Biscayne Bay
  • 1958 : The Stopover
• 1958 : Cool and Lam, CBS Productions
• 1958 : Northwest Passage, 8 episodes
  • 1958 : The Gunsmith
  • 1958 : The Burning Village
  • 1958 : The Bond Women
  • 1959 : The Break Out
  • 1959 : The Vulture
  • 1959 : The Traitor
  • 1959 : The Assassin
  • 1959 : The Hostage
• 1959 : Bonanza, 1 episode
  • 1960 : Denver McKee
• 1959 : The Alaskans, 1 episode
  • 1960 : The Devil Makers
• 1960 : The Barbara Stanwyck Show, 11 episodes
  • 1960 : The Mink Coat
  • 1960 : Ironbark's Bridge
  • 1960 : The Miraculous Journey of Tadpole Chan
  • 1961 : Frightened Doll
  • 1961 : The Choice
  • 1961 : Sign of the Zodiac
  • 1961 : Adventure on Happiness Street
  • 1961 : The Golden Acres
  • 1961 : Confession
  • 1961 : Dragon by the Tail
  • 1961 : Dear Charlie
• 1962 : Adventures in Paradise, 1 episode
  • 1962 : A Bride for the Captain
• 1962 : Follow the Sun, 1 episode
  • Sergeant Kolchak Fades Away
• 1963 : The Twilight Zone, 1 episode
  • 1963 : Night Call
• 1966 : T.H.E. Cat, 1 episode
  • 1966 : The Ring of Anasis

Assistant Director or Editor[]

• 1929 : Le Navire des hommes perdus (Das schiff der verlorenen menschen), directed by Maurice Tourneur
• 1930 : Accusée, Levez vous, directed by Maurice Tourneur
• 1931 : Maison de danses, directed by Maurice Tourneur
• 1931 : Partir, directed by Maurice Tourneur
• 1932 : Au nom de la Loi, directed by Maurice Tourneur
• 1932 : Les Gaités de l'escadron, directed by Maurice Tourneur (Editor)
• 1933 : Les Deux Orphelines, directed by Maurice Tourneur (Editor)
• 1993 : Lidoire, directed by Maurice Tourneur.
• 1933 : Obsession, directed by Maurice Tourneur (uncredited)
• 1933 : La Fusée, directed by Jacques Natanson (Editor)
• 1933 : Le Voleur, directed by Maurice Tourneur
• 1934 : Rothchild, directed by Maurice Tourneur (Editor)
• 1935 : A Tale of Two Cities, directed by Jack Conway, war sequences, (séquence de la prise de la Bastille).

References[]

Bibliography

• Earnshaw, Tony (2004). Beating the Devil: The Making of Night of the Demon. Tomahawk Press. ISBN 0-9531926-1-X.
• Tourneur, Jacques (2016). "Cine Regards". Cat People (Blu-ray). The Criterion Collection. ISBN 978-1-68143-201-4. CC2674BD.
• Jacques Tourneur, The Cinema of Nightfall, Chris Fujiwara, The Johns Hopkins University press 2007.

Further reading[]

• Young, Gwenda (2001) 'Shadows: Jacques Tourneur's Cinema of Ambiguity'. Film Ireland, 83 (*):47–51.
• Young, Gwenda (1999) 'Jacques Tourneur's World War II Films: From Unity to Chaos'. Popular Culture Review, 10 (2):55–65.
• Young, Gwenda (1998) 'The Cinema of Difference: Jacques Tourneur, Race and I Walked with a Zombie (1943)'. ''Irish Journal of American Studies, 7:101–121.

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jacques Tourneur.

• Jacques Tourneur at IMDb
• Jacques Tourneur at AllMovie