Jacques Tourneur's World of Shadows

Jacques Tourneur

Director Jacques Tourneur helped define two of my favorite film genres: film noir and horror. Tourneur got his first taste of the movie business when his father, French filmmaker Maurice Tourneur, moved to the US to work in the movie industry. They later moved back to France, but Jacques returned to the US in 1934. While working on the 1935 production of A Tale of Two Cities, he met Val Lewton. It was an occasion that would change Tourneur’s life. When producer Lewton was putting together a crew to make a series of low budget thrillers for RKO, he asked Tourneur to join his team. Their collaboration resulted in Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie (both released) and 1943’s The Leopard Man, three of the best horror films of the 1940s. These movies helped re-invent the look and feel of horror films. Tourneur, Lewton and the rest of their crew used shadows, light and sound to suggest that the greatest terror of all might be lurking in the characters’ own psyches. Tourneur was instrumental in helping shape the visual language and style of these films. Their success got him promoted to helming "A" pictures for RKO, such as 1944’s Experiment Perilous, starring Hedy Lamarr, and the 1946 Western Canyon Passage.

Robert Mitchum & Jane Greer in Out of the Past

In 1947, Tourneur directed Out of the Past; perhaps the most archetypal film noir of all. The story concerns Jeff Bailey, who owns a gas station in the small town of Bridgeport, California. He’s dating a local girl named Ann, and seems content with life. But his past comes calling in the person of Joe Stefanos, who works for gangster Whit Sterling. Whit needs Jeff to do a favor for him. It’s the only way Jeff can make up for some bad choices he made on a previous assignment for Whit. It seems that Jeff, Whit and Whit’s girl, Kathie, have a very complicated history. Jeff agrees to do the job, hoping it will free him of both Whit and Kathie once and for all. But Jeff gets caught in an ever-tightening web of deceit, lies and murder. And since this is noir territory, there isn't likely to be a happy ending.

That’s a brief summary of the complex plot of this quintessential noir, which features Robert Mitchum at his cool, sardonic best as Jeff and Kirk Douglas, who’s quite effective (and icily menacing) in an early role as Whit. Then there’s Jane Greer as Kathie, one of the most beautiful, calculating, alluring and deadly femme fatales ever to grace the screen. It’s one of the most memorable triangles in the genre. This top-notch cast gets to utter some razor sharp (and quotable) dialogue, courtesy of screenwriter Daniel Mainwaring, who adapted his 1946 novel Build My Gallows High for the screen. The film’s visual palette tells the story as much as the characters and their actions. The twisty structure of the narrative includes a lengthy flashback sequence; it’s an unforgettable viewing experience. Tourneur used the techniques he honed in his work with Lewton, and brought them to brilliant new heights in the film. If you're looking to watch a movie that truly radiates the essence of film noir, look no further than Out of the Past.

In many ways, the film is a story of obsession: Kathie’s with Jeff, Whit’s with Kathie, and Jeff’s longing to have a peaceful life with Ann, the normal girl from a small town. It’s the stunning look and visual motifs of the film that helps brings this theme across, courtesy of director Tourneur and master cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca, who had worked with Tourneur on Cat People. The lighting of Greer’s entrance as Kathie is one of the most famous scenes in all of film noir. Several other memorable set pieces, including a fire-lit sequence in a mountain cabin, bring out the true essence of Kathie’s dark side. You can almost see (and feel) the tendrils of Jeff’s fate closing around him. After the triumph of Out of the Past, Tourneur continued to direct films in a variety of genres, including Berlin Express, The Flame and the Arrow, and Great Day in the Morning. Then, the director made another visit to the ominous world of subdued terror, and the darkness within.

Niall McGinnis & Dana Andrews in Curse of the Demon

Tourneur returned to Lewton-esque territory in 1957 with Curse of the Demon. The film stars Dana Andrews as Dr. John Holden, an American psychologist and researcher, who arrives in London for a conference. Holden becomes enmeshed in a series of deadly events after the death of a colleague, Dr. Harrington. His investigation into Harrington’s death leads him into conflict with Dr. Julian Karswell, a charming but sinister mystic. Harrington had planned to expose Karswell as a fraud. But Karswell appears to possess unearthly powers, and is the head of a strange cult. Holden’s a skeptic who doesn’t believe in the supernatural, but as he delves deeper into these mysterious occurrences, his beliefs are turned upside down. As evil forces threaten him, Holden may have to accept that the supernatural is very real.

Dana Andrews gives a good performance as Holden, who resolutely believes only in what he can see, until his eyes are opened to a shadowy new reality. Peggy Cummins (who stole the show in the well-regarded 1949 noir Gun Crazy) offers solid support as Harrington’s niece, Joanna, who aids Holden in his investigation. But it’s Niall McGinnis who steals the movie as the urbane, suavely evil Karswell. In a way, Holden and Karswell are as obsessed as the characters in Out of the Past: Holden can’t see past the rational world until it’s almost too late, and Karswell believes his faith in the dark forces he serves will sustain him, no matter what. Curse of the Demon has some atmospheric sequences and good scares that recall the best of Tourneur’s work with Lewton. The significant difference here is that we do see the demon, at the beginning and climax of the film, so there’s no doubt that the threat is real. Some film historians have suggested that producer Hal E. Chester insisted that more shots of the monster be added to the movie over Tourneur’s objections. But in the context of the story, the creature’s appearance works, and is quite well done. In fact, the use of images, shadow and sound during the demon’s manifestations is vintage Tourneur.

The UK version of the film, entitled Night of the Demon, runs slightly longer, and features some additional scenes. Some viewers prefer the longer UK cut, others prefer the US version. I think both are effective in their own way, though the UK version gives Niall McGinnis more of a chance to shine in his role as Karswell. Both versions of the film are available on a “double feature” DVD released by Columbia/Tri-Star in 2002. Whatever version you choose to watch, the film is an excellent chiller that showcases Tourneur’s unique talents. He would go on to direct several more feature films, including the enjoyable 1963 horror spoof The Comedy of Terrors, featuring Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and Basil Rathbone. Tourneur also worked behind the camera in television, directing episodes of series like The Twilight Zone and The Wild Wild West. He passed away in 1977, but left behind an impressive body of work that has influenced filmmakers as diverse as Martin Scorsese and Mario Bava. If you're new to his films, Tourneur's oeuvre is worth a look, or if you're a longtime fan like I am, his filmography is certainly worth re-visiting.

This post is part of the "Favorite Director" Blogathon, hosted by my fellow bloggers at Phyllis Loves Classic Movies and The Midnite Drive-In. I'd like to thank them for having me as part of the Blogathon. To view the other entries, and get more info, please follow this link: http://phyllislovesclassicmovies.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-favorite-director-blogathon-is-here.html. Thanks for reading!