Jacques Tourneur Movies and Career Information

Jacques Tourneur (November 12, 1904–December 19, 1977) was a French-American film director. Born in Paris, France, he was the son of film director Maurice Tourneur. At age 10, Jacques moved to the United States with his father. He started a career in cinema while still attending high school as an extra and later as a script clerk in various silent films. Both Maurice and Jacques returned to France after his father worked on the film The Mysterious Island in 1925. Tourneur died in 1977 in Bergerac, Dordogne, France. Jacques 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. Jacques Tourneur went back to Hollywood in 1934 where he had a contract with MGM Studios. While working as the second unit director on the film A Tale of Two Cities he met film producer Val Lewton. Tourneur made his feature debut as director in the 1939 film They All Come Out in 1939. 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. Tourneur was promoted to the A-list at RKO, directing films