He was born on November 12 1904 in Paris, France. He became an actual US citizen in 1919 after he'd already been living there. He joined his fathers profession of directing films, when he moved to New York and then eventually Hollywood.
Jacques Tourneur is mostly famous for directing three atmospheric "horror" movies which were produced by Val Lewton at RKO studios in the 1940s. These films were, Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie and The Leopard Man. They were films which were influenced by the genre, "film noir".
One particular film he directed, was highly successful and was "considered to be one of the best horror/supernatural films in movie history". This film was called Night of the Demon, and was released in 1967.
Another film Jacques Tourneur directed was, Out of the Past in 1947, it was classed as one of the classics of film noir. He also made a horror spoof which was called, The Comedy of Terrors in 1964. He directed his last film the year after, the Jules Verne -inspired adventure yarn War Gods of the Deep.
He also directed a few episodes in the following TV programmes:
The Twilight Zone, "Night Call" (Episode 139, February 7, 1964),
Adventures in Paradise ("A Bride for the Captain", 1962),
Bonanza ("Denver McKee", 1962)
T.H.E. Cat (1966).
Jacques Tourneur died in 1977 in Bergerac, Dordogne, France.
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