Jacques Tourneur

 Jacques Tourneur









RANKED:

3. Cat People (1942)


In 1942, Val Lewton started a B-horror movie campaign in RKO Radio Pictures, wanting to make films that walked the line between commercial pictures and low-budget 'throw away' movies. Enlisting French director Jacques Tourneur, their first attempt at a new horror film slate was 1942's "Cat People." Centering on love triangle in which one of the jealous women is descended from an ancient tribe of Cat People who metamorphize into black panthers when aroused, the film employs a great atmosphere of eerie fright. 




2. I Walked with a Zombie (1943)


After the mainstream success of 1942's "Cat People," RKO producer Val Lewton enlisted director Jacques Tourneur once again for another B-horror film project: 1943's "I Walked with a Zombie." Centering on a nurse who travels to a Caribbean island to treat a sick patient, the film demonstrates themes of slavery and racism through the inclusion of black sugar cane workers who practice in Vodou and other rituals. It was another grand success for RKO and continues to be a cult classic of B-horror Hollywood cinema.




1. Out of the Past (1947)


Had it not been for 1947's "Out of the Past," French-born Hollywood director Jacques Tourneur would have just been known as the director who helped launch Val Lewton's string of classic B-horror films like "Cat People" and "I Walked with a Zombie." Now, to round out his career a bit further, "Out of the Past" taps into the Hollywood zeitgeist at the time of its release in 1947 with another entry into the coveted 'film noir' genre. Now considered a classic of the genre, "Out of the Past" is full of twists and turns that makes for some entertaining intrigue. 

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