Born in the City of Light, Paris, in the year 1904, Tourneur embarked on a cinematic journey alongside his father, the renowned director Maurice Tourneur, around 1913. Initially, he commenced his career as a script clerk and editor for his father, gradually advancing to directing short films, often adopting the pseudonym Jack Turner, in both France and America.
Subsequently, he was entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing the second unit for David O. Selznick's 1935 epic, A Tale of Two Cities, where he first crossed paths with the illustrious Val Lewton. In 1942, when Lewton was appointed to lead the newly established horror unit at RKO, he extended an invitation to Tourneur to serve as his first director. The outcome of this collaboration was the visually stunning and commercially successful Cat People (1942),a testament to Tourneur's exceptional command of mood and atmosphere.
Throughout his illustrious career, Tourneur went on to direct a plethora of masterpieces across various genres, consistently showcasing his remarkable ability to craft a captivating atmosphere.
