Encyclopedia of French Film Directors

1956 Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre (episode
“Kristi”; USA)
1957 The Walter Winchell File (episodes “The Cupcake,”
“The Steep Hill”; USA)
1958 Cool and Lam (USA)
The Walter Winchell File (episode “The Stop-
Over”; USA)
Northwest Passage (episodes “The Gunsmith,”
“Surprise Attack,” “The Bound Women,”
“Break Out,” “The Hostage,” “The Assassin,”
“The Traitor,” “The Vulture”; USA)
1960 Aftermath / The Code of Jonathan West (USA)
Bonanza (episode “Denver McKee”; USA)
General Electric Theater (episode “Aftermath”;
USA)
1961 The Barbara Stanwyck Show (episode “Adventure
on Happiness Street”; USA)
General Electric Theater (episode “Star Witness:
The Lili Parrish Story”; USA)
1962 Follow the Sun (episode “Sergeant Kolchak
Fades Away”; USA)
Adventures in Paradise (episode “A Bride for
the Captain”; USA)
1964 The Twilight Zone / Twilight Zone (episode
“Night Call”; USA)
1966 T.H.E. Cat (episode “The Ring of Anasis”;
USA)
TOURNEUR, MAURICE (Maurice Félix Thomas /
February 2, 1873, Paris, France–August 4, 1961, Paris,
France)
The son of a jewel merchant, he studied at the
Beaux-Arts and earned a living as a decorator and
book illustrator before working as an assistant at
the ateliers of sculptor Auguste Rodin and painter
Puvis de Chavannes. In 1900, he made his acting debut
onstage with the Réjane and Antoine troupes. A
dozen years later, he joined the Éclair fi lm company
and entered fi lms as an assistant director (1912
Conscience d’Enfant, Emile Chautard; 1913 Mathilde,
Emile Chautard) and actor (1912 Max Boxeur par
Amour / Boxeur par Amour / UK: Love and Boxing, Max
Linder). Thanks to his superb command of English,
he was sent to Fort Lee, New Jersey, where he directed
many American productions of Éclair. After
fi lming movies for US studios (World, Paragon, Equitable,
Paramount), he returned to France in the late
1920s and shot about twenty-fi ve fi lms until 1948. A
car accident and the loss of one leg put an end to his
career. He spent the last years of his life translating
English and American detective novels into French.
His son was director Jacques Tourneur.
Filmography
TOURNEUR, MAURICE • 967
1913 Jean la Poudre ou La Conquête de l’Algerie /
La Conquête de l’Algérie (one prologue, three
parts; co-director with Emile Chautard; also
screenwriter)
Soeurette (short; also screenwriter)
La Bergère d’Ivry (short; also screenwriter)
Le Corso rouge (short; also screenwriter)
Les Gaîtés de l’Escadron (short; co-director with
Joseph Faivre; also screenwriter, adapter)
Le Dernier Pardon (short; also screenwriter,
adapter)
La Dame de Monsoreau (unconfi rmed; directed
by Emile Chautard, Charles Krauss, or Maurice
Tourneur; also screenwriter, adapter)
Le Système du Docteur Goudron et du Professeur
Plume / USA: The Lunatics (short; also screenwriter,
adapter)
Le Friquet (short; also screenwriter, adapter)
Mademoiselle Cent Millions (short)
1914 Le Puits mitoyen / USA: The Secret of the Well
(short; also screenwriter)
Le Camée (short; also screenwriter)
Les Ruses de l’Amour (short; unconfi rmed;
directed by Emile Chautard or Maurice Tourneur)
Figures de Cire / L’Homme aux Figures de Cire
(short; also screenwriter, adapter)
Mother (short; also screenwriter, adapter; USA)
Man of the Hour (also screenwriter, adapter;
USA)
The Wishing Ring: An Idyll of Old England /
The Wishing Ring (also screenwriter, adapter;
USA)
The Pit (USA)
1915 Rouletabille (short; also screenwriter, adapter)
Rouletabille II: Le Parfum de la Dame en noir /
La Dernière Incarnation de Larsan (short; also
screenwriter, adapter)
Monsieur Lecoq (also screenwriter, adapter)
Alias Jimmy Valentine (also screenwriter,
adapter; USA)
The Cub (also screenwriter, adapter; USA)
The Ivory Snuff Box (USA)
Trilby (USA)
A Butterfl y on the Wheel (USA)
1916 Pawn of Fate (USA)