**Jacques Tourneur (1904-1977)** was an influential French-American director, known for his mastery in creating evocative atmospheres and psychological tension, often with limited means.

His career took off in the 1940s thanks to his collaboration with producer Val Lewton at RKO. He directed psychological horror masterpieces that redefined the genre, such as *Cat People* (1942), *I Walked with a Zombie* (1943), and *The Leopard Man* (1943). His style in these films is distinctive: the threat is more suggested than explicitly shown, cleverly utilizing shadows, sound, and the unspoken to generate a profound sense of fear and unease.

Tourneur demonstrated his versatility with the celebrated film noir *Out of the Past* (1947), a genre classic for its complex plot and bleak atmospheres. His direction is characterized by a sense of ambiguity and an exploration of human psychology in the face of the unknown or fate.