In 1914, an unknown French filmmaker arrived in New York; within four years, Maurice Tourneur (1876–1961) would become one of America’s most acclaimed directors. In this masterful biography, Christine Leteux shows how intimately connected Tourneur’s life was to major events of the twentieth century as well as to the profound transformations in movie making. A master of directing silent films, he quickly managed the transition to sound. His last major work was created for Continental Films, the German-owned firm that controlled the French film industry during the Nazi Occupation. His son, Jacques, followed in his footsteps, also becoming an acclaimed director.

Drawing heavily on previously unpublished archival documents, Leteux reinvigorates film history and demonstrates that we know far less about this era of filmmaking than we often assume. She reveals not only how Tourneur jumped from France to the United States and back again but also how he shifted from one company to another, moving quickly up the ladder to bigger productions and ever larger studios. Tourneur’s drive, insight, technical proficiency, skill with actors, ability to create new forms of storytelling, and fame on both sides of the Atlantic make it all the more surprising that he is not better known today—an oversight that has now been corrected thanks to Leteux’s impressively detailed research and nuanced storytelling.

List of Illustrations
Foreword by Robert Byrne
Introduction
1 Maurice Thomas
2 Francis Jourdain’s Comrade
3 The Rebel
4 Maurice Tourneur
5 Antoine, the Gruff but Generous Man
6 From the Stage to the Screen
7 Fort Lee, New Jersey
8 The American Director
9 The Artist of the Screen
10 From George Beban to Mary Pickford
11 Paragon and the War
12 The Americanization of Maurice
13 Weaver of Dreams
14 Woman
15 Realism and Idealism
16 The Tourneur Case
17 The Last of the Mohicans
18 A Shadow of a Doubt
19 Disenchanted
20 Maurice and Jack
21 Leaving
22 The Tourneur Affair
23 The Exile
24 Pathé-Natan
25 Louise
26 Justin de Marseille
27 The Film Savior
28 The End of an Era
29 Continental Films
30 La Main enchantée
31 The Crossing of the Line
32 Purge and Restart
33 The Loner
Acknowledgments
Notes
Filmography
Selected Bibliography
Index