Tormented

The west coast always struggled to create a creepy atmosphere on screen.  All that southern California sunshine just doesn’t lend itself to ghostly apparitions or gothic castles.  But Tormented (1960) gives it a good try, staging its opening scene in an abandoned lighthouse where blackmail turns into murder - and one cover up leads to another.  Director Bert I. Gordon, better known for his giant-sized - but low-budget - monster movies, works well at this level, turning in a film that delivers small scares but perhaps his most  professional finished product.

Tom Stewart (played by genre regular Richard Carlson) is a fairly successful jazz pianist whose impending marriage to Meg Hubbard (Susan Gordon) will put him in an entirely new tax bracket.  Trouble is his old flame, Vi (Juli Reding), isn’t taking this lying down.  After allowing her to fall to her death in the opening scene, Tom is haunted by disembodied visions of his ex-lover who refuses to go quietly into the afterlife.  And when an interloper from the mainland threatens to expose his misdeeds, Tom is forced to take his romantic conspiracy to the next level.

 

Set against a noisy jazz score and with some amusing “hipster” slang from co-star Joe Turkel, Tormented is a quirky little time-waster that leans on its script more than its effects.  Vi’s floating head and disembodied hand make for some fun exclamation points, but its Carlson’s emotional angst that moves things along, especially when he’s trying to disguise his neuroses from the young sister of his prospective bride.  Speaking of whom, little Sandy is played by Susan Gordon, the director’s 10-year-old daughter, who knocks it out of the park as the suspicious sibling. The whole thing often feels more like an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, but the supernatural angle gives it some B-movie satisfaction.

 

The latest restoration from Film Masters, Tormented looks great across the board, with only a few lingering bits of damage here and there.  Compare that to the print used for the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode from Season Four (also included!) and you’ll see just what an improvement the 4K transfer makes.  Extras, besides the aforementioned MST3K episode, include several featurettes, a visual essay, commentary track, insert booklet and the previously unreleased 1961 pilot for Famous Ghost Stories hosted by Vincent Price.

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