Recovery Cinema: Tormented (1960)

Directed by: Bert I. Gordon

Starring: Richard Carlson, Lugene Sanders, Juli Reding

After my most recent experience with Richard Carlson, I thought I would go and check out some of the other work he's done. Tormented was the first film I came across that starred him. Some of you may be familiar with it already, via Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Honestly, though, it's not a half bad movie. While it's relatively routine overall, where Tormented excels is in the details. Carlson plays jazz pianist Tom Stewart, who lives on a quaint little island paradise. He's preparing to marry the love of his life, a rich debutant girl played by Lugene Sanders, but there's a problem.

His other wife, a jazz singer named Vi, has shown up to claim him for her own. Something is mentioned about a mysterious "letter" and the possibilities for blackmail that it holds, but all of this is solved when Vi tragically falls to her death from the top of an old lighthouse.

The first points Tormented scores are here. Vi literally does fall to her death in an accident, instead of Tom murdering her. His only problem is that he doesn't help her when he has a chance, instead letting her fall. Soon enough, Vi is back in a new form and haunting her dear Tom in order to keep him all for herself.

While there are some unintentionally humorous sequences, for the most part the film manages to create a good, creepy atmosphere. I'll admit that I was actually a bit weirded out while lying on the couch watching it -- as well as when I went to bed that night. There aren't any major scares, but when it throws one our way it makes the most of it. The psychological ones work the best, when we aren't sure if they are the work of Vi's ghost or if they are due to Tom slowly losing his mind.

What really put me on edge is that on the beach scenes, the sound of the waves crashing against the shore and the rocks often comes close to drowning everything else out. Whether intentional or not, these waves always sound like the growling of a tiger. And the constant repetition of that is creepier than one would expect.

Carlson's performance is, again, the stand-out piece of the film for me. He does a fantastic job of being able to switch between Charismatic Leading Man and Guilty Man Going Insane. His interactions with Susan Gordon, who plays the little girl, are the best of the film.

The character of Tom Stewart also never quite bridges into evil territory. While he is responsible for a few less-than-savory events, he understandably acts out of necessity and desperation. This is, of course, until the very end, where he finally may or may not have gone off the deep end. But to discuss that more would be to ruin the fun!

Tormented ends up being a rather solid film and one of my favorite ghost story films (A sub-genre I'm not usually real big on.) It's worth giving a look, for the performances and the pretty good creep-outs, if nothing else.

And, of course, the neat jazz score -- some of which actually comes from House on Haunted Hill!