Former student of painter Auguste Rodin who turned his attention to the theater and then moved into films as an actor and assistant director at the Eclair studios. Tourneur moved to the USA in 1914, initially as head of Eclair's Fort Lee, New Jersey, subsidiary. He soon became known as one of the most stylish directors of his time, partly thanks to his collaboration with pioneering art director Ben Carre, who designed some 35 features for Tourneur through 1920. The pair's best work was in the mystery and fantasy genres. Tourneur's most important films highlight his inimitable visual sensitivity and include the delightfully wistful "The Wishing Ring" (1914); "The Poor Little Rich Girl" (1917), one of Mary Pickford's best showcases; and a vivid rendition of "The Last of the Mohicans" (1920).
Tourneur returned to Europe in 1927 and, aside from one German film, continued his career doing fine work in France through 1948, when he lost a leg in a car accident. Probably his best-known film from this period is his strong and finely acted adaptation of Ben Jonson's "Volpone" (1940), starring Harry Baur and Louis Jouvet. He subsequently translated English-language mystery novels into French. Father of director Jacques Tourneur.