The latest film to receive a high-definition transfer from our friends at Film Masters is Bert I. Gordon’s 1960 supernatural chiller/psychological thriller mash-up, Tormented. Featuring a 4K scan from 35mm archival materials, the new Film Masters’ blu-ray of Tormented was released on April 23rd of this year, and while this release may not feature a bonus film presentation as many of Film Masters previous and upcoming blu-ray releases do, it does pack in a plethora of neat extras and bonus features to make not only fans of Tormented pleased, but also fans of Film Masters’ previous releases.

Given that this is a production from the man who gave us countless giant-sized cinematic terrors, such as Earth Vs. The Spider, Empire of the Ants, and The Cyclops, it may be somewhat surprising to some that no such creatures are featured in Tormented. Instead, Tormented boasts a wonderfully dark script co-penned by Gordon and celebrated scriptwriter George Worthing Yeats, who churned out quite a few well-regarded sci-fi films of the era, such as Earth Vs. the Flying Saucers, It Came From Beneath the Sea, Them!, and more. Unlike those other films, the tale told by Tormented is much more grounded in reality. Well, that is if you consider being haunted by the spirit of a dead lover more “realistic” than a 50-foot-tall spider or, worse, a 50-foot-tall pissed-off wife.

Tormented stars Richard Carlson (Creature from the Black Lagoon, It Came from Outer Space) as “Tom Stewart”, a jazz pianist living the free and easy life on a small island in the Cape Cod area. Granted, the film was clearly filmed in California, but I guess that’s not very important. As the film opens, an upbeat yet forceful jazz number plays over the credits as waves crash against a rocky, cliff-lined shore. Tom is waiting at the top of the local lighthouse, which is where he tends to go when he needs to think or, presumably, to carry on his tryst with gorgeous nightclub singer Vi. Vi is played by model-turned-actress Juli Reding. While Reding did not appear in much else, excluding scattered episodes of a few television series, she seems to have had a natural talent for marrying rich men, including a wealthy former husband of Zsa Zsa Gabor!

However, unlike previous meetings between these two, there will be no lovin’ tonight. Instead, Tom means to end their relationship as he has since become engaged to the lovely young Meg (Lugene Sanders, who appeared as “Babs” on over 100 episodes of TV’s “Life of Riley”, but left showbiz to focus on family). It also doesn’t hurt that Meg’s family has quite a bit of money; money that Tom stands to see at least some of once he’s living the happily married life.

TRIVIA: Meg’s father (Harry Fleer, who appeared in another recently released Film Masters’ title, The Devil’s Partner) has so much money, or so it would appear, that he is able to pay renowned voice actor Paul Frees (forever known as the voice of “The Ghost Host” from Disney’s Haunted Mansion attraction) to dub all of his dialogue! 

Quite deeply in love with the man, Vi doesn’t take too kindly to being passed over for another woman and threatens to inform Tom’s new fiancée of the steamy relationship they’ve been carrying on for some time now. That is, unless Tom agrees to call off his marriage to Meg and stay with her. As Tom ponders this newfound predicament, the railing encircling the lighthouse’s walkway breaks, sending Vi tumbling over the edge. She manages to grab ahold of the railing, pleading with Tom for help as she dangles over the rocky waters. However, as her current situation presents a solution to his problem, Tom hesitates to rescue his former lover and allows Vi to fall to her death in the crashing waves below.

Feelings of guilt, as well as the fear of being exposed as a murderer (mostly the latter), quickly begin to consume Tom’s thoughts. He begins to hear Vi’s voice all around him, and soon even sees visions of the dead woman, albeit sometimes only as a disembodied hand or head. Vi’s ghost (or, perhaps, the idea of her ghost) infiltrates both Tom’s waking and sleeping hours. Hence the film’s title, Tom has become tormented by the spirit of his deceased lover, or at least by his tortured psyche.

The concept that there may be some actual supernatural presence at work is not only magnified but verified by certain events late in the film, such as the instantaneous withering of flowers in a key scene, as well as by the presence of Mrs. Ellis (Lillian Adams – The Jerk, Summer School), Tom’s blind landlady, who also works as a sort of housekeeper not only for Tom, but for Meg’s family as well. As both a friend and somewhat maternal figure to Tom, Mrs. Ellis’s condition serves to make her more receptive to the otherworldly force manipulating Tom. In fact, this awareness of the true nature of the man’s predicament makes her an obstacle in the spirit’s path to retribution, with the entity even attempting to take the older woman out of the equation at one point in the film.

Tom is pushed even closer to his breaking point by the arrival of a conniving ferryboat captain, played by the late Joe Turkel of Blade Runner and The Shining fame. The boat captain has come looking for Vi in order to collect the remainder of her fee for charter to the island. However, as Vi seemingly blabbed all the details of why she was visiting the island, the ferryman finds the woman’s apparent disappearance, as well as Tom’s denial about knowing the woman, to be highly suspicious. Even more suspicious is when the man discovers Sandy, Meg’s little sister, playing with a piece of Vi’s jewelry that has washed up on the beach. After eventually connecting all the dots, the boat captain demands payment from Tom in exchange for keeping silent about just where Vi was on the night she disappeared.

Things finally culminate with Tom finally succumbing to pressure and desperation and driven to remove any and all links to his crime, even if that may mean hurting some of those close to him.

SPECIAL FEATURES: Film Master’s blu-ray release of Tormented includes the following special features/extras:

Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Season 4) episode – “Tormented” (with captions)

Bert I. Gordon: The Amazing Colossal Filmmaker – This short interview features Gordon recounting his lifelong passion for the cinema, which started back when he was still a small child who spent entire weekends at his local movie theater. Although allusions are made to a few of Gordon’s more popular films, none are discussed in any real depth.

Overall, this brief encapsulation of Mr. B.I.G.’s film resume is little more than fluff, only providing quick glimpses at moments in Gordon’s long, brilliant career. While the piece surely won’t provide much in the line of insight for the man’s most devoted fans, Gordon is both humble and charismatic, making the segment entertaining, if somewhat pedestrian.

Bigger Than Life: Bert I. Gordon in the 1950’s and 1960’s – For those seeking a more in-depth look at Gordon’s career, this nearly 40-minute-long retrospective, hosted by film writer/director/and historian C. Courtney Joyner, provides just that. As opposed to the previous segment, the discussion of Gordon’s individual films is much more varied and in-depth, featuring plenty of clips, trivia, and production history for each film. There does seem to be extra focus on The Amazing Colossal Man (and its sequel, War of the Colossal Beast) and Attack of the Puppet People, as well as both films’ ability to make the audience empathize with their respective antagonists.

The Spirit is Willing – a visual essay/dissertation on Tormented by The Flying Maciste Brothers (aka Howard S. Burger and Kevin Marr) that takes a deep dive look at the psychological aspects of the film and its lead character. While there are some interesting theories and ideas presented, the feature does get a bit “heady” and may only appeal to the film’s most ardent fans.

Famous Ghost Stories unaired pilot – This pilot episode for an unproduced anthology series that presented weekly tales of the supernatural, and featured Vincent Price as host, is a neat little addition to the special features list… but be warned! The segment is only just over 4 minutes long and only includes Price’s lead-in to the tale, but not the full “condensed” version of Tormented that originally accompanied it as the main story. 

Also included are the original 1960 raw 35mm trailer for Tormented, as well as a 2024 re-cut trailer using the new HD transfer.

As with previous Film Masters’ releases, a booklet is included featuring two essays on the film: the first is a fun overview of the film by Tom Weaver that includes quotes from some of its stars. Maybe not so surprisingly, not all of Tormented‘s cast had positive comments about the film or (some of) their fellow castmates.

The second is a novelist-filmmaker John Wooley’s charming look back at a nearly life-long fanship and (later) friendship with actress Susan Gordon, who plays “Sandy” in the film. Susan, Bert’s daughter, also appeared in 1959’s The Five Pennies (with Danny Kaye), as well Puppet People, The Boy and the Pirates, and Picture Mommy Dead for her father.

VIDEO/AUDIO QUALITY:

Overall, I found the video quality of Film Masters’ presentation of Tormented to be generally pleasing. I know, that’s not exactly the most ringing of endorsements. Now, that’s not to say that there is anything wrong with the film’s HD presentation, although there did appear to be some noticeable wobbling (or, possibly, a pulsation effect) during the opening credits. Otherwise, the video quality is leaps and bounds above the SD releases of the film that have been found on 50-movie DVD sets for years. Exterior scenes, particularly those of the tides washing ashore on the beach at night, are much sharper than those of interiors, and are often quite beautiful to behold. That said, the uptick in visual quality does naturally help to expose the limitations of certain sets, particularly that of the lighthouse.

While never approaching anything bombastic, the film does feature a score from Albert Glasser (whose music can be found in numerous genre films of the 1950s) that effortlessly moves from jazzy to eerie, and the blu-ray’s audio track does a credible job of handling it all. Again, you shouldn’t expect any heavy bass drops or rattling speakers, but a decent priced soundbar will surely help add that extra spooky element to a late-night viewing of the film. 

WHERE HAVE I HEARD THAT BEFORE?: The score for Tormented contains a portion of Von Dexter’s score to William Castle’s House on Haunted Hill, which had released the previous year in 1959.

FINAL VERDICT: While Tormented generally tends to be lesser discussed than most of B.I.G.’s “creature features”, the film still provides a dose of fun, but mild supernatural thrills. Sure, there’s a gap in logic concerning the predicament that Tom finds himself in as the judicial system may possibly have deemed Vi’s death an accident, hence absolving him of any legal guilt. Where’s the fun in that? Instead, let’s throw in a ghost and watch the man slowly go crazy!

The film may not be on the same level of quality as Lewis Allen’s The Uninvited or Robert Wise’s The Haunting (which released 3 years later, in 1963), but would fit in perfectly with lighter-hearted supernatural fare of the era, such as Castle’s 13 Ghosts or Alex Nicol’s The Screaming Skull. For what it’s worth, I personally feel that Tormented pairs up well with 1961’s The Devil’s Hand as a fun double feature. 

Overall. while I do believe that most potential buyers will be pleased with Film Masters’ new release of Tormented, I do feel somewhat obligated to confess that I was somewhat more impressed with the restorations and transfers provided to some of the label’s earlier releases. However, the included special featurettes are all top-notch and superior to some found on the label’s previous releases, and the inclusion of the MST3K episode helps serve as a “bonus film”.