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's a dissolve that's perfectly executed and almost looks like a digital morph. Most of the film is tinted in blue (for daylight) or red (for artificial light), with one scene having the nice effect of switching between the two. Maurice Tourneur was born in 1873 as Maurice Thomas in the Parisian suburb of Belleville, France. When he started working as a director's assistant around 1911 it didn't take long before he was promoted to directing movies with leading french stars. To this job he took all the experience he had gained in previous jobs, such as: graphic designer, magazine illustrator, assistent to sculptor Rodin, assistent to muralist Puvis de Chavannes's, stage actor and set designer. When sent to the United States by employer Cinematographes Éclair he soon became a major director, who pioneered in the development of the narrative film with an appealing visual stylization. He was an influence on Fritz Lang, Clarence Brown and of course his own son Jacques Tourneur, the acclaimed director of "Cat People" and "Out of the Past".