The Horror!? 53: Tormented (1960)

Jazz musician Tom has his share of problems, most of them brought about by his own lack of spine. He is eloped to Meg, the young daughter of a very rich man, but doesn't break up with his previous girlfriend Vi until shortly before the wedding. Vi doesn't accept this lying down and threatens to expose their unpleasant relationship. In the ensuing argument she falls to her death from the lighthouse of the island where the whole film takes place. Tom doesn't lift a finger to help her, although he well could. These things never go unpunished in horror films, so he soon has to cope with the extortionist agenda of a local captain as well as Vi's vengeful ghost. It's not easy to get married.
Compared to Bert I. Gordon's earlier giant monster movies like The Amazing Colossal Man, Tormented is a masterpiece of competence and style. Seen with a slightly less skewed perspective it is still a relatively watchable movie. The plot reminds me of a (sadly overlong) EC comic, not really all that well paced, but still hanging together quite well. The characters are more complex than one would expect, Tom is neither as evil as is often the case, nor sympathetic enough to inspire much compassion. All actors are doing their best with what the script gives them to work with and are what keeps the film functioning.
Which is an achievement when you keep in mind how little else the film has to offer. The special effects are atrocious and distract from what could be at least good ideas. Then there is the little problem called "Bert I. Gordon" who may once have heard the words "mood" or "camera movement", but sure as hell hasn't a clue about how to achieve them. Looking at it from this perspective it is a small wonder how basically decent the film is.