Tormented (1960)

Tom Stewart (Richard Carlson), a jazz pianist living in an island community, is haunted by the ghost of his ex girlfriend Vi Mason (Juli Reding), who he allowed to fall to her death from a lighthouse.

Vi hangs from the top of the lighthouse and Tom doesn't come to her aid — Vi hangs from the top of the lighthouse and Tom doesn’t come to her aid

I like this cheesy B&W ghost flick quite a bit!

Come on, Richard, these are special effects in a Bert I Gordon movie: it's no good pretending you can't see them! — Come on, Richard, these are special effects in a Bert I Gordon movie: it’s no good pretending you can’t see them!

TORMENTED, directed by Bert I Gordon (who swaps his usual giant creatures for a ghostly gal this time), features a neat little story that keeps you interested as you watch Carlson becoming ever more paranoid, repeatedly seeing the ghostly Reding… who very often appears just as a head, a hand or footprints. At one point Carlson thinks he finds Reding’s drowned corpse but it becomes just a pile of seaweed: is he losing his mind?

The ghostly hand crawls across the carpet

Tom 'sees' Vi's disembodied head... or is it a plant vase? — Tom ‘sees’ Vi’s disembodied head… or is it just a vase of flowers?

There’s an enjoyable soundtrack that is jazzy with creepy moments, director Gordon’s daughter Susan is pretty good as young sis Sandy, the special effects are very simple yet quirkily effective in their own way and, well, TORMENTED has a novel vibe all its own.

The special effects are pretty simple, but I like them! — The special effects are not THAT special, but I like them!

Nick the blackmailing beatnik (Joe Turkel) — Nick the blackmailing beatnik ferryman is played by Joe Turkel

Lugene Sanders plays Tom's fiancée Meg Hubbard — Lugene Sanders plays Tom’s fiancée Meg Hubbard

Juli Reding, as the vengeful spirit Vi, looks like she had a fun time in her role, playfully harassing Richard Carlson’s character Tom throughout the film…

…”Tom Stewart killed me! Tom Stewart killed me!”