The Ghost Ship

I had never heard of this Val Lewton production till it recently showed up on television. Yet, as directed by Mark Robson, it is one of Lewton's very best.

Russell Wade as the young sailor who is menaced by mentally off-balance captain Richard Dix is handsome and very persuasive. What happened to this actor? I had never heard of him before, either.

The movie has a marvelously eerie, foreboding quality that is maintained throughout, from the blind soothsayer we see before Tom Merriam (Wade) boards the ship, through the sea chanteys, Caribbean songs, the heroic mute sailor.

I generally shy away from all-male casts but in this case, the claustrophobic nature of the plot would have been maintained better had it not been "opened out," albeit briefly, with the scene onshore involving the third billed admirer of Dix.

(Her friend, whom we see greeting Wade at the end in silhouette, is a plot device to imply a happy ending. This is OK because the damage to our nerves has already been done. Dix has already had several of his crew killed and has almost succeeded in doing away with Wade.)

This was pretty good entry in the Val Lewton Horror Collection, even though it's anything but "horror." This film is a straight drama, almost a film noir about a paranoid sea captain (Richard Dix) who eliminates anyone who disagrees with his "authority," a key word in this movie.

Russell Wade is the captain's protégé, and the story really centers around him and the conflict he has with his boss after he begins to find out what a violent nutcase he happens to be. Along the way, it was noteworthy to see Lawrence Tierney play one of the captain's victims.

Also good was Jacob "Sparks" Winslow as the ship's radio operator. This is an involving film as we root for Wade to expose this captain and to convince others that the man with the "authority" is an evil person.

The title of this film is misleading as it implies a ghost story.....but of course, it isn't. In fact it isn't even a horror film in the general sense. It is more a psychological thriller, surrounding the personality of the ship's captain, played by that old war horse, Richard Dix. And he does a terrific job of letting the viewer glimpse the madness beneath his controlled exterior. His byword is "authority" and he goes to unbelievable lengths to assert that authority.

Russell Wade, with whom I am unfamiliar, plays the Third Officer, who sees through the captain in short order and vainly attempts to convince the crew of Dix's insanity......but to no avail. The only person who is aware of the problem is a mute played by probably one of the most unattractive and busiest character players in Hollywood, Skelton Knaggs and he becomes somewhat of a hero in the final few minutes of the film. Edith Barrett, who was used by Lewton in other films, makes a limited appearance as the captain's inamorata. Look for Lawrence Tierney, future Hollywood bad boy, as a target of the captain's revenge.

Val Lewton was the master of atmospheric films made on a limited budget and he doesn't miss with this one. It's a dandy!!

This Val Lewton produced film is not what one would likely expect from the title: a ghost story...so don't expect that going in. It isn't even really an Horror film per se although there are elements at work here which will prove horrific to many viewers. What it is instead is a seafaring adventure yarn about a Captain who's slowly going mad (and homicidal) due to his obsession with authority and only our heroic lead Tom Merriam, the 3rd Officer, seems to want to do anything about it. Everyone else seems to either not believe Merriam or dismisses what he tells them for fear of losing their jobs. Merriam however retains his values and ethics throughout the film even when they don't work out in his favor. While the film possesses the mood and style one expects from Lewton's films, the content and in some cases atmosphere is really not what one expects from the producer. Also events here do seem to wrap themselves up much too quickly. Still all in all there's enough good stuff here that this film is definitely worth seeking out.

The rarest of the Val Lewton horror films. Exceptional chiller about a much beloved Sea Captain (Richard Dix) slowly going mad. What makes the film stand out are a few key scenes- an anchor blindly swings above the deck, crushing portions of the boat while frightened sailors try to stop it- Dix locking a man in a room sized container for the anchor chain- Dix and a very unlikely hero having a bloody knife fight in the dark while unsuspecting sailors play Calypso music not far away. Not up there with Lewton's "Cat People", or "Seventh Victim", but a good horror classic nevertheless.