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IMDbPro

The Ghost Ship

  • 19431943
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 9m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
3.4K
YOUR RATING
Richard Dix in The Ghost Ship (1943)
  • Drama
  • Mystery
  • Thriller
Tom Merriam signs on the ship Altair as third officer under Captain Stone. At first things look good, Stone sees Merriam as a younger version of himself and Merriam sees Stone as the first a... Read allTom Merriam signs on the ship Altair as third officer under Captain Stone. At first things look good, Stone sees Merriam as a younger version of himself and Merriam sees Stone as the first adult to ever treat him as a friend. But after a couple strange deaths of crew members, Mer... Read allTom Merriam signs on the ship Altair as third officer under Captain Stone. At first things look good, Stone sees Merriam as a younger version of himself and Merriam sees Stone as the first adult to ever treat him as a friend. But after a couple strange deaths of crew members, Merriam begins to think Stone is a psychopathic madman obsessed with authority. He tries to t... Read all
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
3.4K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Mark Robson
  • Writers
    • Donald Henderson Clarke(screenplay)
    • Leo Mittler(story)
  • Stars
    • Richard Dix
    • Russell Wade
    • Edith Barrett
Top credits
  • Director
    • Mark Robson
  • Writers
    • Donald Henderson Clarke(screenplay)
    • Leo Mittler(story)
  • Stars
    • Richard Dix
    • Russell Wade
    • Edith Barrett
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 69User reviews
    • 44Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 nominations

    Photos89

    Dewey Robinson and Lawrence Tierney in The Ghost Ship (1943)
    Edmund Glover and Russell Wade in The Ghost Ship (1943)
    Boyd Davis and Russell Wade in The Ghost Ship (1943)
    Russell Wade in The Ghost Ship (1943)
    Ben Bard, George DeNormand, and Russell Wade in The Ghost Ship (1943)
    The Ghost Ship (1943)
    Robert Bice and Russell Wade in The Ghost Ship (1943)
    Edmund Glover and Russell Wade in The Ghost Ship (1943)
    Edmund Glover and Russell Wade in The Ghost Ship (1943)
    Edith Barrett in The Ghost Ship (1943)
    Richard Dix and Russell Wade in The Ghost Ship (1943)
    Skelton Knaggs in The Ghost Ship (1943)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Richard Dix
    Richard Dix
    • Capt. Will Stone
    Russell Wade
    Russell Wade
    • 3rd Officer Tom Merriam…
    Edith Barrett
    Edith Barrett
    • Ellen Roberts
    Ben Bard
    Ben Bard
    • First Officer Bowns
    Edmund Glover
    Edmund Glover
    • Jacob 'Sparks' Winslow - Radioman
    Robert Bice
    Robert Bice
    • Raphael - the Steward
    • (uncredited)
    Eddie Borden
    Eddie Borden
    • Crew Member
    • (uncredited)
    John Burford
    • Crew Member
    • (uncredited)
    Tom Burton
    • William Benson
    • (uncredited)
    Harry Clay
    • Tom McCall
    • (uncredited)
    Alec Craig
    Alec Craig
    • Blind Beggar
    • (uncredited)
    Boyd Davis
    • Charles Roberts - Dunhan Line Agent
    • (uncredited)
    George DeNormand
    George DeNormand
    • John Corbin - Sailor
    • (uncredited)
    Cliff Edwards
    Cliff Edwards
    • Unnamed officer
    • (uncredited)
    Skelton Knaggs
    Skelton Knaggs
    • Finn - the Mute
    • (uncredited)
    Mike Lally
    • Crew Member
    • (uncredited)
    Sir Lancelot
    Sir Lancelot
    • Billy Radd
    • (uncredited)
    Nolan Leary
    Nolan Leary
    • Stenographer
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Mark Robson
    • Writers
      • Donald Henderson Clarke(screenplay)
      • Leo Mittler(story)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Very shortly after its theatrical release in December of 1943, producer Val Lewton was sued for plagiarism by Samuel R. Golding and Fritz Falkenstein, who claimed that Lewton based his script on a play which they had written and submitted to Lewton's office at the time "The Ghost Ship" was being developed. Although Lewton had the opportunity to settle out of court, he chose to have the case tried. Despite Lewton's claims that their manuscript was returned unread, the court ruled against Lewton and RKO (a decision upheld at appeal), and The Ghost Ship (1943) was withdrawn from circulation. It remained unavailable for viewing for the next 50 years until the copyright was not renewed and it fell into the public domain. RKO paid the authors $25,000 in damages and $5,000 for attorney fees and lost all rights to future income and the right to sell the film to television.
    • Goofs
      One shot of the boat traveling toward camera shows the name of the boat on the bow is backwards. The backwards name reads Venture, indicating it's a shot reused from King Kong (1933) that has been horizontally flipped.
    • Quotes

      Finn, the Mute: [voiceover] The man is dead. With his death, the waters of the sea are open to us. But there will be other deaths, and the agony of dying, before we come to land again.

    • Connections
      Edited from King Kong (1933)
    • Soundtracks
      Blow the Man Down
      (uncredited)

      Traditional sea shanty

      Performed by Alec Craig

      Performed by Sir Lancelot

    User reviews69

    Review
    Top review
    Well written, dark, tense and atmospheric film that was much better than I expected
    Tom Merriam takes a job as the Third Officer on the cargo ship The Altair. Despite a strange interaction with a blind man in port, things look good for Tom as the ship appears good and the Captain is amiable enough. Finding that his bed is still a mess from when the last Third died there is a little disturbing but he gets past it and begins to work. When the Captain puts lives at risk rather than be seen to have his authority questioned by Merriam, Tom starts to worry that the Captain is living within his own head too much – a worry reinforced when more men and put at risk and deaths are caused; but how can he change things? Apparently commissioned because RKO had an expensive ship set knocking around that they wanted to get more use out of, this film is surprisingly enjoyable and works because it tries to shun melodrama and be something much more interesting. This is not to say it totally does this, because it doesn't, but it does have plenty of good things about it. The story is fairly standard in appearance but the Captain's "madness" is convincing and realistic – he is not a gibbering loon but rather a man who appears to have lost touch with reality thanks to a lonely and sad life to date. Within this story the script develops the characters well so that they rise above being the stock figures of b-movie fare. With a low key story, the production still really goes for it on atmosphere and produces an air of foreboding and menace that is present from the very start. Shadows are well used, fog drifts over the decks and the music is constantly moving darkly in the background – menacing without ever being overused or overbearing.

    The cast do very well with this product. Wade was surprisingly good in the lead and it made me wonder why I have never knowingly seen him in anything else. He was a pretty regular guy and came off natural rather than being the square-jawed hero that is often the norm. He plays second fiddle to Dix though, who sets up a strangely friendly character who convincingly moves into a sort of madness that is convincing. He avoids being a monster and naturally questions himself while also producing a character that we feel for – Dix is not just a "baddie" to Wade's "goodie". Barrett is so-so but the film didn't need her and her scene slows the film by taking it off the ship albeit briefly. Support is good from Glover, Overall an enjoyable film that produces the goods on many levels and is much better than I thought it was going to be. The plot seems simple but the writing respect the audience and makes the story more interesting than the usual goodie/baddie fare. The atmospheric and tense production only helps to produce a punchy, mysterious film that is well worth seeing even if the ending needed to be a bit stronger and darker but this is a minor flaw.
    helpful•51
    2
    • bob the moo
    • Jul 16, 2005

    FAQ4

    • What is 'The Ghost Ship' about?
    • Is 'The Ghost Ship' based on a book?
    • Why is the movie titled 'The Ghost Ship' when there are no ghosts in it?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 1944 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • German
    • Also known as
      • Ghost Ship
    • Filming locations
      • RKO Studios - 780 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • RKO Radio Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $150,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 9 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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