The Ghost Ship (1943)

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 ... See full summary »

Director:

Mark Robson

Writers:

Donald Henderson Clarke (screenplay), Leo Mittler (story)

Stars:

Richard Dix, Russell Wade, Edith Barrett

2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Richard Dix	...	Capt. Will Stone
Russell Wade	...	3rd Officer Tom Merriam / Tertius
Edith Barrett	...	Ellen Roberts
Ben Bard	...	First Officer Bowns
Edmund Glover	...	Jacob 'Sparks' Winslow - Radioman

Storyline

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 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 tell others, but no one believes him, and it only makes Stone angry..

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Plot Keywords:

bare chested male | homosexual subtext | death | third officer | ship | 

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Taglines:

MYSTERY TERROR! (original print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

March 1944 (UK)

Also Known As:

Ghost Ship

Box Office

Budget:

$150,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

69 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

RKO had built an expensive ship set for their 1938 production Pacific Liner (1939). Val Lewton was given instructions to come up with a film that could use the still existing set.

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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 that has been horizontally flipped.

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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.

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Connections

Featured in TJ and the All Night Theatre: Ghost Ship (1978)

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Soundtracks

The North Country Maid
(uncredited)
Traditional English folk song
Performed by Sir Lancelot

User Reviews

Offbeat Lewton Tale

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.