Very shortly after its theatrical release in December of 1943, producer
Val Lewton was sued for plagiarism by
Samuel R. Golding and
Norbert Faulkner, 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was returned unread, the court ruled against Lewton and RKO (a decision upheld at appeal), and "The Ghost Ship" was withdrawn from circulation. It remained unavailable for viewing for the next 50 years.
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