The Ghost Ship (1943)

Director:

Mark Robson

Writers:

Donald Henderson Clarke (screenplay)
Leo Mittler (story)

Release Date:

27 July 1944 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

MYSTERY TERROR! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

Tom Merriam signs on the ship Altair as third officer under Captain Stone. At first things look good...

Plot Keywords:

Ship | Captain | Authority | Murder | Merchant Marine

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Richard Dix	...	Capt. Will Stone
Russell Wade	...	Tom Merriam, 3rd Officer
Edith Barrett	...	Ellen Roberts
Ben Bard	...	First Officer Bowns
Edmund Glover	...	Jacob 'Sparks' Winslow, Radioman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Bice	...	Raphael, the Steward (uncredited)
Eddie Borden	...	Crew Member (uncredited)
John Burford	...	Crew Member (uncredited)
Tom Burton	...	William Benson (uncredited)
Harry Clay	...	Tom McCall (uncredited)
Alec Craig	...	Blind Beggar (uncredited)
Boyd Davis	...	Charles Roberts, Dunhan Line Agent (uncredited)
George DeNormand	...	John (uncredited)
Steve Forrest	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Skelton Knaggs	...	Finn, the Mute (uncredited)
Mike Lally	...	Crew Member (uncredited)
Sir Lancelot	...	Billy Radd (uncredited)
Nolan Leary	...	Stenographer (uncredited)
Charles Lung	...	Long Jim (uncredited)
Paul Marion	...	Peter, the Greek (uncredited)
Norman Mayes	...	Carriage Driver (uncredited)
Charles Norton	...	German Sailor (uncredited)
Shirley O'Hara	...	Silhouette Girl (uncredited)
Russell Owen	...	Crew Member (uncredited)
Charles Regan	...	Crew Member (uncredited)
Dewey Robinson	...	Boats (uncredited)
Robert R. Stephenson	...	German Sailor (uncredited)
Lawrence Tierney	...	Seaman Louie Parker (uncredited)
Herb Vigran	...	Chief Engineer (uncredited)
Steve Winston	...	Ausman (uncredited)

Directed by
Mark Robson

Writing credits
Donald Henderson Clarke		(screenplay)
Leo Mittler		(story)

Produced by
Val Lewton	....	producer

Original Music by
Roy Webb

Cinematography by
Nicholas Musuraca		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
John Lockert

Art Direction by
Albert S. D'Agostino
Walter E. Keller

Set Decoration by
Claude E. Carpenter		(as Claude Carpenter)
Darrell Silvera

Costume Design by
Edward Stevenson		(gowns)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ruby Rosenberg	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Francis M. Sarver	....	recorded by
Terry Kellum	....	sound (uncredited)
James G. Stewart	....	sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Vernon L. Walker	....	special effects

Music Department
C. Bakaleinikoff	....	musical director

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures (presents) (as RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.)

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1943) (USA) (theatrical) (as An R K O Radio Picture)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• Fang Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (1995) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Ghost Ship (USA) (poster title)

Runtime:

69 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:TV-PG | UK:A (original rating) (passed with cuts) | Finland:K-16 (1986) | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #9567) | Spain:13

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

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.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: 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:

Captain Will Stone: You know, there are some captains who would hold this against you.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows (2007) (TV)

A Rebellion Against "Authority"

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.