It stayed out of circulation for some fifty years, making it a nearlylost movie. The ghost ship was the first of val lewton s horror films to feature a mundane as opposed to a supernatural premise. The ghost ship was the fifth successive lowbudget horror film produced by val lewton in a short space of time, following the cat people 1942, i w alked with a zombie 1943, the leopard man 1943, and the seventh victi m 1943. The writers sued rko, forcing the studio to withdraw ghost ship from theatres and prohibiting future tv showings. The ghost ship 1943 there will be other deaths and the agony of dying before we come to land again. The film was also intended to be a movie for actor richard dix to be presented in a favorably vehicle for his last contract role at rko dix is captain will stone. The ghost ship has been one of the most elusive lewton movies, as it was pulled from release by rko after a writer filed a plagiarism lawsuit, claiming the movie took elements from a script he had submitted to lewtons office.
Despite the same titles, the 2002 film of the same title is not considered a remake of this film. It was an apt time of year for a spectral tale, but here he engineered a story whose connection to its. The movie has a marvelously eerie, foreboding quality that is maintained throughout, from the blind soothsayer we see before tom merriam wade boards the. May 04, 2017 part of the pleasure in watching a val lewton horror film is in seeing how artfully he chose to interpret the gawdy titles that rko foisted on him. The ghost ship is one of the horror films from legendary producer val lewton. Most filming took place in merton park studios with exteriors shot on the directors own yacht, gelert in the english channel. Mark robson draws the suspense out with incredible tension.
Film and video screenings the ghost ship 1943 library of. Keller film editor mark robson original music roy webb. Seaman russell wade notices the captains deterioration, but his warnings go unheeded. Tom merriam signs on the ship altair as third officer under captain stone. Find video, photos, forums, blogs and shop for some of the best movies ever made only at tcm. The ghost ship is a 1943 american blackandwhite psychological thriller film, with elements of mystery and horror, directed by mark robson, starring richard dix and featuring russell wade, edith. The ghost ship is a stark examination of authority run amok, a message that must have struck a chord while world war ii was. I would say not so its hard not to resent this film a little bit for not delivering any kind of. Mar 14, 2009 a compilation of the songs used in the 1943 psychological thriller the ghost ship. Oct 28, 2019 the ghost ship is yet another serving of shadows and sound courtesy of legendary cinematographer nicholas musuraca and former editorturneddirector mark robson. At first things look good, stone sees merriam as a younger version of himself and merriam sees stone as the first adult to. Another misstitled gem, the ghost ship was released in 1943 and was directed by mark robson. Richard dix as captain will stone russell wade as tom merriam, third officer edith barrett as ellen roberts ben bard as first officer bowns edmund glover as jacob sparks winslow, radioman alec craig as the blind beggar uncredited boyd davis as charles roberts, dunhan line agent uncredited. The film opens with a burial at sea as we go inside the mind of a mute sea hand who looks at the camera and in voice over tells us that this is a ghost ship and that death will continue.
The ghost ship is a 1943 american blackandwhite psychological thriller film, with elements of mystery and horror, directed by mark robson, starring richard dix and featuring russell wade, edith barrett, ben bard and edmund glover, along with skelton knaggs. Lewton, a russian immigrant, gained fame in the 1940s at rko radio pictures. Released 1943, ghost ship stars richarddix, russellwade, edithbarrett, benbard the movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 9 min, and received a score of out of 100 on metacritic, which compiled. The ghost ship has been ranked 3410 times, wins 43. Sep 24, 2018 the ghost ship is a movie that disappeared soon after its release due to a lawsuit claiming the script had been plagiarized. The film was pulled and out of circulation for some 60 years or so. The film features ian carmichael, briefly, as a drunken guest, in an early film role. Hundreds of thousands of american men were aboard military ships and subject to the rule of their captains. Golding and norbert faulkner felt that the film was too close for comfort to an unproduced play of their own. It starred real life husband and wife team of dermot walsh and hazel court.
This movie has been premiered in australian hd theatres in 1943 movies 1943. In this film, richard dix stars as a ship s captain, a tortured soul who teeters on the verge of madness. The ghost ship is a film directed by mark robson with richard dix, russell wade, edith barrett, ben bard, year. The ghost ship 1943 leave a reply the ghost ship is a movie that disappeared soon after its release due to a lawsuit claiming the script had been plagiarized. Regarder le film the ghost ship 1943 en streaming vf. Ghost ship is a 1952 british thriller film directed by vernon sewell and written by vernon sewell and philip thornton. Captain dix completely goes over the edge, sadistically playing a game of cat and mouse with wade. A seemingly tame leopard used for a publicity stunt escapes and kills a young girl, spreading panic throughout a. The ghost ship is a 1943 american blackandwhite psychological thriller film, with elements of mystery and horror, directed by mark robson, starring richard. Richard dix, russell wade, edith barrett, ben bard, charles lung, skelton knaggs production start august 3, 1943 production end august 28, 1943 running time 69 minutes. Rko production 431 producer and uncredited cowriter val lewton directed by mark robson writen by donald henderson clarke and leo mittler actors. Furthermore, it is filmed impeccably thanks to mark robsons direction and mr. You can watch the ghost ship online on videoondemand services netflix, paytv or movie theatres with original audio in english. Although lewton never saw that script, rko lost the case and pulled the movie.
The film received partial funding from angloamalgamated. With richard dix, russell wade, edith barrett, ben bard. The leopard man the ghost ship harvard film archive. His first film was the classic cat people 1942, which patented the style that lewton became associated with. His fifth film as their bmovie producer was the ghost ship, released on christmas eve 1943. The ghost ship vintage 1943 val lewton rko horror film. While the viewer may notice that ghost ship closely resembles the jack london tale the sea wolf, playwrights samuel r. The ghost ship was a case where he was given the sets for a ship used in the oceangoing drama pacific liner 1938 and told to make a film. When the ghost ship was released in 1943 a lawsuit was filed against lewton and rko by two writers who claimed that the script was plagiarized. Like all of val lewtons productions this one is also not exactly a horror movie. The message of the ghost ship is that blind obedience to your captain can mean acceptance of murder. Is there anything creepier than an abandoned and or haunted ship.
The ghost ship 1943 a man signs on as third officer on a ship and when strange deaths begin to occur he suspects the captain but no one will listen. However, the film is punctuated by few dramatic notes and instead settles in to develop a world of continual foreboding. In this film, richard dix stars as a ships captain, a tortured soul who teeters on the verge of madness. Richard dix stars as a ships captain, a tortured soul who teeters on the verge of madness. Lewtons classic psychological ambiguity is still there with the crucial issue that the film hangs on now having become one of the captains intent. I begin with that bit of trivia because the charge of plagiarism is an interesting one given how many tales of the sea the ghost ship. With no ghosts and no supernatural elements, the movie like a lot of lewtons films is almost a baitandswitch for viewers. Turner classic movies presents the greatest motion pictures of all time from one of the largest film libraries in the world. Ghost ship, the 1943 headhunters horror house wiki. A disturbing scene from val lewtons forgotten masterpiece, the ghost ship 1943. Nov 29, 2018 due to legal complications that resulted from a plagiarism suit, the ghost ship was pulled from circulation soon after its release and not shown for nearly 50 years. Jacques tourneur also directs the leopard man 1943, a murder mystery based on a cornell woolrich novel that tourneur transforms into a supernatural horror featuring remarkable sequences one involving the offscreen murder of a child, and mark robson helms the ghost ship 1943, a bmovie take on the sea wolf set on a cursed ship run by a. This val lewton production may not scale the heights of cat people or i walked with a zombie, but it has its impressive moments. Rko horror producer val lewton teamed with director mark robson for this psychological thriller starring richard dix as a powercrazy captain of a merchant.
Nov 01, 2010 the ghost ship has a nicely written screenplay with a few twists and turns. 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. Ghost ship 1943 mark robson synopsis, characteristics. Directed by mark robson and produced by val lewton, the ghost ship is very much a relic of hollywoods 1940s fixation on psychology indeed, it may well remind some modern viewers of stuart heislers earlier among the living. Despite being a film called the ghost ship, the film a very straight forward suspense film.
Like all of val lewton s productions this one is also not exactly a horror movie. Classic film noir streaming the film noir foundation. The ghost ship 1943 letterboxd social film discovery. The philadelphia experiment, 1943 strange unexplained.
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