The Ghost Ship

Plot synopsis:
Tom Merriam (Russell Wade), a young merchant marine officer, joins the crew of the ship Altair. At first, all seems well and Merriam bonds with the captain, Will Stone (Richard Dix). The ship, already shorthanded due to the death of a crew member before it left port, loses another ("the Greek") when he develops appendicitis. (Taking direction over the ship's radio, the captain is to perform the appendectomy, but he is unable to make the incision. Instead, Merriam successfully removes the sailor's appendix, but – feeling he should be loyal to the captain and spare him embarrassment – swears the radio operator to secrecy. Afterward, the captain has a self-serving explanation for his failure.)
One of the crew, Louie (an uncredited Lawrence Tierney), tells the captain he should pull in to port and take on new crew. The captain says "You know, there are captains who might hold this against you, Louie." Shortly after, the captain closes the hatch to the chain locker with Louie inside, and Louie is crushed to death by the chain. Merriam believes that Captain Stone, who is obsessed with authority, did it intentionally. When they dock at the fictional Caribbean island of "San Sebastian" (which had appeared in RKO's I Walked with a Zombie—another Lewton production—and later in RKO's Zombies on Broadway), Merriam attempts to expose the Captain's madness at a board of inquiry. The crew all speak favorably of the captain, including the Greek, who credits the captain with saving his life. Merriam states his intention to leave the Altair.
After the inquiry, the captain admits to a female friend (Edith Barrett, who had appeared in I Walked with a Zombie) that he fears he is losing his mind. Soon after, Merriam is involved in a fight in port and knocked unconscious. One of his former shipmates – unaware that he has left the Altair – brings the unconscious man back aboard ship before the vessel departs. Merriam wakes up on the ship and fears that the pathologically insane Captain Stone may now attempt to kill him, a fear that is only reinforced when the captain, referring to the young officer's accusations, says "You know, Mr. Merriam, there are some captains who would hold this against you."
Merriam, scorned by the crew, finds that he can no longer lock the door to his cabin. Fearing for his life, he tries to steal a gun from the ship's weapons locker, but is confronted by Captain Stone. Stone dares Merriam to try to get the support of the crew, but Merriam is rebuffed in this effort. This changes when Radioman Winslow (Edmund Glover) receives a radiogram asking if Merriam is on board, and Captain Stone orders Winslow to lie, replying that Merriam is not aboard. The radioman shows Merriam the captain's reply radiogram and says that he now mistrusts the captain and will send a message to the company expressing his concerns about Stone's mental health. However, as he leaves Merriam's cabin, Winslow encounters the captain. As the two walk side-by-side, Winslow drops the captain's radiogram to the deck, and it is picked up by an illiterate crewman, Finn the Mute (Skelton Knaggs), whose internal monologues serve as a sort of one-man Greek chorus throughout the film.
Captain Stone now orders Merriam to send a radio message to the corporate office advising them that Winslow has been washed overboard. Merriam accuses the captain of murdering Winslow, and the two fight. Crew members intervene, and the captain has the crew tie up Merriam and put him in his bunk. The captain then has First Officer Bowns (Ben Bard) administer a sedative to Merriam. Finn finally delivers the captain's radiogram to Bowns, who can read. Bowns becomes deeply alarmed. The first officer talks to several other crew members, all of whom now begin questioning the captain's sanity.
Captain Stone overhears Bowns' conversation with the crew, and goes insane. He takes a knife and enters Merriam's cabin to kill the young officer, but Finn arrives to try to stop him. While the crew is up on deck singing, Finn and the captain engage in a desperate struggle in the dark, during which Finn kills the captain. After the captain's death, Merriam is reinstated and the ship returns to its home port of San Pedro.

Tags: insanity, murder

Review:
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.
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 is more a psychological thriller, surrounding the personality of the ship's captain, played by that old war horse, Richard Dix. And he does a terrific job of letting the viewer glimpse the madness beneath his controlled exterior.
His byword is "authority" and he goes to unbelievable lengths to assert that authority.Russell Wade, with whom I am unfamiliar, plays the Third Officer, who sees through the captain in short order and vainly attempts to convince the crew of Dix's insanity......but to no avail.
Look for Lawrence Tierney, future Hollywood bad boy, as a target of the captain's revenge.Val Lewton was the master of atmospheric films made on a limited budget and he doesn't miss with this one.
Underrated (and for a long time, unseen) classic from the Lewton-RKO 9, with above average script, camera-work, cinematography, but highlighted by probably Dix's best performance as Stone, as a man who is insane try to fool himself and those around him by acting normal.
Perhaps not as mesmerizing as "Cat People" or as disturbing as "The Body Snatcher", but this still definitely is a genuinely creepy golden oldie horror gem like only the great Val Lewton could produce them back in the 1940's.
They all seem like unfortunate accidents, but pretty soon the young and ambitious officer Tom Merriam suspects that Captain Will Stone abuses his power in order to get rid of rebellious personnel.
The Val Lewton horror of course isn't very explicit (considering the time and budget) but this movie does contain at least one truly unsettling sequence; when a giant chain crushes a crew member.
Yet, as directed by Mark Robson, it is one of Lewton's very best.Russell Wade as the young sailor who is menaced by mentally off-balance captain Richard Dix is handsome and very persuasive.
I had never heard of him before, either.The movie has a marvelously eerie, foreboding quality that is maintained throughout, from the blind soothsayer we see before Tom Merriam (Wade) boards the ship, through the sea chanteys, Caribbean songs, the heroic mute sailor.I generally shy away from all-male casts but in this case, the claustrophobic nature of the plot would have been maintained better had it not been "opened out," albeit briefly, with the scene onshore involving the third billed admirer of Dix.(Her friend, whom we see greeting Wade at the end in silhouette, is a plot device to imply a happy ending.
What makes the film stand out are a few key scenes- an anchor blindly swings above the deck, crushing portions of the boat while frightened sailors try to stop it- Dix locking a man in a room sized container for the anchor chain- Dix and a very unlikely hero having a bloody knife fight in the dark while unsuspecting sailors play Calypso music not far away.
The picture deals with Tom (Russell Wade), a third officer who embarks on the ship Altair under command the stiff Captain Stone (Richard Dix) .
The film is produced by RKO (Radio Picture Inc.) and by Val Lewton , the great producer of horror classics (Cat people , Leopard man , I walked with a zombie) ; plus , he produced for director Mark Robson various movies (Bedlan , Isle of the dead and Seventh victim) in similar conditions .
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 .
Director Mark Robson and producer Val Lewton team up one more time for this interesting film that surprisingly has nothing at all to do with ghosts or any other supernatural phenomena.
Russel Wade takes his new officer position aboard a boat under the control of Captain Richard Dix. Dix outwardly seems gentle and benign but slowly dissipates into a mad man obsessed with his control aboard the ship.
The other sailors, a motley lot, play it safe and don't want to get involved.The film, produced by Val Newton and directed by Mark Robson, is now available on DVD and is well worth seeing..
This shows somewhat, as the film has something of a rushed and unfinished feel to it; but there's nobody better than Val Lewton for the task of putting together an eerie thriller, and considering the reasons why this was made; he hasn't done a bad job at all.
The plot is simple (probably as a result of the reason that the film was made) and it follows a ship whose third mate suspects that the captain may be the one murdering the crew, some members of which have been dying under mysterious circumstances.
Mark Robson isn't the best director that Lewton worked with - and all of his movies have been lesser entries in the great producer's list of film credits, but he knows what he's doing and this is another decent film from him.
Efficient little RKO suspense B, with Val Lewton producing and loads of fog, has third mate Russell Wade discovering that Captain Richard Dix is nuts and murderous, and can't convince any of his fellow crew of that.
Tasked by RKO Studios to take advantage of a previously existing set, producer Val Lewton came up with this pensive, interesting mood piece & character study, set on a ship.
But Stone continuously shows signs of instability to the young man, who comes to believe his captain - who fixates on the idea of "authority" - is capable of murder.While not quite as thickly atmospheric as the best Lewton productions, this is a deliberately paced, fairly spooky little gem.
The Ghost Ship stars Richard Dix as the captain of the freighter Altair and Russell Wade as his eager new third officer who sees some distinct flaws in the man whom he admired and was eager to serve under.On his first voyage some deaths among the crew start Wade thinking, but his doubts are resolved when Nick Stuart a happy go lucky Greek is killed when he's locked in an anchor chain room.
Merriam then believes that Stone's wayward behaviour has turned him into a madman, but when he tries to convince the crew of the Captain's unstable state, no one will take notice.Compared to the rest of the Val Lewton's films, this was a pleasant and unusual surprise for one that would be labelled one of his minor and lesser entries.
Even on its tiny budget, "The Ghost Ship" is a carefully neat thriller that builds up an startlingly eerie atmosphere and growing paranoia from director Mark Robson's terse craftsmanship and the psychologically structured story.
Strange occurrences plague his time on the sea, and soon Tom becomes convinced that the captain is a homicidal maniac who has the entire crew under his thumb.This downbeat and tightly-written psychological thriller was Mark Robson's second collaboration with producer Val Lewton, the first being the phenomenal Satanic horror noir "The Seventh Victim".
Overall, "The Ghost Ship" is a modest but well-made thriller; while it's not one of Lewton's greatest collaborations, it's a claustrophobic, fine film that is lifted up by atmospheric set pieces, some very nicely-orchestrate scenes, and a consistent feeling of unrelenting paranoia.
Very ship-shape thriller with Val Lewton psychological touches and well directed by Mark Robson.
However, it's consistently interesting and, naturally, highly atmospheric; the film is also notable for being largely set in one location, as well as for utilizing voice-over from a lesser character (a mute, played by the cadaverous Skelton Knaggs, acting as a sort of Chorus throughout but who is instrumental during the climax).Again, Lewton and Robson make the most of their second-rate cast - beginning with a ripe performance from lead Richard Dix (he was a Silent star who had achieved his greatest success with the original version of CIMARRON [1931; a Best Picture Oscar winner which I've had on VHS for a good number of years but have yet to watch!], so that his presence here is surprising - if also a typically offbeat touch by Lewton - but the film did lead him to "The Whistler", a series of 7 low-budget thrillers which I've always been intrigued by); especially good, as ever, is Edith Barrett (at the time, Mrs. Vincent Price!) in the film's solitary female role; Sir Lancelot, who appeared with Barrett in I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE (1943), is one of the seamen but his role here is largely undistinguished; hero Russell Wade is okay under the circumstances (he had played a bit part in THE LEOPARD MAN [1943] and would eventually appear as Henry Daniell's young assistant in THE BODY SNATCHER [1945]) - his role is interesting in that he suspects ship's captain Dix of being unbalanced and a homicidal maniac after his own blood and, while being 'trapped' with him at sea, can't bring himself to convince the rest of the crew to his point of view (a situation which creates some genuine tension throughout)!
"The Ghost Ship" is an interesting psychological drama, which is one of the hallmarks of a Val Lewton-produced film.
Russell Wade, as the victim of the captain's mania, is somewhat disappointing as the film's lead (as he was in "The Bodysnatcher") -- he comes across as a goody two-shoes, one-dimensional character, with very little of the psychological depth found in Boris Karloff's Cabman Gray in the aforementioned film or Richard Dix's character in "The Ghost Ship".
Lesser-known Val Lewton film is engrossing, suspenseful story about a young man (Russell Wade) that signs up with a merchant ship whose obsessive captain (Richard Dix) may be going crazy.
Mark Robson directed this Val Lewton production that stars Russell Wade as Tom Merriam, a 3rd.
officer fresh out of training school assigned to the ship Altair, under the command of Captain Will Stone(played by Richard Dix.) Things go well at first, with a refreshing mutual respect between the two men on opposite ends of their careers.
Every Lewton/Robson is a miracle in itself.When you watch one of them ,you are sure to find elements which will be used again in the future.They have become the future perfect of the thriller.Not only "the seventh victim" did predate "Rosemary's baby" by 25 years ,but it also invented the "shower " scene in a Psychoesque way."Island of the dead" was the first movie to introduce war into the fantasy and horror genre."Bedlam" was the prototype of the insane asylum and influenced countless movies of the genre (Fuller's "Shock Corridor" ,in France Franju's "La Tete Contre Les Murs" ).And "The ghost ship" predates "The Caine Mutiny " by more than ten years,without strawberries but with a captain whose attitude ( authority obsession)recalls that of Humphrey Bogart in Dmytryk's classic.The reason why the Robson/Lewton works seem so impressive today is that ,with a shoestring budget ,with minimal sound effects,they build an eerie atmosphere ,turning a movie which is not even supernatural into a fantasy and horror gem:the scenes of the hook and of the chain locker should be studied today.Like in "the seventh victim" ,all happens in a "normal" context .How not to think of "Rosemary's baby" during the scene of the injection?After all,it could only happen in the hero's mind.Even a quiet scene when the young hero and the illiterate steer the boat or the very last scene are wrapped in mystery..
He's especially good toward the climax when his true nature is revealed.RUSSELL WADE, who looks somewhat like a more boyish version of Joel McCrea (if that's possible), is the young 3rd Officer assigned to the ship by Captain Stone (RICHARD DIX) and eager to be welcomed as a member of the crew.
But when strange things begin to happen, and one unfortunate man (LAWRENCE TIERNEY, uncredited) is ruthlessly dispatched by the Captain, Wade begins to suspect that Dix has lost his mind and is wreaking some kind of vengeance on the crew.Some nice B&W photography by Nicholas Musuraca gives atmospheric feeling to sustain an eerie mood throughout, but the script leaves a lot to be desired.
"Ghost Ship" is one of the nine "B" horror films turned out by producer Val Lewton and his "snake pit" "B" unit at RKO.
This one is directed by former editor Mark Robson (his second).A young seaman, Tom Merrian (Russell Wade) signs aboard a merchant ship as 3rd officer under Captain Will Stone (Richard Dix).
The story is simple  a new officer aboard a merchant ship suspects the captain may be going mad  but offers a lot of room for the actors to explore range within their characters, and Robson to construct suspenseful set-pieces that build the narrative to a strong climax.
Russell Wade may be a little stiff as the principled third officer, but it's Richard Dix's layered performance as the imbalanced captain that sells the story.
Ghost Ship, The (1943) *** (out of 4) Val Lewton production about a new sailor (Russell Wade of The Body Snatcher) who thinks his Captain (Richard Dix) is a maniac.
Tom Merriam (Russell Wade) signs on the ship Altair as third officer under Captain Will Stone (Richard Dix).
The story centers on a kindly young Third Officer named Tom Merriam (Russell Wade, who I've enjoyed so much in Lewton's THE BODY SNATCHER) who gets a position aboard a ship alongside Captain Stone (Richard Dix), an odd commander with a driving penchant for authority.
While enjoyable enough, I didn't think this feature quite hit the mark as a "good" picture, and for a Val Lewton film it seemed to lack the subtle cinematic style these movies are so well-known for.
Russell Wade was fine and much like the good-natured type of soul he played in THE BODY SNATCHER, but as the infrequently deranged captain, Richard Dix seemed a bit too inconsistent.
Russell Wade plays an officer signing aboard a ship under the command of Captain Will Stone (Richard Dix).
A young man (Russell Wade) signs on as part of the crew on a ship overseen by Captian Stone (Richard Dix).
He slowly begins to realize that Stone has some strange ideas of authority...and will do anything to stop someone from disagreeing with him...Not a horror film at all but a mood piece and a character study of a man (Stone) trying to come to grips with his inner demons--and being afraid of going mad.
Tom Merriam, the new third mate hired for the voyage at the center of the story, is an eager man who feels lucky to be serving in a ship where all the men seem to be loyal to the captain.
The evocative cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca works wonders in the movie.Richard Dix, a talented actor, plays the evil Captain Stone with his usual ease.
Sailor Tom Merriam (a solid and engaging performance by Russell Wade) signs on as third officer of the cargo ship Altair that's commanded with an iron fist by the strict Captain Will Stone (superbly underplayed with quiet menace by Robert Dix).
Up until then, the movie seemed like a pretty routine drama about a young 3rd officer aboard a cargo ship and his relationship with the odd but avuncular captain.
Merriman meets and, at first, likes his new skipper, Captain Wade Stone (Richard Dix).
The rest of the cast is solid at worst.Overall, while I'll never consider The Ghost Ship one of Lewton's best films, I enjoy it each time I get the opportunity for a revisit..
Tom is on his own & stuck out at sea with the increasingly unstable Captain Stone...Produced by Val Lewton & directed by Mark Robson I thought The Ghost Ship was sort of OK but a bit dull & uneventful as well.
Richard Dix is the mad captain in one of the series of horror films that Val Lewton produced.
Although Val Lewton's production team was renowned for crafting powerful, moody films on low budgets from second-hand sets, "The Ghost Ship" proves that they couldn't pull it off every time.The story is packed with incidents and characters, but at no point does it live up to the image evoked by the title, despite an eerie Roy Webb score.
**SPOILERS** Getting his first assignment as the third officer on a merchant ship sailing out in the Gulf of Mexico, to the the port-side town of San Sebastian, Lt. Marriam, Russell Wade, never expected that his captain Will Stone, Richard Dix, was mentally deranged and obsessed with his authority over the men he was in charge of to the point of being able to take their lives if he deemed it necessary.
The Ghost Ship came on BBC2 during the early hours and I was pleased I taped it as I had been after this movie for some time.A new third officer joins Captain Stone after the previous one had been killed.
Nobody believes him at first, apart from a mute and Stone gets his comeuppance at the end.The Ghost Ship is very creepy and atmospheric throughout and contains plenty of fog to make it like this.The cast includes Richard Dix as Captain Stone but I'm not familiar any of the other stars.This movie is worth looking at if you get the chance.
This movie may be expected to be your usual Val Lewton "horror" film saddled with your usual RKO hash of a title -- "The Ghost Ship" -- but it is the finest example of flipping off the censor that I've ever seen.