The Ghost Ship (1943)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

The Ghost Ship (1943) – M. Robson

One of the five collaborations between director Mark Robson and producer Val Lewton (best known for his low-budget RKO horror films which included Cat People and I Walked with a Zombie, both directed by Jacques Tourneur).  Although Robson’s best Lewton film is certainly The Seventh Victim (also 1943) about a nihilistic Satanic cult, The Ghost Ship manages to summon up a similar sense of dread in places.  Russell Wade plays Tom Merriam who has just signed on to be the Third Officer on the ship Altair, captained by Richard Dix’s Will Stone.  Stone is a sombre character, weighted down by his “authority” which he wields with a heavy hand, although alternating with moments of fatherly warmth.  When Merriam begins to think the captain is deranged and suspects foul play, he calls the shipping company to turn him in.  After that, the forces of doom seem aligned against him and shadows lurk in every corner of the ship.  His former friends turn against him.  Will there be any escape from the sullen and brooding captain?  As in other Lewton pictures, a real sense of menace and dread is created here using very subtle means: darkness, a camera shot fixed on a slowly opening door, noises from offscreen.  A creepy mute sailor adds a further spooky touch.