I promise you that, despite the wild news cycle we are currently going through here in the UK, the timing of this review, concerning a movie that shows an unfit leader who clings to his power while becoming more and more obviously dangerous to those around him, is completely coincidental. I enjoyed this film last week, days before the current, joyous, political bloodbath that should end with Boris Johnson no longer being Prime Minister.
It’s very appropriate that this is a film I have to review by starting off with talk of coincidental similarities elsewhere, because it is the film that was hidden away for many years due to a plagiarism lawsuit that was lost by a devastated Val Lewton, the producer on this. Nobody who was aware of the full facts of the case, and who knew of the fertile imagination and creativity of Lewton, ever saw the lawsuit result as fair, but that is beside the point. The end result was a huge blow for Lewton, and it meant The Ghost Ship was kept away from viewers for a few decades.
Clocking in at just under the 70-minute mark, this is the story of 3rd Officer Tom Merriman (Russell Wade), a newcomer to a ship helmed by Captain Stone (Richard Dix). Stone seems nice and friendly enough, initially, but it soon becomes clear that he has some bad habits. He always has an excuse to avoid responsibility, he never wants to admit when he is in the wrong, and he deems himself able to decide the ultimate fate of anyone working under him. Merriman realises all of this a bit too late, after a death that he doesn’t think is as accidental as it could seem, but his attempt to confront the Captain don’t go well. Nobody else is privy to the information that Merriman has, making him seem more illogical and unhinged as he grows more desperate to make people see the truth.
Based around a ship set that was available for use, this tale, credited to Leo Mittler for the story and Donald Henderson Clarke for the screenplay, is another superb slice of commentary-smuggling entertainment that Lewton was excelling at during this time. Pushing back against the expectations of the movie title, as usual, what could have been a standard chiller is instead crafted as an intriguing character study, showing the damaging effects of too much power being conferred upon one individual, and the way in which a bad situation is compounded by people being silent/complicit while they try to make the most of their own circumstances.
Director Mark Robson, given a chance to step up after his editing work on Cat People, has a good grasp on the material. Okay, it isn’t all shadows and scares, but there is still a growing aura of menace as our hero tries to share uncomfortable truths in a situation that becomes increasingly dangerous for him.
Wade is a decent lead, essentially coming across as a stand-up guy who will only rock the boat (no pun intended) when he feels it is absolutely necessary. His performance is nicely settled in a happy medium, being neither too passive nor too hysterical as he constantly weighs up the fluid dynamics of each interaction he has, with Stone and the other crew members. Dix is excellent, lending his character a real shade of the monstrous, barely hiding his true character at the start of the film while unabashedly showing everything horrid about him during a third act that escalated things beautifully. Many supporting cast members do good work (including Edith Barrett, Lawrence Tierney, Ben Bard, the “mute” Skelton Knaggs, and the musical Sir Lancelot), but the other real standout is Edmund Glover, playing a radio operator who knows just about enough to suspect Merriman may be telling the truth. Glover is allowed to be a fun presence during the first half and a potential ally throughout the second half.
Things may seem to get a little bit silly during the final act, and it’s a shame that some characters don’t get to make more of an impression, but there’s little else to fault here. Unless you go into it wanting an actual ghost ship. In fact, it’s almost comforting knowing that people will eventually restrain and remove a leader who has gone mad and will do anything to maintain their position of power. Don’t you think?
8/10
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