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Richard Dix, Russell Wade, Edith Barrett, Lawrence Tierney, Ben Bard ... see more see more... , Skelton Knaggs , Edmund Glover , Tom Burton , Steve Winston , Dewey Robinson , Charles Lung , George de Normand , Paul Marion , Sir Lancelot , Boyd Davis , Joss Ackland , Robert Bice , Eddie Borden , Harry Clay , Alec Craig , Nolan Leary , Bob Stevenson , Herb Vigran , Charles Norton , Michael Lally , Norman Mayes , Charles Regan , Shirley O'Hara Krims , Russel Wade

RKO horror producer Val Lewton dished up seven reels of brooding psychological terror with The Ghost Ship. Richard Dix stars as the ship's captain, a tortured soul who teeters on the verge of madness.... read more read more... Seaman Russell Wade notices the captain's deterioration, but his warnings are dismissed by the crew. Captain Dix completely goes over the edge, sadistically playing a game of cat and mouse with the luckless Wade--and endangering the lives of everyone on board. While the viewer may notice that Ghost Ship closely resembles the Jack London tale The Sea Wolf, playwrights Samuel R. Golding and Norbert Faulkner felt that the film was too close for comfort to an unproduced play of their own. The writers sued RKO, forcing the studio to withdraw Ghost Ship from theatres and prohibiting future TV showings. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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20% want to see it

1,577 ratings

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71% liked it

7 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 9 min.

Directed by: Mark Robson

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Flixster Reviews (94)

  • ajv2688
    October 13, 2010
    ajv2688
    This is a strange confusing movie, which I'm not sure actually has any ghosts on the ship. There are so many "Ghost Ship" movies out there, it gets confusing.
  • mjgildea
    September 1, 2010
    mjgildea
    Not a great movie. The title Ghost Ship kind of makes you think you're in for some atmospheric tale of the supernatural, right? WRONG! The Ghost Ship is just some metaphor for a life of lonliness at sea for a half-assed take on Mutiny on the Bounty. A few of the characters were c... read moreolorful enough to keep my interest for a few minutes but this wasn't Val Lewton's crowning achievement. Its a quick watch if you feel you need to watch that entire Warner Bros Val Lewton set but nothing anyone should actively seek out.
  • bbcfloridabound
    April 22, 2010
    bbcfloridabound
    This is actually a pretty good film when you think what year it was made. Nothing to scary, just a good old school B&W film,. The captain of the ship is crazy and the new third mate tries to prove it to the crew and they are not having much to do with it. Good Suspense its worth ... read more3 1/2 stars
  • SirPant
    October 1, 2009
    SirPant
    Bad acting, poor editing (why Robson didn't edit is beyond me) and low budget. All that aside, this is a great film! A classic Val Lewton production with a young Mark Robson as director (I think it?s a shame Lewton wasn't around in the 70's, just imagine what he could have done w... read moreith the budget for Earthquake!)
    Richard Dix is superb as the Captain who is falling deeper and deeper into a psychotic madness and really gives this film a kick with his final performance. One thing has always bothered me though, there is a picture of a girl on the poster for this film, yet, there is no such girl in the film! Still, worth a watch for Dix's performance but generally not one of Lewton's best. Hardcore fans only!
  • kingmob6
    January 1, 2011
    kingmob6
    Nicely paced little thriller about an unhinged sea captain and the lengths to which he'll go to make certain that he gets his way.

    A nice character study of a man slowly realizing that the man in charge of his life may not have his best interests at heart, and the resistance he ... read moremeets when he tries to warn others of this turn of events.

    Well worth a rental.
  • holmennnguy
    July 18, 2008
    holmennnguy
    By far, my least favorite Val Lewton horror movie. The plot is average, but the acting is above average. The title make me think it was going to be a whole different kind of movie than what it is, so I was left disappointed. The only part I really liked was the death by the chain.
  • FangsFirst
    March 8, 2008
    FangsFirst
    Yeah, I'm still going in strange order on Lewton's films, but I think this is reasonably understandable, as it is the companion film to my previous viewing (The Leopard Man) in terms of disc placement in the Val Lewton horror box set. Despite the title, there are no ghosts... read more, hints of ghosts, suspicion of ghosts or anything remotely supernatural involved anywhere in this film. At all. I was a little surprised by this, but quickly recalled how little The Leopard Man had to do with...well...leopard people, male or not. And of course, much in horror has been titled (or re-titled) in an effort to push crowds in, even if it is under false pretenses. However, in this case, the false pretenses lead to quite a good little film.

    Third Officer Tom Merriam (Russell Wade) is just bording the ship the Altair for the first time as the film opens, a very perceptive blind man warning him of the lack of luck on the sees, and the feeling that the Altair is a bad ship. Not with any sense of melodrama, mind you, but with the cheerfully unexpected wisdom of a character who knows no one thinks he will know more than they do simply because he can't see. Merriam banters with him successfully and on equal ground but ignores his warning, and takes up his station below Captain Will Stone (Richard Dix...Dick Dix?) who makes his first impression on Merriam by explaining why Tom can't kill a moth flitting around a lightbulb--he has no responsibility for its safety. Soon Merriam finds himself alone in the feeling that something is not quite right with Captain Stone, and members of the crew begin to take ill or die, and no one will believe his suspicions.

    There isn't much mystery to this film, we see who is responsible for what as it happens. This isn't a failure, of course, we're supposed to know. It's Hitchcock's old rule of suspense--sure you can make people jump with a bomb they didn't know was there, but you can really make them sweat if you show them it's there before it goes off. That moment with the moth was key for me, and really highlighted the fact that, while I know none of these actors (though Skelton Knaggs' role as a mute almost feels like a happy precursor to cult-hero Michael Berryman) nor Mark Robson (who apparently also directed Von Ryan's Express, Earthquake and Valley of the Dolls amongst others) as director, Val Lewton, or someone he pushed around, knew how to get good people into low budget movies. This is a very suspenseful little film that rockets along through it's 69 minute (yeah, it's under 75 minutes as requested of Lewton!) running time to a solid conclusion through some pretty suspenseful events. The moth scene, though, is brilliant. The way Dix plays this captain is absolutely fantastic, with an edge of madness below a surface of complete, genial sanity. When he says this, we nod as our brain processes the tones he's using and the end goal of what he's telling Merriam (i.e., he has no right to kill the moth), but suddenly realize our head is shaking because our brain is trying to wrap itself around the words Captain Stone has just used and has found them wanting for logic, and incredibly creepy in a way that isn't quite clear yet.

    Merriam as a character and Wade as the actor behind him is similarly interesting, the lone voice of reason and independence under authority corrupted to madness, trying to prove with a surprising amount of reason--surprising because this reason disappeared for a few decades of filming and only appeared intermittently, and still doesn't seem to be quite the norm when dealing with paranoia--that he is right. He makes sure to note that he is calm and to try and put things into perspective for his fellow crewmembers, hoping to show them very clearly that he is not simply raving or flying off the handle but has definitely noticed something odd.

    Really kind of chilling in its way, because it is the kind of thing one can see happening all too easily, and at the time we're screaming at Merriam to stay off the boat--something happens that is an absolutely believable coincidence and sequence of events that leads to the inevitable conclusion of the film.

    I've gotta say, I'm excited for the rest of Lewton's work, especially knowing Robson directed a good handful further.

View All The Ghost Ship Reviews

Critic Reviews

Bosley Crowther
March 25, 2006
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

A nice little package of morbidity all wrapped around in gloom. Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
August 8, 2002
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

The least known, though far from least interesting, of producer Val Lewton's exemplary, poetic B-films. Full Review

January 31, 2012
TV Guide's Movie Guide

A talky but fairly atmospheric effort, Ghost Ship is hampered by its low budget. Full Review

Walter Chaw
October 22, 2009
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central

It's almost noir in its pitting of an individual against a closed society. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
August 15, 2006
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

... an impressive brooding psychological sea adventure story. Full Review

June 24, 2006
Time Out

This Val Lewton production may not scale the heights of Cat People or I Walked with a Zombie, but it has its impressive moments. Full Review

Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
June 13, 2006
Michael W. Phillips, Jr., Goatdog's Movies

Among RKO's best horror films. Full Review

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The Ghost Ship Trivia

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