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Richard Dix, Russell Wade, Edith Barrett, Ben Bard, Edmund Glover

Tom Merriam signs on the ship Altair as third officer under Captain Stone. At first things look good, Stone sees Merriam as a younger version of himself and Merriam sees Stone as the first adult to ev...( read more  read more... )er treat him as a friend. But after a couple strange deaths of crew members, Merriam begins to think Stone is a psychopathic madman obsessed with authority. He tries to tell others, but no one believes him, and it only makes Stone angry..

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49% liked it

1,444 ratings

Unrated, 69 min.

Directed by: Mark Robson

Release Date: January 1, 1943

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Flixster Reviews (75)

  • 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 more)ith 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!
  • 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.
  • 339z
    October 30, 2009
    339z
    well umn just seen this movie 4 the 1st time n think that this is a good movie 2 watch....its got a good cast of actors/actressess throughout this movie...i think that edmund glover, ben bard, richard dix, russell wade, edith barrett play good roles/parts thoruhgout this movie......( read more).i think that the director of this drama/horror/thriller/black & white/classics movie had done a good job of directing this movie because you never know what 2 expect throughout this movie...i think that this is a good movie 2 watch n its a freaky movie 2 watch as well but this is a good movie 2 watch
  • LizzieBennett
    August 8, 2008
    LizzieBennett
    it was cool i liked the other one better
  • 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.
  • CloudIsAMonkey
    June 24, 2007
    CloudIsAMonkey
    Yar the ocean's full of those...
  • koolaligator
    June 18, 2007
    koolaligator
    dont watch it if ya r afraid of ghosts
  • ndutcher555
    May 14, 2007
    ndutcher555
    scared the crap out of me but i still like. i seen the newer version though.

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