Dad's Movies: "The Ghost Ship"

 Up today:  The Ghost Ship (1943)

This is an interesting entry in the 1940s Val Lewton series of horror movies though it isn't really a horror show. I'd call it more of a psychological thriller, a term that possibly didn't exist in the 1940s or at least not in the way we'd think of them. 

Really, this is about a mad sea captain and the relationships he has, particularly with his new third officer. There is an easy read of repressed homosexuality in this story though the film works on more levels than that which makes it far more interesting. 

Richard Dix, who was nearing the end of his career as an action movie star, is really good in this and from what I can tell, plays a very different character than he had before. The performance is pretty subtle and menacing. It's so tempting in these kinds of movies for these characters to be played over the top: not here. The guy playing the third officer, Russell Wade, does the job but comes off as pretty stiff. There are some good character actors playing the crewmen, like the calypso singer Sir Lancelot (whom I recently saw in "To Have And Have Not" and "Brute Force"). The guy who plays the deaf crewman (don't fuck with this guy!) is great as well. 

The other interesting part of this film is that due to a lawsuit, it was withdrawn from circulation for almost 50 years just after it was released so it appearing is very cool. Someone remembered it. Oh, and the title is pretty deceptive as it's not really a movie about a haunted ship. Sad.

I'm pretty sure Dad had a copy of this as it was part of a set that included the film "Bedlam" which he liked (another Lewton horror movie). As always, I wish I could talk to him about this one.