Ghost Ship (1953)

Minor British movie about a young couple who buy a boat called "Cyclops" despite being warned that it is haunted. There is very little haunting going on here, most of it is in the form of an unexplainable smell on board of cigar smoke. It is heavy on dialogue but very little action, bit of a bore. The only notable thing for me is that it stars Hazel Court, who went on to become a British 1960's scream queen. Missed opportunity here; they should have put a bit more spookiness into it, or perhaps gone down the comedy route.

Dermot Walsh and Hazel Court decide to buy a 40 year old yacht. The salesman tries to talk them out of the purchase. He tells them a tale of how the locals believe the ship to be haunted. They get a laugh out of the story and buy the ship anyway. The two restore the boat and have a big party to celebrate. They take the yacht out for a short cruise. When they return to port, the engine room man swears he has seen a ghost and quits. The next engineer also quits after seeing the same ghost. Somewhat at a loss at what to do they call in a medium. They have a séance and the medium explains the reason for the haunting. The previous owner had shot and killed his wife and lover. He had then hid the bodies below the decks next to the outside hull. A somewhat effective thriller that starts out and finishes well. The middle does drag a bit, but for a low budget film it passes the time well enough. Always nice to Hazel Court in any sort of film.

This British low-budgeter does not have a good reputation within its subgenre – mainly because it is "singularly unfrightening", as one critic had remarked about SON OF FRANKENSTEIN (1939) but also since, as often happens, the manifestations prove to be just a hoax! It is harmless enough under the circumstances, but does take its time to get going (despite running only 71 minutes), eventually generating some interest during the second half with the parapsychology elements, the ghost's backstory (he is played by John Robinson – Professor Bernard Quatermass in the TV serial "Quatermass II" [1955]) and the twist ending. Hazel Court makes for a pretty and likable leading lady; however, Ian Carmichael – soon to portray the naïve hero of many a classic Boulting Bros. satire – has an extended and unfunny bit as a drunk at a party held on the titular vessel. Although, personally, I did not recognize any of them, the cast also includes Joss (1970's THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD) Ackland, Patricia (1958's THE FLY) Owens and Melissa (1958's HORROR OF Dracula) Stribling in bit parts.

You can't look at this movie and compare to the blockbusters, but as a B flick it's pretty good, even up at the top (in my mind). The story of the ghost is told in flashbacks and through a séance. The acting is pretty good, though the stars are not memorable. It's almost like watching an old TV show, though I more liken it to "The Woman Who Came Back" (1945). Someone just wrote a nice little mystery with some adequately spooky moments, and that is about all there is to it. It starts out with a couple trying to buy an older steamboat. The man selling it to them warns them of its haunting. You see moments of the inquiry and story that led to the haunting, but it is not until the séance that you start to get a clue as to what caused the haunting. This movie has nothing to do with movies of the same title, one from the forties and one from a few years ago.