Daily Archives: October 4, 2014

The Ghost Ship (1943)

Posted on October 4, 2014 | 6 comments

The Ghost Ship
Directed by Mark Robson
Written by Donald Henderson Clark from a story by Leo Mittler
1943/USA
RKO Radio Pictures
First viewing/Netflix rental

 

[box] Captain Will Stone: Well, I’ve never felt more sane in my life than I do at this moment… Who’s crazy? You, who defied me and are helpless? Or I, who control your destiny and the destiny of the ‘Altair’ and all the lives on board?[/box]

In this Val Lewton production, instead of ghosts, we get the Boss from Hell.  Being trapped with him turns out to be scarier than any ghost could ever be.

After graduating from the training academy, Tom Merriam ships out for the first time as third officer (Russell Wade) on a merchant ship.  Captain Will Stone (Richard Dix) welcomes Merriam with open arms and becomes almost a father figure for him.  He wants to teach Tom about how to run a ship.  The key lesson is the unquestionable authority of the captain.  It develops that Stone has a kind of mania for authority.  When Tom is forced to question the death of an outspoken shipmate under very suspicious circumstances, the die is cast.

I thought this was even scarier than The Leopard Man.  You never know what is going to happen next but can be sure it will be bad.  Not only is there the creepy paranoid captain but, after Merriam challenges him, the younger man cannot find a single friend on the crew.  I still think Richard Dix can’t act but his detachment from the material and false jocularity was just perfect for a paranoic.  A really lame ending comes out of nowhere in the last two or three minutes but by then we have had our thrills.  Recommended.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63lPQPs835E

Montage of clips (spoilers)

 

6 Comments

Posted in 1943, Movie Reviews

The Leopard Man (1943)

Posted on October 4, 2014 | 7 comments

The Leopard Man
Directed by Jacques Tourneur
Written by Ardel Wray and Edward Dein from the novel Black Alibi by Cornell Woolrich
1943/USA
RKO Radio Pictures
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Charlie How-Come: You don’t get the idea, mister. These cops banging those pans, flashing those lights, they’re gonna scare that poor cat of mine. Cats are funny, mister. They don’t want to hurt you, but if you scare them they go crazy. These cops, they don’t know what they’re doing.[/box]

Val Lewton had to use the titles the studio gave him but he used them to make atmospheric gems about our primal fears, this time the terror of being alone in the dark and with no control over one’s fate.

PR man Jerry Manning (Dennis O’Keefe) is always looking out for his client nightclub performer Ki-Ki Walter.(Jean Brooks).  He gets the brilliant idea of borrowing a panther from a travelling carnival.  The idea is that Ki-Ki will make a grand entrance with the animal on a leash, thus upstaging the act of her rival, Spanish dancer Clo Clo (Margo).  Clo Clo, unfazed, approaches the cat, her castanets clicking.  Ki-Ki loses control and the panther escapes into the streets.

The cat promptly starts stalking human prey.  Or does it?  The search is on.

With no gore and only the slightest hint of blood, this has several legitimate thrills.  Val Lewton’s team is so good at creating the sense of impending doom and nighttime terrors that we are primed to jump at the slightest noise or movement.  We also get a nice running theme about destiny.  The romance is kind of hokey but that is not the point here.  Cinematographer Robert De Grosse provided the beautiful low-key lighting.  Recommended.

Trailer – so misleading!

7 Comments

Posted in 1943