The Ghost Ship (1943)

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)