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Ghost Ship
Ghost Ship
	U.S. poster
Directed by	Vernon Sewell
Written by	Vernon Sewell; Philip Thornton (additional dialogue);
Based on	play L'Angoisse by Celia de Vilyars and Pierre Mills
Produced by	Henry Geddes; (associate producer)
Starring	Dermot Walsh; Hazel Court; Hugh Latimer; Hugh Burden; John Robinson;
Cinematography	Stanley Grant
Edited by	Francis Beiber
Music by	Eric Spear
Color process	Black and white
Production; company	Vernon Sewell Productions
Distributed by	Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors
Release date	October 1952;
Running time	75 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Ghost Ship is a 1952 British second feature^[1] thriller film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Dermot Walsh and Hazel Court.^[2] It was written by Sewell and Philip Thornton.^[3] This was one of four attempts by Sewell to adapt and film the Pierre Mills and Celia de Vilyars Grand Guignol stage play L'Angoisse.^[4]

The 2002 film of the same title is unrelated and not considered a remake.^[5]

Plot

Guy and Margret, a newlywed couple, meet a broker to purchase the steam yacht Cyclops, intending to renovate it as their home. Before the sale, the Yard Manager recounts the ship's history. After the war, it was bought by Professor Martineau, an atomic scientist, who installed gadgets like automatic gyro steering. Martineau, his wife, and their engineer Peter sailed for Deauville but never arrived. After the Cyclops lost contact, it was assumed they struck a mine. A month later, fishermen found the yacht abandoned. An inquiry revealed it had been deserted for three days with the equipment in perfect condition, no distress signals sent, and one lifebuoy missing. A body was found onshore, but Martineau's housekeeper said it was not him due to the lack of a burn scar on the arm. The inquiry concluded two must have drowned trying to save the third.

The Yard Manager informs Guy and Margret that the Cyclops has had many owners since, never staying with one long-term. He hints the yacht might be haunted, having smelled cigar smoke onboard. Guy suspects the manager is reluctant to sell due to smuggling operations. The couple purchases the Cyclops and begins an overhaul. Unable to find a local deckhand, Guy hires Mansel, who dismisses the haunting rumors and had poorly maintained the yacht for years. At their housewarming party aboard the Cyclops, a guest mentions smelling a cigar. That night, the engineer quits, claiming his wife is ill, though the Yard Manager later casts doubt, suggesting a ghost sighting caused his departure.

Guy hires a new engineer, but Margret complains about cigar smoke in their quarters. When Guy confronts the engineer, he quits, claiming to have seen a ghost as well. Later, Margret receives a phone call from the bridge with only breathing on the line, but Guy and Mansel are both unavailable. Investigating, the couple finds the bridge empty, though Margret faints after again smelling cigar smoke. She begins to believe in a supernatural presence, but Guy remains skeptical, thinking someone is trying to scare them off the Cyclops. While working in the engine room, Guy briefly sees a man smoking a cigar who vanishes when challenged. Debating whether to sell the yacht, Margret contacts the Institute for Investigation of Psychic Phenomena and hires Dr. Fawcett, a paranormal investigator.

Dr. Fawcett senses a strong psychic presence aboard, also noticing the smell of cigar smoke, though Guy remains doubtful. He invites a medium, Mrs. Manley, to hold a séance. During the séance, they uncover that Martineau's wife and Peter were having an affair and plotted to kill Martineau and throw him overboard. Martineau, overhearing the plan after breaking the bridge phone, confronted and shot them both, hiding their bodies in a disused water tank beneath the floor. Martineau then took money, altered the yacht's course, and jumped overboard with a lifebuoy. Guy and Dr. Fawcett locate the water tank and confirm the story, but before they can notify the police, Mansel commits suicide on deck. Realizing Mansel had a burn scar on his arm, Guy concludes Mansel was actually Professor Martineau. Dr. Fawcett reassures Guy that now Martineau is dead, the haunting should cease. Relieved, Guy and Margret set sail on the Cyclops.

Cast

Dermot Walsh as Guy Thornton
Hazel Court as Margaret Thornton
Hugh Burden as Dr. Fawcett
John Robinson as Prof. Mansel Martineau
Hugh Latimer as Peter
Joan Carol as Mrs. Martineau
Joss Ambler as yard manager
Mignon O'Doherty as Mrs. Manley
Laidman Browne as coroner
Meadows White as Mr. Leech, yard surveyor
Pat McGrath as Bert, 1st fisherman
Joss Ackland as Ron, 2nd fisherman
John King-Kelly as Sid, 3rd fisherman (as John King Kelly)
Colin Douglas as 1st engineer
Jack Stewart as 2nd engineer
Anthony Marlowe as Thomas Selter (Lloyd's surveyor)
Geoffrey Dunn as strange passenger
Ian Carmichael as Bernard
Anthony Hayes as pianist
Barry Phelps as steward
Robert Moore as Police Inspector
Ewen Solon as plain clothes man
Jock Finlay as policeman
Madoline Thomas as Mrs. Morgan, housekeeper
Graham Stuart as 1st guest
Gordon Bell as 2nd guest
Patricia Owens as Joyce, party girl
Melissa Stribling as Vera, party girl

Production

The film received partial funding from Anglo-Amalgamated. It starred the real life husband and wife team of Dermot Walsh and Hazel Court. Most filming took place in Merton Park Studios with exteriors shot on the director's own yacht, Gelert, in the English Channel.^[6]^[7]

There are some limited shots of Shoreham Harbour canal, Southwick Town Hall, and Lady Bee Marina.^[8]

Critical reception

Variety wrote: "Plot basis is promising, but there's a lot of talk and waste motion before it goes into the suspense aspects. ... Playing generally is good, the unfamiliar faces of the cast helping to keep the characters from appearing as types. Outside of dawdling too much over the first half of the footage, Vernon Sewell's production, direction and writing serve their respective purposes adequately."^[9]

TV Guide called the film a "talky but fairly atmospheric effort ... hampered by its low budget."^[10]

Writing in British Sound Films, David Quinlan described the film as an "eerie dose of maritime mystery"^[11]

Leslie Halliwell called it a "mildly unusual second feature"^[12]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 1/5 stars, writing: "Buying a vessel that's haunted, even at a bargain price, is asking for trouble, as the young couple played by Dermot Walsh and Hazel Court find out in this waterlogged British B-feature. After they discover that the previous owner killed his spouse and her lover on board, they're on their way to laying the ship's ghost. Vernon Sewell, who was able to combine film-making with a love of the sea, probably had more fun than the audience."^[13]

References

^ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 98. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
^ "Ghost Ship". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
^ "Ghost Ship". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
^ "Ghost Ship 1952 | Britmovie | Home of British Films". Britmovie. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
^ Entertain Your Brain! – Ghost Ship (2002) Review
^ John Hamilton, The British Independent Horror Film 1951-70 Hemlock Books 2013 p 21-23
^ McFarlane, Brian (1997). An autobiography of British cinema : as told by the filmmakers and actors who made it. Methuen. p. 591.
^ "Ghost Ship". Reelstreets. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
^ "Ghost Ship". Variety. 191 (7): 20. 22 July 1953. ProQuest 963153138 – via ProQuest.
^ "Ghost Ship Review". Movies.tvguide.com. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
^ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 314. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.
^ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 398. ISBN 0-586-08894-6.
^ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 362. ISBN 9780992936440.