The Mystery of the Marie Celeste (1935)

Director:

Denison Clift

Writers:

Denison Clift (story)
Charles Larkworthy (scenario)

Release Date:

15 October 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery

Tagline:

The Master of Mystery in a Masterpiece of Weird Thrills!

Plot:

During a horrific storm at sea, the crew realizes that there is a murderer among them who is killing them off one by one. |

Plot Keywords:

Ship | Hurricane | Public Domain | Poker | Shark

Cast

Bela Lugosi	...	Anton Lorenzen
Shirley Grey	...	Sarah Briggs
Arthur Margetson	...	Capt. Benjamin Briggs
Edmund Willard	...	Toby Bilson
Dennis Hoey	...	Tom Goodschard
George Mozart	...	Tommy Duggan
Johnnie Schofield	...	Peter Tooley
Gunner Moir	...	Ponta Katz
Ben Welden	...	'Sailor' Hoffman
Clifford McLaglen	...	Capt. Jim Morehead
Bruce Gordon	...	Olly Deveau
Gibson Gowland	...	Andy Gilling
Terence de Marney	...	Charlie Kaye
Edgar Pierce	...	Arian Harbens (as J. Edgar Pierce)
Herbert Cameron	...	Volkerk Grot
Wilfred Essex	...	Horatio Sprague
James Carew	...	James Winchester
Monti DeLyle	...	Portunato
Alec Fraser	...	Commander Mahon
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charles Mortimer	...	Attorney General (uncredited)
Graham Soutten	...	Jack Samson (uncredited)
J.B. Williams	...	The Judge (uncredited)

Directed by
Denison Clift

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Denison Clift		story
Charles Larkworthy		scenario

Produced by
Henry Passmore	....	producer

Cinematography by
Eric Cross
Geoffrey Faithfull

Film Editing by
John Seabourne Sr.		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
J. Elder Wills

Music Department
Eric Ansell	....	musical director

Other crew
Tilly Day	....	continuity
Henry Passmore	....	supervisor (as H. Fraser Passmore)

Production Companies

• Hammer Film Productions

Distributors

• General Film Distributors (GFD) (1935) (UK) (theatrical)
• Guaranteed Pictures Corporation (1935) (USA) (theatrical)
• Commonwealth Pictures Corporation (1948) (USA) (TV)
• Blackhawk Video (USA) (VHS)
• Bosko Video (video)
• Cable (video)
• Critics' Choice Video (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Hollywood's Best (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Hollywood's Best (2005) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Kartes Video (video)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (199?) (USA) (VHS)
• Video Yesteryear (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Phantom Ship
The Mystery of the Mary Celeste

Runtime:

80 min | USA:62 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #01357)

Filming Locations:

Falmouth, Cornwall, England, UK

Company:

Hammer Film Productions

Movie Connections:

Featured in Lugosi: The Forgotten King (1985) (TV)

PHANTOM SHIP (Denison Clift, 1935) **

I had always been interested in checking out this seafaring thriller due to Bela Lugosi's involvement; still, now I can't help feeling that the over-age star was miscast in the role of a hapless 'old man of the sea' who bears an Ahab-like grudge against the "Mary Celeste" and is also something of a religious fanatic (the inspiration for this was, perhaps, Boris Karloff's impressive turn in John Ford's desert adventure THE LOST PATROL [1934]). That said, his final descent into madness (uncommonly vicious for the time but, then, the film is based on a factual incident!) is fairly well handled.

Ultimately, however, the British-made picture fails to rise above its 'quota quickie' status - Lugosi himself fared much better with the later DARK EYES OF London (1939) - and can't honestly compare with the similar Val Lewton-produced THE GHOST SHIP (1943); moreover, it is fatally compromised by the director's baffling decision to keep much of the central action off-screen (either due to budgetary limitations or he must have been an admirer of Tod Browning)! Considering some of the choppy editing involved, though, I'm inclined to believe the film's official length as given by the IMDb - i.e. 80 minutes, rather than the 62-minute version I saw (culled from the Image DVD).

There's also the insipid - but mandatory - romantic interest to contend with here, to say nothing of various songs by the leading lady (with piano accompaniment) and an organ-playing sailor, which are a chore to sit through...but the latter musical instrument's come-uppance at the hands of the angry first mate does provide some unintended hilarity!

P.S. Though it hadn't been officially named as yet, the company that made this film is actually Hammer Films; as a matter of fact, I first came upon PHANTOM SHIP (under its original title of THE MYSTERY OF THE MARY CELESTE) via a still in an article about the famed British "House Of Horror" in an early 1980s periodical...