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)

Lugosi In A Great, Though Atypical Role

Denison Clift's "The Mystery Of The Mary Celeste" aka. "Phantom Ship" of 1935 is a great movie starring Bela Lugosi in a great though atypical role. Many people seem to dislike this movie and I don't really see why. Maybe some people have mixed feelings about "Phantom Ship" because Lugosi's character is not the ingenious super-villain he often played, but an unshaven and scruffy sailor. In my opinion, however, Lugosi's role not being typical doesn't downgrade his excellent performance, and "The Mystery Of The Mary Celeste" is a highly atmospheric Horror Mystery and, by the way, one of the first movies produced by the legendary Hammer Film Productions.

The fictional story, which was inspired by the tragic case of the real-life ghost-ship 'Mary Celeste', is of course not historically accurate. Some characters have the names of real-life members of the "Mary Celeste" crew, but the rest of the story is pure fiction. I don't see this as negative either, however. First of all, movies don't always have to be historically accurate to be good. Second, this movie doesn't claim historical accuracy, the beginning clearly says that the story was only inspired by the tragedy of the Mary Celeste.

The great Bela Lugosi is, once again, brilliant in his role, and some of the other cast members, such as Edmund Willard or the heavily tattooed Gunner Moir also deliver great performances."The Mystery Of The Mary Celeste" is impressively filmed, and the dark, sometimes haunting atmosphere and menacing character of the sea are excellently brought to screen. The film's musical score is also great, occasional songs sung by characters contribute to the movie's atmosphere, and the background score in some other scenes contributes to the suspense.

"The Mystery Of The Mary Celeste" is a highly atmospheric, excellently shot and vastly underrated movie. Lugosi fans can't afford to miss this. Highly Recommended! 8/10