Fluentiama
Perfect cast and a good story
ChanFamous
I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
FirstWitch
A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
Stevieboy666
Minor British movie about a young couple who buy a boat called "Cyclops" despite being warned that it is haunted.
There is very little haunting going on here, most of it is in the form of an unexplainable smell on board of cigar smoke. It is heavy on dialogue but very little action, bit of a bore. The only notable thing for me is that it stars Hazel Court, who went on to become a British 1960's scream queen. Missed opportunity here; they should have put a bit more spookiness into it, or perhaps gone down the comedy route.
writtenbymkm-583-902097
I can't believe nobody questioned a huge plot hole in this movie. I'll omit the story, since other reviewers have mostly explained it, but we are to believe that three people went out on a boat -- SPOILER ALERT***SPOILER ALERT -- and one of them murdered the other two and hid their bodies on the boat... repeat, on the boat, and then, later, when the boat is found, the bodies are NOT found. It's even dumber than that, because at one point the hero buys the boat and has it completely repaired from stem to stern, and, again, no bodies are found. Not even a couple of skeletons. This is incredible. I also didn't believe for a minute that the murderer would have returned to the boat at the very end -- ANOTHER SPOILER ALERT -- and killed himself just because some weird so-called "medium" went into a "trance" and supposedly revealed that he had murdered the other two people, why didn't he just head for the hills? What court of law would've allowed the testimony of a "medium" as the only proof, especially with no bodies? If I slept through essential parts of this movie and missed things that would explain all this, feel free to yell at me and set me straight!
MARIO GAUCI
This British low-budgeter does not have a good reputation within its subgenre – mainly because it is "singularly unfrightening", as one critic had remarked about SON OF FRANKENSTEIN (1939) but also since, as often happens, the manifestations prove to be just a hoax! It is harmless enough under the circumstances, but does take its time to get going (despite running only 71 minutes), eventually generating some interest during the second half with the parapsychology elements, the ghost's backstory (he is played by John Robinson – Professor Bernard Quatermass in the TV serial "Quatermass II" [1955]) and the twist ending. Hazel Court makes for a pretty and likable leading lady; however, Ian Carmichael – soon to portray the naïve hero of many a classic Boulting Bros. satire – has an extended and unfunny bit as a drunk at a party held on the titular vessel. Although, personally, I did not recognize any of them, the cast also includes Joss (1970's THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD) Ackland, Patricia (1958's THE FLY) Owens and Melissa (1958's HORROR OF Dracula) Stribling in bit parts.
ferbs54
Not to be confused with "The Ghost Ship," one of four (!) classic Val Lewton films from 1943, OR the 2002 horror fest "Ghost Ship," 1952's "Ghost Ship" is an obscure little British picture that should just manage to please. In it, real-life husband and wife Dermot Walsh and Hazel Court play Guy and Margaret Thornton, a Canadian couple living in England, who buy the Cyclops, a 40-year-old steamer yacht, and realize, after a series of freakish incidents, that the darn thing really might be haunted. An aged biddy of a medium (a pale knockoff of the marvelous character brought to indelible life by Margaret Rutherford in 1945's "Blithe Spirit") holds a seance on board and, via a series of flashbacks, the viewer is allowed to witness the events that led to the ship's current state, culminating in a surprise ending of sorts. A fast-paced 72 minutes, "Ghost Ship"'s major lure for modern-day audiences is perhaps Hazel Court, who over the next 10 years would become one of British cinema's reigning queens of horror. With a perfectly shaped mouth that might make Angelina Jolie envious and a pair of zygomatic bones that could turn Deborah Harry green with envy, Hazel was indeed luscious to look at on screen, especially in this relatively early role; sadly, her striking red hair and green eyes cannot be appreciated in this B&W film. The picture in question is a lighthearted affair that is not a bit scary (even an initial glimpse of the ship's ghost fails to raise any hackles) but always engaging, thanks to some pleasant performances, a crackling, no-nonsense script from director Vernon Sewell, and a sprightly score by Eric Spear. In all, a minor affair, but an entertaining one, presented here on a surprisingly crisp-looking DVD courtesy of Wham! USA.
