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Purely Joyful Movie!

best movie i've ever seen.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

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.

Many important observations about this minor ghost story have already been made by others. The plot has a gaping plot hole and two long, irrelevant sequences - Ian Carmichael's drunk act and Hugh Burden's demonstration of unusual vibrations - that must have been added merely to increase the running time. The film is one of several shot on director Vernon Sewell's own yacht and the story has a flavour (wife encourages her lover to kill her husband) of Sewell's later film "Rogue's Yarn" (1957), shot in the same Shoreham boatyard. Most interesting, however, is that this is the third film Sewell made of Pierre Mills and Celia de Vylars' one act play, "L'Angoisse." The first was "The Medium" (1934), now lost. Then came "Latin Quarter" (1945). After "Ghost Ship" Sewell had one more crack at the tale, "House of Mystery" (1960). The common factor, apart from the psychic gobbledygook, is the sadism of the murders. I'd like to point out that none of this information comes from me. It was first pointed out as long ago as 1973 in David Pirie's book "A Heritage of Horror". Jonathan Rigby added more details in his 2000 book "English Gothic."

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.

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.