I Watch FIlms: The Phantom Ship

 

The Phantom Ship

Inspired by the actual Marie Celeste, a ship found abandoned and adrift in the Atlantic in 1872, this film begins in New York. Two ships captains are rivals for the same woman. The successful suitor, Briggs, is captain of the Marie Celeste and plans to take his new bride on a honeymoon trip. Short of crew he pays an agent in a tavern, who begins by giving him sailors who are looking for a berth, moves on to those with debts who he can make go. One of them, Lorenson (Bela Lugosi) seems on the verge of breakdown. He finally resorts to shanghaiing some drunks. Still short, Briggs goes to his former rival, who sends him one man who he pays to make the voyage a disaster.

As they sail, the crew start to die, one by one. One tries to rape the captain’s wife, is stopped and killed by Lorenson, who then breaks down at having taken a life. Sadly the film is apparently missing about 20 minutes, cut for a US release, so the sequence of events is incoherent, robbing the ending of the impact it should have had.

Watch This: Some interesting set-pieces and good sailing shots
Don’t Watch This: The cut footage leaves the film shapeless and confusing