The Ghost Ship: Mark Robson

Mark Robson's The Ghost Ship is a worth successor to Val Lewton's other RKO Radio Pictures triumphs like Cat People (1942), I Walked with a Zombie (1943), and The Seventh Victim (1943). Almost grotesquely atmosphere--thanks in large part to Nicholas Musuraca's chilling chiaroscuro cinematography--The Ghost Ship works as a superb thriller with stunning homosexual undertones. I just have one problem: Finn the Mute (Skelton Knaggs). He has internal asides that work as a kind of Greek chorus. But he only has about three of them in the entire film. You could view it as a dash of unapologetic pulp, but I was distracted by it. Here's an idea: what if the entire film was told from his silent point of view? With or without the asides, I think it would be fodder for an interesting remake. Not that I'm endorsing one...

8/10