The Mystery of the
Marie Celeste (1935) dir. Dennison Clift, Hammer Film Productions
Ending the Hammer section of 2013, we go back to the 1930’s
and Hammer’s first horror film, also starring Bela Lugosi. Hammer was just
starting out as a film studio at this point, so the standard Hammer tropes were
not yet in place.
Two captains are the main characters. Captain Briggs (Arthur
Margretson) and Captain Morehead (Clifford McLaglen) are best friends, but when
Morehead introduces his girlfriend Sarah (Shirley Gray) to his friend, things
get complicated when Sarah decides she likes Briggs more than Morehead and
dumps the captain. Briggs makes it clear he’s going to marry Sara no matter
what Briggs feels, and his ship is a bit understaffed so if Briggs could spare
him some sailors he’ll make sure he gets a good seat at the wedding.
Morehead sends him one, Volkerk Grot (Herbert Cameron) who
has orders to sabotage the ship. Briggs manages to find one sailor on his own,
Anton Lorenzen (Lugosi), who is clearly troubled. The voyage is troubled from
the start, as the crew is disappearing one by one. A murderer is on board, but
who could it be? Lorenzen seems the most obvious suspect, as he easily
dispatches a crewman who puts the move on Sarah, but his crying fit after the
fact doesn’t seem paint him as the cold blooded killer that is still whittling
down the crew.
Who is the killer? As far as murder mysteries go, this isn’t
going to give Sherlock Holmes a run for his money. The film was also released
in America as the Phantom Ship, with
nearly eighteen minutes cut. Lugosi gives it his best, but the rest of the film
simply drags everyone else down.
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