The Mystery of the Mary Celeste (1935)

Good start, but then it gets ruined

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

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.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

THE MYSTERY OF THE MARY CELESTE is one of five films made by the fledgling Hammer Films back in the 1930s before they stopped making movies for over a decade, only returning to full-time film production in 1947. Some of those five films are now lost, but this one remains, albeit in a shortened version in the form of the American print entitled PHANTOM SHIP. It's a story of a seabound mystery in which a number of sailors go missing, one by one, while the captain tries to figure out which of the crew is responsible. Oddly, this is a straightforward murder mystery, eschewing the supernatural solution you might expect from the subject matter. It's a bit dated and creaky overall, but it benefits from a nice performance from Bela Lugosi as the salty old sea dog along for the voyage, and it has a little of the Hammer magic that would come to the fore over twenty years later.

Fictionalized account of the Mary Celeste, a ship found adrift in 1872 with no trace of the crew. Well the mystery is solved now: Bela Lugosi did it. Backtracking a bit, the movie starts with a love triangle involving the captain of the ship, his friend another captain, and a woman they both propose to. She chooses the Mary Celeste's captain. Then the ship sets sail with the captain's wife on board and crazy one-armed Bela as part of the crew. Things are fine for a little while, then Bela saves the wife from being raped by another crew member. After that he seems to snap and then we get the 1930s equivalent of a slasher film, with everyone being killed off one by one.It's a little stiff, of course, given the time in which it was made. The main reason to see it is Bela, who hams it up nicely. His speech after killing the rapist should have earned him an Oscar. And again later when he recounts how he lost his arm, a second Oscar for that. Not really but it's fun to think of a world in which that happened. Unfortunately the static direction and creaks & groans make this a rough watch. Business picks up once the killing starts. Too bad we'll never see the original British version, as all that's left is this shortened American version. Maybe it was better. Then again, maybe it was worse and all that was cut was a lot of unnecessary stuff from before the ship even set sail. I can imagine some schlub thinking that drama about the captain's wife was interesting.One final note: I was a little surprised to hear one character utter a couple of racial slurs, including the N word. As a fan of classic films I'm used to "how things were" and all that, but there generally seemed to be a line and a sense of decorum about what could be shown and said in films, even in the Pre-Code days. Perhaps it's because this was a British-made film, but that wouldn't explain how it made it into the American cut. Anyway, to be fair, the line is in fitting with the character who uses it as he's a rough, mean-spirited sort of cuss.

Based on an actual happening, a mysterious sailing ship with no crew is discovered in the middle of the ocean. The movie unravels the puzzle behind the crew's disappearance. I wanted to shower after this 60-minutes. This has got to be the grungiest ship's crew in movie annals. The men actually look like they were shanghaied from a waterfront fleabag. Certainly, there was no attempt by the British production to sanitize the visuals, either the men or life aboard ship. Apparently, only an edited version of the 1936 original survives. Thus, the narrative is pretty choppy, leaving holes in the storyline (e.g. characters who just disappear without explanation). Still, between the fragmented narrative, the muddy photography, and the ugly, cramped shipboard, the effect is almost surreal. While, Lugosi's mystical traveler adds an additional slice of exotica. Too bad we'll probably never know what happened aboard the real Marie Celeste. I remember being fascinated as a boy by the mysterious account of a deserted ship with meals still lying on serving tables. It's as though the crew were suddenly plucked into thin air. Anyway, this movie account is pretty fanciful, but still manages an unsettling aura, thanks in large part to Lugosi's disturbing changes. This edited version is no artistic triumph but does manage a weird appeal all its own.

While this isn't the greatest film in history, the Marie Celeste is a puzzle and it's fun watching her self-destruct. Lugosi showed some real chops in this film. Not long after Dracula, we get to see him play a character who is filled with vengeance and fury. Lugosi makes him a really sympathetic person who has obviously been wronged and has seemingly given up on life. The relationship of the captain and his wife on board this strange ship is a bit strained. Why would he do this? Also, there has to be a reel missing from this film. There are a couple of deaths that simply happen but we aren't privy to them. I've always enjoyed the claustrophobic milieu that is a ship, no escape available for anyone, and this one uses that closed in atmosphere pretty well. Still, it is pretty unsatisfying at times.