I had always wanted to watch this in view of its fantasy elements; I knew of the bare-bones R2 DVD but, considering the variable quality of prints available for old (and rare) British films, I was on the fence about purchasing it - the favorable DVD Beaver review, then, proved the deciding factor.
Given the little information there is about the film, I didn't quite know what to expect: as it turned out, the propagandist elements are as much to the fore but it's really the various human dramas contained within that are its most compelling aspect. Michael Redgrave (in one of his best roles) is the lone lighthouse keeper who was once a spokesman against the onslaught of Fascism (shown in a sequence of montages that clearly bear the influence of CITIZEN KANE [1941]), who has retired from the world when his warnings were dismissed. He's able to withstand his remote existence by imagining how the passengers of a ship who drowned 90 years earlier near the titular location lived!; these events are then enacted for us and, with the help of ship's captain Finlay Currie 'acting' as mediator, he's able to communicate with them!!
This concept was not only very original but also rather cerebral (especially for the time) and is certainly its most intriguing trait; interestingly, all the passengers, like Redgrave himself, seem to be escaping from the intolerance of their own era! The life-stories of the individual passengers (though, for obvious reasons of time constraint, the writers opted to focus on only three) are all somewhat melodramatic but the one involving progressive doctor Frederick Valk and Lili Palmer (who even has feelings for Redgrave, i.e. he imagines she has!) is the most engaging.
The plot and setting allowed the director and cameraman (Max Greene, who later shot Jules Dassin's British-made noir NIGHT AND THE CITY [1950]) to experiment with light and shadow which, along with the literary dialogue (it was adapted from a play by Robert Ardrey that was intended to urge America into World War II, which had already happened by the time the film came out!) and the marvelous ensemble acting, emerges as one of the film's most impressive qualities. As a matter of fact, the cast was made up of established, upcoming and (to me) unfamiliar names but, apart from the ones already mentioned, James Mason's all-too brief appearance as Redgrave's sparring pal - who has no qualms about doing his thing for the war effort - is especially notable.
The climax, too, is terrific: first, we have the 'ghosts' realizing what has really happened to them (shades of "Outward Bound" but also looking forward to THE SIXTH SENSE [1999]) and, then, their refusal to 'leave' unless Redgrave goes back to civilization and do his duty (his being dominated by entities he's supposed to be controlling himself, interestingly enough, foreshadows his unforgettable turn as the Ventriloquist in the celebrated horror compendium DEAD OF NIGHT [1945] - which, incidentally, also featured Valk as a doomed doctor!).
The Boulting Brothers - John produced the film while his twin brother Roy directed it, but they often exchanged roles! - always liked to tackle topical subjects and, though they later concentrated on satires, their sober earlier efforts were no less effective as clearly demonstrated by this neglected gem but also the noir about the British underworld BRIGHTON ROCK (1947) and the semi-documentary anti-Nuclear tale SEVEN DAYS TO NOON (1950).
Given the little information there is about the film, I didn't quite know what to expect: as it turned out, the propagandist elements are as much to the fore but it's really the various human dramas contained within that are its most compelling aspect. Michael Redgrave (in one of his best roles) is the lone lighthouse keeper who was once a spokesman against the onslaught of Fascism (shown in a sequence of montages that clearly bear the influence of CITIZEN KANE [1941]), who has retired from the world when his warnings were dismissed. He's able to withstand his remote existence by imagining how the passengers of a ship who drowned 90 years earlier near the titular location lived!; these events are then enacted for us and, with the help of ship's captain Finlay Currie 'acting' as mediator, he's able to communicate with them!!
This concept was not only very original but also rather cerebral (especially for the time) and is certainly its most intriguing trait; interestingly, all the passengers, like Redgrave himself, seem to be escaping from the intolerance of their own era! The life-stories of the individual passengers (though, for obvious reasons of time constraint, the writers opted to focus on only three) are all somewhat melodramatic but the one involving progressive doctor Frederick Valk and Lili Palmer (who even has feelings for Redgrave, i.e. he imagines she has!) is the most engaging.
The plot and setting allowed the director and cameraman (Max Greene, who later shot Jules Dassin's British-made noir NIGHT AND THE CITY [1950]) to experiment with light and shadow which, along with the literary dialogue (it was adapted from a play by Robert Ardrey that was intended to urge America into World War II, which had already happened by the time the film came out!) and the marvelous ensemble acting, emerges as one of the film's most impressive qualities. As a matter of fact, the cast was made up of established, upcoming and (to me) unfamiliar names but, apart from the ones already mentioned, James Mason's all-too brief appearance as Redgrave's sparring pal - who has no qualms about doing his thing for the war effort - is especially notable.
The climax, too, is terrific: first, we have the 'ghosts' realizing what has really happened to them (shades of "Outward Bound" but also looking forward to THE SIXTH SENSE [1999]) and, then, their refusal to 'leave' unless Redgrave goes back to civilization and do his duty (his being dominated by entities he's supposed to be controlling himself, interestingly enough, foreshadows his unforgettable turn as the Ventriloquist in the celebrated horror compendium DEAD OF NIGHT [1945] - which, incidentally, also featured Valk as a doomed doctor!).
The Boulting Brothers - John produced the film while his twin brother Roy directed it, but they often exchanged roles! - always liked to tackle topical subjects and, though they later concentrated on satires, their sober earlier efforts were no less effective as clearly demonstrated by this neglected gem but also the noir about the British underworld BRIGHTON ROCK (1947) and the semi-documentary anti-Nuclear tale SEVEN DAYS TO NOON (1950).