''Torture Ship'' is a 1939 American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

directed by

Victor Halperin Victor Hugo Halperin (August 24, 1895 in Chicago, Illinois – May 17, 1983 in Bentonville, Arkansas) was an American stage actor, stage director, film director, producer, and writer. The majority of his works involved romance and horror. His ...

, based on

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

's 1899

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

" A Thousand Deaths". The film stars

Lyle Talbot Lyle Florenz Talbot (born Lisle Henderson, also credited Lysle Talbot; February 8, 1902 – March 2, 1996) was an American stage, screen and television actor. His career in films spanned three decades, from 1931 to 1960, and he performed on ...

as a mad scientist who performs experiments regarding "the criminal mind" on captured criminals onboard his private ship.

Cast

Production

The film is based on the

" A Thousand Deaths" by

originally published in ''Black Cat Magazine'' in May 1899. By the end of the first week of August 1939, George Sayre and Harvey Huntley completed the script for ''Torture Ship'' and the film was scheduled to start on August 14 but was held back. Filming was then set to begin by the last week of August but no cast was yet assembled. The cast was announced in September with John Miller originally set to play Jesse, though

Skelton Knaggs Skelton Barnaby Knaggs (27 June 1911 – 30 April 1955) was an English stage actor who also appeared in films, especially in horror films. Biography Knaggs was born in the Hillsborough district of Sheffield, England. Knaggs moved to Lond ...

appears in the final film.

Release

''Torture Ship'' was distributed by

Producers Distributing Corporation Producers Distributing Corporation was a short-lived Hollywood film distribution company, organized in 1924 and dissolved in March 1927. In its brief heyday, film director Cecil B. DeMille was its primary shareholder and major talent. Corporat ...

on October 22, 1939.

Reception

From contemporary reviews, "Herb." of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' noted the acting in the film stating "there can be no quarrel with the acting of the princpals" but that ''Torture Ship'' was a "quickie action thriller that misses fire all the way on its possibilities" and that the film "has so many unreasonable and unexplainable points that it will annoy even the most jueve-minded" ''

The Film Daily ''The Film Daily'' was a daily publication that existed from 1918 to 1970 in the United States. It was the first daily newspaper published solely for the film industry. It covered the latest trade news, film reviews, financial updates, informatio ...

'' also praised the film's acting while finding Halperin's direction as "O.K." while declaring the film "has enough punch and drama to satisfy the nabe trade."

References

Sources

External links

* * * * 1939 films American black-and-white films Films based on works by Jack London Films based on short fiction Films directed by Victor Halperin 1930s English-language films {{1930s-US-film-stub