Thanks, Phil. Yeah, I seem to remember something like that as well. And here is what I just found online:
The Ghost Ship has acquired the almost legendary status of being a lost Lewton film. The initial idea for the film was born out of necessity: Actor Richard Dix still owed the studio one more picture, and there was a large ship set standing on the lot from an earlier film that still had a bit more cinematic mileage left in it. However, after the film opened, two writers who had left an unsolicited manuscript with Lewton prior to production filed a lawsuit against the producer, accusing him of pirating their idea. As was standard procedure at RKO, their script had been returned to the writers, unread. (In fact, The Ghost Ship was based on a story by Leo Mittler, who had worked with Lewton on The Amorous Ghost earlier that spring.) The studio wanted to settle the matter out of court, so the film could go into general release. Lewton, however, refused, feeling such a move could be considered an admission of guilt on his part. To everyone's surprise at RKO, the judge ruled against Lewton, and while the two writers were only awarded half the amount they had asked for, the judge ordered the film be pulled from release. This is from: http://www.horror-wood.com/lewton.htm No explanation as to how it is the film was eventually released in 1949, but it may explain the delay between '43 and '49. I'll see if I can find out more. Dave ----- Original Message ----- From: Phil Edwards To: Dave Rosen Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2009 3:13 AM Subject: Re: [MOPO] Need help: Ghost Ship NSS # Dave, Do not forget that THE GHOST SHIP was delayed release by a few years as Warners took out a court order claiming similarities with THE SEA WOLF. I think you will find the date issue is not just a typo. This was all covered in the original thread and at length. Phil ----- Original Message ----- From: Dave Rosen To: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2009 1:27 PM Subject: Re: [MOPO] Need help: Ghost Ship NSS # Thanks, Grey and Peter. A typo, that explains it. Much appreciated. Dave ----- Original Message ----- From: P Molitor To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, December 19, 2009 9:15 PM Subject: Re: [MOPO] Need help: Ghost Ship NSS # Hi Dave, I remember that thread, think it was in the old MPT days. General opinion was 'twere a typo on the poster. That idiot Tibor was probably at the printing press that day. I think all the confusion came about due to restored posters being given the original "43" instead of the correct (but wrong) "49" in the NSS #. --Peter --- On Sat, 12/19/09, Dave Rosen <[email protected]> wrote: From: Dave Rosen <[email protected]> Subject: [MOPO] Need help: Ghost Ship NSS # To: [email protected] Date: Saturday, December 19, 2009, 2:41 PM Hi, all: I have a Ghost Ship 1-sheet and am trying to make sense of the NSS number. I'm sure some of you know what I'm talking about: The film is listed as having been released in 1943 (there is also a 1943 copyright notation on the poster) but the NSS # on my 1-sheet is 49/398. I seem to recall this being discussed on one of the forums a couple of years back but can't remember what the final explanation was. It's not a re-release. Was the film held back for six years by RKO? Thanks for any help, Dave Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
