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Author’s note: Having been born and raised in Hollywood, California and having had some small acquaintance with authentic lighthouse history over these past several years, I feel uniquely qualified to bestow the following Lighthouse Digest MMM Awards upon these vintage, feature-length lighthouse films. In order to receive an award in any category, the movie had to be filmed in black and white; originally released between 1935 and 1960; take place at a lighthouse or have the lighthouse be a substantial part of the storyline; and most importantly, be available on YouTube, free of charge, for your Halloween viewing pleasure. Simply type in the film title and year into the YouTube search bar and the films will come up. So, without further ado, I present the following winners of our prestigious awards for your perusal:
BEST EARLY BRITISH MYSTERY FILM: The Phantom Light (1935)
Based on an earlier stage farce titled The Haunted Light, the plot has been compared to the story of the mysterious disappearance of the three lighthouse keepers at the Flannan Isles Lighthouse in Scotland, with a bit of satire mixed in. Head keepers keep vanishing until 25-year-veteran, no-nonsense, lighthouse keeper Sam Higgins (Gordon Harker) takes over. Throw in a Scotland Yard detective, saboteurs, a psychotic keeper, and another few assistant keepers, with a ship headed for the rocks, and things begin to hop.
The interior lighthouse equipment scenes were shot at Hartland Point Lighthouse in Devon, England. There are good shots of the Chance Brothers bi-form, third-order, sextuple-flashing Fresnel lens, the clockworks for the pedestal and the acetylene tanks to operate it. Best line: “I always thought lighthouse keepers were grim and grisly with yellow teeth and scars. You know, sort of human gorillas. I never realized they were good-looking like you.” For a 1935 film utilizing a real lighthouse, it is definitely worth watching.
BEST CAMPY-MAKE-YOU-LAUGH FILM and WORST PLASTIC MONSTER:
Sh! The Octopus (1937)
Just the title alone should be enough to justify these awards. Imagine a slapstick Abbott and Costello-esque mystery in the form of two bumbling detectives (Hugh Herbert and Allen Jenkins) who are trying to track down a criminal mastermind by the name of “The Octopus.” They end up at the local lighthouse with a group of unrelated people, who show up for varying reasons, and eventually they encounter the nefarious titular character; but, is it a sea creature or a real villain? You will need to watch the movie to find out.
The exterior view of the lit lighthouse is shown for only a few seconds here and there through pelting rain; and, the inside set doesn’t resemble a lighthouse whatsoever, especially the supposed entrance to the lantern. Best silly scene is what happens to the former keeper, Captain Hook (yes, he has a hook instead of one hand and becomes murderous when hearing a ticking clock.) Silly scene runner-ups are what eventually happens to the lighthouse and the surprise ending of the film. Both will leave you shaking your head; but, if you like idiotic frivolity in your lighthouse movies, this one should not be missed.
BEST WARTIME PROPAGANDA GHOST MOVIE: Thunder Rock (1942)
Also based on a 1939 stage play of the same name, Thunder Rock was originally written just as Britain was gearing up to enter WWII. Exploring an interesting combination of ghosts and propaganda, along with the indifferent sentiment at the time toward fascism, the film centers on a former newspaper journalist who seeks escape from the world’s mounting problems by becoming a solitary lighthouse keeper on Lake Michigan. Michael Redgrave, who was also cast as the disillusioned keeper in the play version, gives a good performance as he interacts with ghosts from a local shipwreck, who teach him by their own regrettable past actions that he needs to stand up and engage in the fight once more against tyranny.
The movie was produced and directed by the Boutling brothers, both of whom were supposed to be fighting the war, but were given a special dispensation to finish filming it in a 10-week period in England. The lighthouse tower, and even lantern room, is clearly a set, but the lighthouse lens looks fairly real. Could it have been loaned to the production company by Chance Brothers? Definitely worth a view to decide for yourself!
BEST MOVIE ADAPTATION OF A RADIO MYSTERY SERIES: Voice of the Whistler (1945)
The Whistler was an extremely popular wartime American radio series broadcast on Armed Forces Radio. By 1945, Columbia Pictures had begun creating film adaptations of the stories of which Voice of the Whistler was the fourth installment. In this mystery film noir, dying millionaire banker John Sinclair (Richard Dix) contracts to marry his penniless young nurse (Lynn Merrick), just so she can inherit his wealth after his demise. On his doctor’s advice, they move to an abandoned lighthouse in Maine where he is supposed to “try to make friends and never forget that loneliness is a disease that can destroy a man’s mind.” So, why move to an isolated lighthouse?
Problems arise when he miraculously recovers and her former fiancé shows up. Somewhat reminiscent of The Twilight Zone, the classic love triangle progresses toward a murderous end and an eerie image of one of the characters holding a lamp, seen through the lighthouse window where they will “live out a life of torment in the solitude and desolation of the lighthouse.”
Weirdest advice offered by a friend: “I’d apologize to her for being alive. You were supposed to die in six months. That was part of your marriage contract. So, don’t you owe her an apology for breaking your agreement?”
The radio episode of The Whistler, upon which the film was based, is also available to hear on YouTube. However, the plot of “Seascape” (1945) is somewhat different with the lighthouse keeper’s wife admitting she is a murderess and had only married the keeper to elude police. One of her old lovers gets shipwrecked onto the lighthouse which still produces the requisite love triangle. It’s worth a listen just to compare strangeness of storylines, if nothing else.
HONORABLE MENTION FOR MOST SCHLOCKY LIGHTHOUSE DESTRUCTION SCENE:
The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
Released a year earlier than the first Japanese Godzilla movie it inspired, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms shares a similar storyline as the creature goes on its familiar rampages destroying buildings, including a lighthouse. The full movie is not available on YouTube for free, nor does the story take place in a lighthouse, but just the expressions on the two keepers’ faces when they see the beast peering in the lantern room, and the following scene where it takes a mouthful of stone out of the tower, is worth the two-minute view time of the free clip.
There are also several longer clips from the Svengoolie TV episode featuring the film that give an idea of what the story is about, in addition to Sven’s (Rich Koz) great commentary and movie facts. Best Svengoolie lighthouse behind-the-scene tidbit: “When you see pieces of the lighthouse falling, they were actually rigged on wires and lowered frame by frame [stop motion filming].”
BEST SUSPENSE FILM AND BEST USE
OF A REAL LIGHTHOUSE:
The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959)
Of all the films receiving the Lighthouse Digest MMM Awards, The Monster of Piedras Blancas would probably have to be considered Best Picture due to it being filmed in a real lighthouse, except that Hollywood didn’t feel it was necessary to have the title match the location; if they had, this movie would have been called, The Monster of Point Conception, since that is where it was really filmed.
The story centers on mysterious murders in a seaside town where keeper Sturges (John Harmon) and his daughter, Lucy (Jeanne Carmen), tend the light. While the suspense builds in the film by not showing the monster until the end, the fakeness of those who get thrown off the lighthouse tower and the all-too-human-shaped monster suit detract from an otherwise acceptable storyline. But the close-up view of the lighthouse lens in the beginning of the movie, and seeing the actors climb around the double lantern decks at the end, make up for those deficiencies.
You can watch the film alone, or as part of a Creature Features episode with added corny commentary by the program host, Vincent Van Dahl, which extends the viewing time by almost half. Either way, any lighthouse fan would enjoy the show.
WORST SPECIAL EFFECTS, MUSICAL SCORE, LIGHTHOUSE LENS AND FINAL SCENE:
Tormented (1960)
The Lighthouse Digest MMM Awards would not be complete without some “worst of” categories, and Tormented is the definite winner of them all. The opening scenes show a former lover (Richard Carlson) meeting up with his jilted girlfriend (Juli Reding) in a decommissioned lighthouse. While arguing, she accidentally breaks through the railing on the lantern deck and falls to her death on the rocks below because he refuses to grab her extended hand while she dangles. The rest of the movie focuses on her tormenting him though mysterious footprints, seaweed, ghostly visitations, bad dreams and disembodied hands and heads as he prepares to marry his new fiancé (Lugene Sanders).
The lighthouse tower features prominently in the film, but the fake Fresnel lens is particularly disappointing in its poorly constructed panels containing flat plastic louvers instead of glass prisms that show all too clearly in close-up shots. The pedestal base is also a strange-looking contraption meant to replicate the gearing of clockworks, but doesn’t quite cut it. The fake lighthouse exterior appears to be designed after Point Conception, which was where The Monster of Piedras Blancas was filmed just a year earlier.
Billed as “A Terrifying Tale of Supernatural Passion,” the storyline leaves a lot to be desired, but if you can get past the bad film score, poor disembodied special effects, fake lens, and hokey ending shot, this B-grade movie can provide an hour of entertainment that you can laugh at, if nothing else.
POST-AWARDS WRAP-UP
While there are many choices out there for more gruesome fare in the genre of lighthouse horror movies, especially in recent years, it is comforting to know that there are still several G-rated (Goreless) classic lighthouse films available to watch online that won’t produce nightmares. So, grab a bucket buttered popcorn, sit back and watch one or all of these movies this October with your family and friends, or perhaps, just alone in the dark of night . . .
This story appeared in the
Sep/Oct 2022 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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