Directed by Victor Halperin (White Zombie, Supernatural) Torture Ship is based (extremely loosely) on Jack London’s 1899 short story A Thousand Deaths. This brief 64-minute oddity blends sci-fi, pre-code-style gangster tropes and maritime melodrama into a surprisingly fun, breezy exploitation flick.
Irving Pichel stars as Dr. Herbert Stander, a rogue physician obsessed with proving that criminal behavior isn’t a moral failing, but a biological one caused by malfunctioning endocrine glands. How does he plan to test his theory? By springing a colorful rogue’s gallery of notorious criminals from the law, loading them onto a boat and turning his makeshift floating laboratory into a human abattoir.
Among his unwilling test subjects are “Poison Mary” Slavish (Sheila Bromley), Harry “The Carver” Bogard (Russell Hopton), and Jesse Bixel—played by the creepy, irreplaceable Skelton Knaggs in one of his quintessential early uncredited-turned-credited weirdo roles. Joining the crew is Lyle Talbot as Lt. Bob Bennett, the doctor’s undercover nephew who quickly realizes his uncle has lost his marbles. When Stander’s glandular serum injections start failing to cure the gangsters, the good doctor turns his syringes toward his own kin.
What makes Torture Ship such a treat for late-night movie obsessives is its pedigree and placement in genre history. It was produced by Producers Pictures Corporation, the fledgling outfit that would very shortly transform into the infamous PRC (Producers Releasing Corporation)—the absolute holy grail of grit and cheap sets.
While Halperin’s late-30s work can sometimes feel a bit static, Torture Ship moves briskly. The seafaring locale keeps things claustrophobic, the gangster banter hits all the right low-budget notes and Pichel plays Stander with just the right balance of calm academic arrogance and unhinged obsession. Plus, the twist behind Stander’s ultimate goal with his glandular concoction at the end delivers a genuinely fun payoff that makes the hour investment well worth it.
You can watch this on YouTube.
