The Ghost Ship
Dir: Mark Robson
1943
***
Bad acting, poor editing (why Robson didn't edit is beyond me) and low budget. All that aside, this is a great film! A classic Val Lewton production with a young Mark Robson as director (I think it's a shame Lewton wasn't around in the 70's, just imagine what he could have done with the budget for Earthquake!) 
Richard Dix is superb as the Captain who is falling deeper and deeper into a psychotic madness and really gives this film a kick with his final performance. One thing has always bothered me though, there is a picture of a girl on the poster for this film, yet, there is no such girl in the film! Still, worth a watch for Dix's performance but generally not one of Lewton's best. Hardcore fans only!

Avalanche Express
Dir: Mark Robson
1979
**
An unfortunate last film for great director Mark Robson and indeed actor Robert Shaw. I like a good cold war drama, and Avalanche Express had all the right ingredients, they just weren't necessarily added in the correct order. It gets a little bit confusing somewhere in the middle just after the climax of the film (that happens about an hour too early). I think I enjoyed the parts I did for all the wrong reasons but then this was one of those films that came just as audiences where bored of this style of film and were looking at a different genre and a different way of film making. It's not quite a last of the greats but it does represent a sad end to a much loved type of film.